City Council Meeting: September 11, 2007

Agenda Item: 7A  

To: Mayor and City Council 

From: Eileen Fogarty, Director of Planning and Community Development

Subject: New Ordinance Requiring Installation of Approved Seismic Gas Shutoff Valves in Certain New and Existing Buildings 

Recommended Action

Staff recommends the City Council:

1. Introduce for first reading the proposed ordinance requiring gas shutoff devices in both new and existing buildings, structures and mobilehome parks.

2. Waiver of fees and granting of priority service for related permits.

Executive Summary

Staff recommends the City Council require gas shutoff devices in both new and existing buildings, structures and mobilehome parks. These devices help prevent fires after earthquakes. Such devices would be required when buildings, structures and mobilehome parks that contain gas fuel piping are newly constructed, altered in excess of $10,000 or are sold or exchanged. The Building & Safety Commission reviewed and recommended approval of the proposed ordinance. The recommendation in this staff report will have no budget or financial impacts.

Discussion

As a result of the active geological composition of the Los Angeles basin, and the City of Santa Monica in particular, the Santa Monica Municipal Code includes standard building provisions to protect the public during earthquakes. However, the Code does not currently include provisions to address the possibility of ruptured gas fuel lines. When ruptured, these gas lines can lead to fires that threaten the public safety and welfare.

Current technology has developed devices that stop the flow of gas following earthquakes and other natural disasters. State law authorizes cities to enact mandatory laws to require installation of these devices. The proposed ordinance would require installation of earthquake gas shutoff valves in new buildings and existing buildings. Such devices would be required when buildings, structures and mobilehome parks that contain gas fuel piping are newly constructed, altered in excess of $10,000 or are sold or an agreement for their sale or exchange is entered into on or after the effective date. These requirements are generally similar to the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, with the addition of mobile home parks and government buildings. The anticipated cost to the building owners is approximately $300-1,000 per unit depending on the type of device selected and property site conditions.

Commission Action

On May 16, 2007 and June 20, 2007, the Building & Safety Commission reviewed and discussed the proposed ordinance and made the following recommendations:

1. Add language for hardship waivers.

2. Add language to waive fees for permits.

3. Insure sufficient public outreach prior to implementation.

Staff has incorporated the recommendation of the Building and Safety Commission into the attached version of the proposed ordinance and action plan for implementation.

Public Outreach

To insure adequate notice and to promote public cooperation, staff will distribute information mailers to local escrow companies and realtors to inform them of the new requirement. There will also be information bulletins placed at Permit Center and on the Building & Safety web site.

Budget/Financial Impact

The recommendation in this staff report will have no budget or financial impacts.

Prepared by: Ben Yousefi, S.E., C.B.O, Assistant Building Officer

Approved:	Forwarded to Council:
Eileen Fogarty, PCD	P. Lamont Ewell City Manager

Attachment A

Attachment A

City Council Meeting: September 11, 2007

Santa Monica, California

ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)

(City Council Series)

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA

ADDING SECTION 8.32.070 TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE

TO REQUIRE THE INSTALLATION OF APPROVED GAS SHUTOFF DEVICES IN BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES AND MOBILEHOME PARKS

PRIOR TO SALE OR EXCHANGE, WHEN NEWLY CONSTRUCTED OR

WHEN THE COST OF ADDITIONS OR ALTERATIONS EXCEED $10,000

WHEREAS, it is generally accepted that Santa Monica will experience moderate and severe earthquakes in the foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS, a serious threat to life and property resulting from these earthquakes is the threat of fire resulting from earthquake damage; and

WHEREAS, properly installed gas shutoff valves can reduce the occurrence of fires stemming from moderate and severe earthquakes and thereby reduce the risks to health, safety and welfare of Santa Monica residents caused by such earthquakes; and

WHEREAS, according to Section 19181 of the Health and Safety Code, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing body of any city, county, or city and county may enact an ordinance requiring the installation of earthquake sensitive gas shutoff devices in buildings open to the public.

NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. Section 8.32.070 is hereby added to the Santa Monica Municipal Code to read as follows:

8.32.070 Seismic Gas Shutoff Devices

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this Section is to reduce the risks of fires caused by leaks in fuel gas piping caused from earthquakes by use of earthquake-actuated automatic gas shutoff systems.

(b) Scope. The provisions of this section shall apply to:

(1) Any new building, structure or mobilehome park with fuel gas piping, for which an application for permit for construction was first submitted on or after January 1, 2008.

(2) Any existing building or structure or mobilehome park with fuel gas piping for which an application for alteration or addition is submitted on or after January 1, 2008, when such alteration or addition is valued at more than $10,000.

(3) Any existing building or structure or mobilehome park with fuel gas piping that on or after January 1, 2008 for which an agreement for sale or exchange was first entered into.

(c) Definitions. For the purpose of this Section, certain terms, phrases, words and their derivatives shall be construed as specified in this Section. Where terms are not defined, they shall have their ordinarily accepted meanings within the context with which they are used.

(1) “Agreement of sale or exchange” shall mean any agreement or written instrument which provides that title to any property shall thereafter be transferred from one owner to another owner.

(2) “Customer-owned gas piping” means all parts of the gas piping system downstream of the gas utility point of delivery, including, but not limited to, downstream of the gas utility meter and service tee (also known as a bypass tee).

(3) “Application for Permit” means a written document submitted to the City in order to obtain a permit to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, convert or remove a portion of any building, structure or building service equipment including but not limited to combination building permits and single trade permits.

(4) “Seismic gas shutoff device” means a seismic gas shutoff device installed on customer-owned gas piping certified by the State Architect pursuant to Section 19202 of the Health and Safety Code. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, "seismic gas shutoff device" does not include any device installed on a gas distribution system owned or operated by a public utility.

(d) Duty to Install and Maintain Device.

The owner of any building, structure or mobilehome park subject to the provisions of this Section shall obtain a permit, install and maintain a seismic gas shutoff device on the customer owned gas piping when one of the triggering events specified in subsection (b) of this Section occurs.

(1) For agreement of sale or exchange or qualifying alterations or additions to individual condominium units, the owner of the individual condominium shall obtain a permit, install and maintain a seismic gas shutoff device on the portion of the customer owned gas piping that serves the individual condominium unit if such a device does not exist on the customer owned gas piping that serves the entire building.

(2) Seismic gas shutoff devices installed prior to January 1, 2008 on either customer owned gas piping or on a gas distribution system owned or operated by a public utility are deemed to comply with the requirements of this section provided they remain installed and maintained according to the terms of their original approval.

(e) Unreasonable Hardship. The Building Officer may grant exceptions to the provisions of this Section when legal, physical or economic constraints will not allow compliance without creating an unreasonable hardship. Unreasonable economic hardship shall be deemed to exist when the Building Officer determines that the fair market value of the cost of installation of the seismic gas shutoff device exceeds 20% of the valuation of other alterations being proposed.

(f) Effect on Sale and Exchange of Property. No sale or exchange of property shall be invalidated solely because of the failure of any person to comply with any provision of this Section unless such failure is an act or omission which would be a valid ground for rescission of such sale or exchange in the absence of this Section.

(g) Incentives. Permits issued solely to complete the work required by this Section shall be at no cost to the applicant and all such applications shall receive priority service as defined in Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 1.20.

(h) Administrative regulations. The Building Officer shall have the authority to promulgate and or adopt administrative regulations to implement the provisions of this section

SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto, inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.

SECTION 3. If any Section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of any competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and every Section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.

SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause this ordinance, or a summary thereof to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption.

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

______________________________

MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE

City Attorney