Hollister
– A proposed ordinance that would require automatic fire
sprinklers in all new homes built in unincorporated San Benito
County was rejected by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Hollister – A proposed ordinance that would require automatic fire sprinklers in all new homes built in unincorporated San Benito County was rejected by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
At the board meeting, Assistant Fire Chief Reno DiTullio said he had been to fires where residential sprinklers had saved lives and property. But the supervisors called the ordinance too restrictive and said it needs to be loosened before they will approve it.
Before the board’s vote, local residents and developers spoke out against the proposed restrictions. Ray Becker, project manager for the proposed El Rancho San Benito development, compared the ordinance to the unfunded mandates that the state government sometimes imposes on counties and cities. Becker said it’s foolish to believe the ordinance won’t come at a price.
“Every one of those home buyers will be paying for this every month as part of their mortgage,” he said.
Beverly Bryant, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Northern California, southern division, said fire sprinklers cost about $2 per square foot per home.
According to Becker, the ordinance could add between $20 million and $30 million to El Rancho San Benito’s cost. DMB, the company behind the development, would probably cover the increased expenses by building more homes that are larger and therefore more profitable, he said.
“There is a significant price that this county will pay in affordability,” Becker said.
Becker said he would support the ordinance if it included exemptions for homes built within a certain distance from a fire station.
Several supervisors said the county needs some kind of ordinance to bring more consistency to the county’s fire safety practices.
“I really feel it’s important to have some kind of standards,” Supervisor Pat Loe said.
County Fire Marshal Jim Dellamonica told the Free Lance in January that the fire sprinkler ordinance would just formalize an existing practice. For the past two years, Dellamonica said, the county has been asking home builders without enough water stored on their property for firefighting to include sprinklers inside the structures.
San Juan Bautista already has a sprinkler ordinance, and Hollister will likely to follow the county’s lead, Dellamonica said.
Supervisors Don Marcus and Anthony Botelho, who serve on the board’s fire safety subcommittee, said they will work with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – which operates the county’s fire services – to revise the ordinance so that it gives developers more flexibility.
“I’m sure there’s a solution,” Supervisor Reb Monaco said. “I don’t want to abandon this.”
DiTullio pledged to work with the supervisors to address their concerns and improve the ordinance.
“And believe me, it does have merit,” DiTullio said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
