ORD 1669 - Laserfiche WebLink

Ordinance No. 1669 Page 2 1. As to Section 20.08.048, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a nationally recognized organization of building, fire, architectural and building insurance industry persons. NFPA 13-D is a residential fire sprinkler specification which has been in effect for many years, and used throughout the United States. Because NFPA 13-D requires that sprinkler heads be installed in areas of ancillary residential use (attics, garages, etc.) and without worry of lines freezing in these areas, this national standard more adequately addresses the needs of the City of Pleasanton. 2. As to Sections 20.08.053, 20.08.055 and 20.08.057, the City of Pleasanton is located in a very active seismic area (seismic zone 4) and is located roughly between the Calavaras and Greenville faults. The topography of the City of Pleasanton is such that significant areas of the City are either in an ancient swamp basin or on slopes. The great majority of soils (based on soils reports on file) in the City are of a clayey material. This clayey material is susceptible to constant expansion and shrinkage which adversely affects the foundation of any structure, but particularly foundations without reinforcing steel. Recent seismic events such as Loma Preita and in Southern California provided hundreds of examples of damage to plain concrete footings and heaving in plain concrete slabs. Suspended ceilings installed without proper bracing also buckled and fell causing greater damage to rooms below. Stucco and gypsum board walls used to counter the seismic forces and commonly used as shear walls proved to be inadequate and performed poorly. It is therefore appropriate to limit the use of these unreinforced concrete installations as the cost to repair is extremely expensive in contrast to the nominal cost of footing reinforcement at the time of original installation. The shear values for gypsum wallboard and portland cement stucco contained in the Code are based on mono- directional testing. It is appropriate to limit the use of these types of walls used to resist shear forces until cyclic testing is performed and evaluated. 3. As to Section 20.12.140, the City has many sewer lines that must convey sewer from hill areas with intermittent steep slopes to the sewer plant. As stated above, since the City is in such a seismically active area, the likelihood of sewer line and sewer lateral line breakage is high. The potential of sewage back-up into buildings without adequate protection is something the City must guard against; and