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CITY OF MURRIETA

PUBLIC NOTICE OF ORDINANCE ADOPTION

Notice is hereby given that the Murrieta City Council introduced and adopted the following Urgency Ordinance at a Regular meeting on December 6, 2022 held at City Council Chambers, 1 Town Square, Murrieta, CA  92562. 

Said Ordinance is on file in the office of the City Clerk at 1 Town Square, Murrieta, CA  92562. If you would like a copy of this Ordinance including exhibits, please contact the City Clerk’s office at (951) 461-6031.

ORDINANCE NO. U-586-22

AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MURRIETA, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING THE CALIFORNIA FIRE CODE, 2022 EDITION, BASED ON THE 2021 INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE INCLUDING LOCAL AMENDMENTS AND ADDITIONS, AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF

SUMMARY: Effective Jan 1, 2023, this ordinance will update the uniform codes adopted by the City by adopting the 2022 California Fire Code and the local amendments to this code.

WHEREAS, every three years the State of California adopts a new California Building Standards Code which includes a new California Fire Code; and,

WHEREAS, the State of California has adopted the 2022 California Fire Code based on the 2021 International Fire Code published by the International Code Council, hereinafter referred to collectively as the Fire Code; and,

WHEREAS, Health & Safety Code Section 17958 permits the City of Murrieta to make such changes or modifications to the Fire Code as are reasonably necessary because of local conditions; and,

WHEREAS, Health & Safety Code Section 17958.7 requires that the City of Murrieta, before making any changes or modifications to the Fire Code, make express findings that such changes or modifications are needed due to local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions; and,

WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Murrieta does hereby find that the City has certain climatic, geological, and topographical features that can have a deleterious effect on emergency services such as fire protection and emergency medical services; and,

WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Murrieta finds that the modifications and changes to the Fire Code are reasonably necessary because of the local climatic, geological, and topographical conditions set forth herein as identified below; and,

WHEREAS, Sections 50022.1 through 50022.10, inclusive, of the Government Code and Section 17922 of the Health & Safety Code, provide authority for the adoption by reference of codes, or portion of such codes.

WHEREAS, Government Code Sections 36934 and 36937 authorize the City Council, by a four-fifths vote, to adopt an urgency ordinance that becomes effective immediately upon its adoption for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety of the City.

WHEREAS, this Urgency Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety of the City within the meaning of Government Code section 36937 to ensure that current fire codes take effect on January 1, 2023.

WHEREAS, all legal prerequisites for the adoption of this Urgency Ordinance have occurred.

NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MURRIETA,

CALIFORNIA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. MUNICIPAL CODE REPEAL AND REPLACE

Chapter 15.24 of the Murrieta Municipal Code is hereby repealed in its entirety and replaced with a new Chapter 15.24 as found in Exhibit A (A copy of the Ordinance, including exhibits, can be provided at no cost by contacting the City Clerks Department at (951) 461-6031 or [email protected]) attached hereto and incorporated herein as if set forth in full. 

SECTION 2. LOCAL AMENDMENT FINDINGS

The City Council of the City of Murrieta finds that the modifications and changes to the Fire Code are reasonably necessary because of the local climatic, geological, and topographical conditions set forth herein.

A.         Climate Considerations

1.         The City of Murrieta located in Riverside County is located in Southern California and covers a vast and varied geographic area. The base climate in western Riverside County consists of semiarid Mediterranean weather patterns. Eastern Riverside County is a desert area with Mohave Desert temperatures and weather patterns. Those two primary areas are divided by the San Bernardino Mountain Range. Both areas outside of the mountain terrain annually experience extended periods of high temperatures with little or no precipitation. Hot, dry winds, which may reach speeds of 70 m.p.h. or greater, are common to the area. Examples are: Santa Ana/Foehn winds, afternoon surface-heating generated winds, and prevailing desert winds.

