Sprinkler systems will be required in all new homes under
ordinance OK’d by council
Gilroy – Sprinkler systems will be required in all new homes under an ordinance city council members have approved in draft form.
The new ordinance, more than a year in the making, would require all new homes of 1,000 square feet or larger to include sprinklers. City officials have called the mandate – now only required in projects with substandard road widths – a no-brainer in terms of safety.
Officials estimate sprinkler installation would add 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 roughly $40,000 per housing unit in so-called impact fees, monies used to finance the firefighters, roads and sewers needed to keep pace with a growing population.
During a council study session Monday night, council members dismissed developer objections that such costs would further inflate home prices in an already expensive real estate market.
“The sale price is market driven,” Councilman Craig Gartman said Tuesday. “What this is going to affect is the profit margin for the developer, because this is going to raise their costs by a few thousand dollars. It’s a very small price to pay for safety.”
The draft ordinance, which council is expected to approve by October, in time for the spring 2007 building season, emerged early last year in a more limited form. Fire officials originally 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 extend the safety benefits of sprinklers to all new homes.
“Suddenly the fire sprinkler is going to be your first response,” Gartman said. “Once that is activated, you have water directly on the fire. If it doesn’t put out the fire, it definitely slows it down and gives firefighters more time to get there. It also buys time for people to get out of the house.”
Officials established the 1,000 square foot cutoff to prevent the need for sprinkler installation in room additions or smaller “granny” units.
