to: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from: Dan Jones, Fire Chief
Matt Lawrence, Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal
subject: Staff Response to Petition Regarding Town Sprinkler Requirements at 109-111 E. Franklin St.
date: October 15, 2008
The purpose of this report is to provide information for the Town Council’s consideration regarding a petition received from Mr. Michael Brader-Araje on September 8, 2008 requesting relief from Town Code section 7-56 (3) requiring the installation of automatic fire sprinklers in a renovation project proposed at 109-111 East Franklin St., Chapel Hill NC.
The attached emails and attachments include background information on this issue, details the progression of events that led to Mr. Brader-Arajes’ petition, and provides information to support the staff recommendation on this matter.
On August 26, 2008 building plans and a building permit application were submitted to the Town’s Fire Marshal by Ms. Teresa Merck of Phillips Architecture for building renovations at 109-111 E. Franklin Street. The project consisted of major renovations of approximately 10,000 square feet, changing the once Kerr Drug building into three separate “vanilla box” tenant spaces. The permit application submitted indicated the scope of work to include $375,000 worth of renovations requiring permitting by the Town. There is a current building permit (#29934) in the amount of $250,000 issued to this property for major renovation of the building façade. This work is separate from the Aug.26 submittal and as not included in the $375,000 permit request. Combined, the scope of work for this renovation is estimated at $625,000.
Upon review of the application and plans for compliance with State and local codes, it was noted that this project met criteria set forth in Town Code section 7-56 (3) which requires the installation of automatic fire sprinklers in non-residential buildings greater than 6,000 square feet when renovations exceed fifty (50) percent of the value of the building. This value is obtained from the Orange County Land Record Database and can be found electronically at http://gis.co.orange.nc.us/land/queries/account.asp?PIN=9788375329. This tax value database is the official recorded value used historically by the Town in evaluating this code section. The tax record indicates that the value of the buildings located at 109-111 E. Franklin St is $688,438, thus, the cost of the renovation submitted August 26 exceeds 50 percent of the buildings value. It should be considered too that the façade renovation costs are not included in this figure, which would further increase the actual total renovation cost. The Town Attorney was consulted for guidance and clarification on the application of Town Code 7-56 (3) to this project, which he agreed was applicable based on the size and expense of the renovation, as set forth in the Town Code. Because no automatic fire sprinklers were provided for, the submitted building plans and permit application were rejected by the Town’s Fire Marshal, and the applicant, Teresa Merck of Phillips Architecture was promptly notified of the rejection and deficiencies. Ms. Merck was provided with a copy of Town Code 7-56 and several discussions followed, including one which indicated that a sprinkler evaluation for the building had been conducted approximately one year ago by a sprinkler contractor for the firm which had provided a quote on providing fire sprinklers for this renovation project.
Along with the petition received by the Council on Sept. 8, 2008 was a thread of emails submitted by the petitioner and created by Phillips Architecture, detailing the project. The emails attempt to provide reasoning for the exemption of fire sprinklers in this project due to “all the extra precautionary and safety measures that have already been taken” and state that their submittal “implements life safety measures above and beyond the NC State Building Codes”. It is important to clarify that this project was submitted under the NC Rehab Code, which is a code which can be used for the renovation or alteration of existing buildings that do not fully meet current Building Code. The use of this code is based on the building meeting building codes in effect at the time of original construction, with some improvements in handicap accessibility and life safety. With regard to the list of life safety elements described to be incorporated into the project at 109-111 E. Franklin, the ADA compliant features, fire alarm system, exit lighting, and fire-rated tenant separations are all requirements of the Rehab Code, not additional expenses that the applicant has voluntarily initiated for the sake of public safety. The Town Code requirement for automatic fire sprinklers from section 7-56 (3) is applicable to this project, and is designed to be in addition to any other code requirements. The use of the Rehab Code in this instance does not relieve the applicant from this local ordinance.
This memorandum is not designed to challenge or discourage the importance of rehabilitation and revitalization of existing and many times historic buildings in our Downtown area. In fact, the provisions of Town Code 7-56 requiring fire sprinkler systems, and other Town Code sections with specific fire prevention regulations for the downtown area found in Chapter 5 of the Town Code, are designed to preserve this area by preventing catastrophic fires from devastating our Town Center and community.
We recommend that the Council find the criteria set forth in Town Code 7-56(3) to be applicable to the proposed renovation project located at 109-111 E. Franklin St., and require that an automatic fire sprinkler system meeting the requirements of NFPA Standard #13 and approved by the Town’s Fire Marshal be agreed to prior to the issuance of a Town Building Permit and provided for prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.
Furthermore, we recommend that the Council not allow the project to be separated into individual Building Permit Applications, or phased construction to circumvent the intent of existing Town Code requirements for fire protection.
1. Petition and email to Council from Mr. Michael Brader-Araje (p. 4).
2. Copy of email to Phillips Architecture dated 8/28/08 (p. 8).
3. Copy of Town Code 7-56 Automatic Fire Sprinklers Required (p. 10).
4. Copy of Building Permit Application for 109-111 E. Franklin St. (p. 11).
5. Copy of Building value information from Orange County Land Records (p. 12).