By George Hostetter
Fresno Bee (California)
Copyright 2006 McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
The Building Industry Association of the San Joaquin Valley plans to ask a Fresno County Superior Court judge today to stop Fresno’s new residential fire sprinkler ordinance from going into effect.
In a letter to top city officials, Association Chief Executive and President Michael Prandini wrote that the ordinance violates state law and increases home builders’ liability exposure.
The city also has failed to address staffing and training issues to ensure that the ordinance can be effectively enforced, Prandini wrote.
The ordinance, passed by the City Council 4-3 in January, requires builders to include kitchen fire sprinklers in new houses and give buyers the option to install full indoor sprinkler systems. The ordinance also requires builders to install full sprinkler systems in houses larger than 5,000 square feet and multifamily structures with three or more residences. Homes smaller than 5,000 square feet can have either water sprinklers or a wet chemical extinguisher.
Prandini said the ordinance is scheduled to go into effect Friday.
In his his letter dated Tuesday to Mayor Alan Autry and council members, Prandini wrote that the association puts a premium on the safety of its customers and meets or exceeds building standards.
Prandini added that a variety of problems with the ordinance have forced the association “to petition the court for relief” until the problems are fixed. “We cannot place our home buyers who are anxiously awaiting the completion of their new homes through unnecessary, unwarranted delays,” Prandini wrote.
City Attorney James Sanchez said Wednesday that the ordinance complies with state law. He said the City Council has the legal authority to pass such an ordinance because it deals with a compelling public health and safety issue.
“We feel fairly comfortable that if they do proceed with this challenge, we’ll be able to defend it,” Sanchez said.
Prandini said in a telephone interview Wednesday that the association will ask the judge to issue a temporary restraining order that would immediately stop the ordinance from going into effect. He said that is the first step in a legal process that figures to end up in a courtroom.
“This is going to go to a trial, no matter what,” Prandini said.
In his letter, he wrote that the new ordinance violates state law “by implementing a mandatory fire sprinkler program that does not meet the modification requirements under state code.”
Prandini also wrote that the ordinance will harm the home building industry by causing construction delays. He wrote that the city has not addressed the need to hire more trained inspectors and provide additional training to city planners.
A report by Fire Chief Randy Bruegman estimated that a kitchen sprinkler would add between $600 and $800 to the cost of building a house.
Council Members Tom Boyajian, Jerry Duncan, Brian Calhoun and Larry Westerlund voted for the sprinkler ordinance Jan. 10. “If we can save one person, this is worth it,” Boyajian said at the time.
Council Members Cynthia Sterling, Mike Dages and Henry T. Perea voted no. They were concerned, in part, that the cost of the sprinkler could price some residents out of the market.