All new homes and businesses of 1,000 square feet or more must
install systems
Gilroy – Sprinkler systems must be installed in all new businesses and homes of 1,000 square feet or more under a new ordinance passed by council Monday night.
The regulation, approved in a 6-0-1 vote, applies to all commercial, industrial and residential areas and requires sprinklers in all hillside buildings, regardless of size. Additions of less than 1,000 square feet to a business or home will not require sprinkler systems. City leaders included the exemption to prevent the need for sprinkler installation in room additions or smaller “granny” units.
Officials estimate sprinkler installation adds a cost of about $1.50 per square foot per home, or roughly $4,500 for a 3,000-square-foot property. Developers already pay about $45,000 per unit of housing in impact fees, monies used to finance the firefighters, roads and sewers needed to keep pace with a growing population.
“It is a proven fact that (sprinklers) save lives and protect against property damage,” City Administrator Jay Baksa said. “It’s a very modest cost for the added safety.”
Developers claim the ordinance will further inflate home prices in an already expensive real estate market, but the majority of council members supported the regulation as a small price to pay for safety.
Mayor Al Pinheiro abstained from the vote due to his absence during debate of the topic earlier in the summer. But in the past, he has said homeowners should be allowed to accept a certain level of risk to keep home prices reasonable.
The idea for the regulation emerged early last year in a more limited form, when fire officials proposed the sprinkler mandate for homes built on private roads, which often have narrower widths and are harder for fire trucks to navigate. At the time, council members decided to broaden the ordinance to extend require sprinklers in all new homes and businesses.
The new ordinance will take effect mid-October, in time for the 2007 building season.