These climatic conditions cause extreme drying of vegetation and common building materials. Frequent periods of drought and low humidity add to the fire danger.   This predisposes the area to large destructive fires (conflagration) which necessitates rapid identification, locating and extinguishment of all fires in the smallest stage possible. In addition to directly damaging or destroying buildings, these fires are also prone to disrupt utility services throughout the County. Obstacles generated by a strong wind, such as fallen trees, street lights and utility poles, will greatly impact the response time to reach an incident scene. During these winds, the inability to use aerial type firefighting apparatus would further decrease our ability to stop fires in large buildings and place rescue personnel at increased risk of injury.

2.         Although Riverside County and the City of Murrieta occasionally experiences periods of significant drought, the County can also experience periods of substantial rainfall. Annual rainfall varying from three inches in Blythe to over 33 inches in Pine Cove. When Riverside County does experience heavy rain, or rain over a period of days or weeks, many areas of the County are subject to flooding. Runoff from rain drains either naturally into rivers, washes, and creeks or into flood control facilities. Flash flooding is also a common problem, especially in the Coachella Valley and the easterly portions of the County. Flash flooding is typically associated with short duration, high intensity precipitation events often associated with summer thunderstorms. Such events can occur even during a drought.

3.         Water demand in densely populated Southern California far exceeds the quantity supplied by natural precipitation; and although the population continues to grow, the already-taxed water supply does not. California is projected to increase in population by nearly 10 million over the next quarter of a century with 50 percent of that growth centered in Southern California. Due to storage capacities and consumption, and a limited amount of rainfall, future water allocation is not fully dependable. This necessitates the need for additional and on-site fire protection features. It would also leave tall buildings vulnerable to uncontrolled fires due to a lack of available water and an inability to pump sufficient quantities of available water to floors in a fire.

4.         These dry climatic conditions and winds contribute to the rapid spread of even small fires originating in high-density housing or vegetation. These fires spread very quickly and create a need for increased levels of fire protection. The added protection of fire sprinkler systems and other fire protection features such as identification and notification will supplement normal fire department response by providing immediate protection for the building occupants and by containing and controlling the fire spread to the area of origin. Fire sprinkler systems will also reduce the use of water for firefighting by as much as 50 to 75 percent.

B.         Topographic  Considerations

1.         Natural. The topographical conditions of Riverside County vary from 300 feet below sea-level, flat desert communities, to mountains over 10,000 feet in Alpine-like areas of the San Bernardino Mountain Range. In between these areas, developable slopes of 25 percent and greater generally occur throughout the foothills. Riverside County extends from Orange County to the State of Arizona and is mixed with congested urban areas, rural lands and wild lands. A large number of sensitive habitats for various animal species and vegetation consist within large open space areas between major urban centers that impact building and structure location, which impedes emergency access and response. This variety in regions contributes to an increased emergency response time, which necessitates cooperation between local agencies.

2.         Traffic and circulation congestion is an artificially created, obstructive topographical condition, which is common throughout Riverside County and within the City of Murrieta.

3.         These topographical conditions combine to create a situation, which places fire department response time to fire occurrences at risk, and makes it necessary to provide automatic on­ site fire-extinguishing systems and other protection measures to protect occupants and property.

C.        Geographic  Considerations

1.         Located within Riverside County and in the City of Murrieta are several known active and potentially active earthquake faults, including the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Elsinore Fault. In the event of an earthquake, the location of the epicenter as well as the time of day and season of the year would have a profound effect on the number of deaths and casualties, as well as property damage.

2.         The major form of direct damage from most earthquakes is damage to construction. Bridges are particularly vulnerable to collapse, and dam failure may generate major downstream flooding. Buildings vary in susceptibility, dependent upon construction and the types of soils on which they are built. Earthquakes destroy power and telephone lines; gas, sewer, or water mains; which, in tum, may set off fires and/or hinder firefighting or rescue efforts. The hazard of earthquakes varies from place to place, dependent upon the regional and local geology. Ground shaking may occur in areas 65 miles or more from the epicenter (the point on the ground surface above the focus). Ground shaking can change the mechanical properties of some fine grained, saturated soils, where upon they liquefy and act as a fluid (liquefaction).

3.         Previous earthquakes in southern California have been accompanied by disruption of traffic flow and fires. A severe seismic event has the potential to negatively impact any rescue or fire suppression activities because it is likely to create obstacles similar to those indicated under the high wind section above. With the probability of strong aftershocks there exists a need to provide increased protection for anyone on upper floors of buildings.

4.         Road circulation features located throughout the County and the City of Murrieta also make amendments reasonably necessary. Located through the County and the City of Murrieta are major roadways, highways and flood control channels that create barriers and slow response times. Hills, slopes, street and storm drain design, accompanied with occasional heavy rainfall, causes roadway flooding and landslides and at times may make an emergency access route impassable. There are areas in Murrieta that naturally have extended emergency response times that exceed the five-minute goal.

The table below details amendments to specific Sections of the 2022 California Fire Code and the applicable Finding for each. 

SECTION 3. FIRE CODE ADOPTION

The City Council of the City of Murrieta hereby adopts as the Fire Code for the City of Murrieta Fire the 2022 California Fire Code based on the 2021 International Fire Code. In addition, the following provisions that are excluded in the 2022 California Fire Code are hereby adopted - Chapter 1, Division II, Chapters 3, 25, and Sections 503, 510.2, 1103.2 and Appendices N and O are adopted together with the City's amendments as set forth in this ordinance. This Fire Code is adopted for the protection of the public health and safety. It includes definitions, provisions for the safeguarding of life and property from fire and explosion hazards arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, and from conditions hazardous to life or property in the occupancy of buildings, requirements for permits and inspection for installing or altering systems, regulations for the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, conversion, demolition, equipment use and maintenance of buildings and structures, including the installation, alteration or repair of new and existing fire protection systems and their inspection and provides penalties for violation of this code. Each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of the Murrieta Fire Protection District Fire Code on file in the office of the Murrieta Fire Protection District are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this ordinance, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in Exhibit "A" of this ordinance.

SECTION 4. CEQA

This ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) under Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, which provides that CEQA only applies to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where, as here, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question would have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.

SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY

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 and phrase thereof not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.

SECTION 6. URGENCY FINDINGS

The City Council of the City of Murrieta hereby makes the following findings:

A.         The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein by this reference.

B.         This Urgency Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety of the City within the meaning of Government Code section 36937 due changes to the state fire code and the necessity have those changes reflected in the City’s Fire Code effective January 1, 2023. 

SECTION 7. NOTICE OF ADOPTION

The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Urgency Ordinance and shall publish a summary of this Urgency Ordinance and post a certified copy of the full ordinance in the office of the City Clerk at least five (5) days prior to the adoption of the proposed Urgency Ordinance; and within fifteen (15) days after adoption of the Urgency Ordinance, the City Clerk shall publish a summary of the Urgency Ordinance with the names of the council members voting for and against the ordinance.

SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE

This Urgency Ordinance shall become effective on January 1, 2023.

PASSED AND ADOPTED this 6th day of December, 2022.

/s/
 Jonathan Ingram, Mayor                                         

ATTEST:

/s/
 Cristal McDonald, City Clerk

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

/s/
 Tiffany J. Israel, City Attorney

 STATE OF CALIFORNIA       )
 COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE     )§
 CITY OF MURRIETA             )

I, Cristal McDonald, City Clerk of the City of Murrieta, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. U-586-22 was duly passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Murrieta at the regular meeting thereof, held on the 6th day of December, 2022, and was signed by the Mayor of the said City, and that the same was passed and adopted by the following vote:

AYES:       White, Stone, Warren, DeForest, Ingram

NOES:      None

ABSENT:  None

ABSTAIN: None

/s/

Cristal McDonald, City Clerk       

Dated: December 15, 2022
Published: December 17, 2022

A copy of the Ordinance, including exhibits, can be provided at no cost by contacting the City Clerks Department at (951) 461-6031 or [email protected]