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In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Fox regarding whether there were 50 feet <br />after the inward-opening gate to escape, Mr. Thomas replied that there were two ways to <br />get people away from the building: One way was to go out to Public Way, or taking the <br />escapees to an area of refuge 50 feet away from the building. <br />In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Fox regarding the required area of gathering <br />for people leaving the building, Mr. Thomas replied that for this building, only three <br />square feet of space per person would be required. He added that the concept was to have <br />the area of refuge 50 feet physically away from the building, starting from the exit door <br />for Hap's. He noted that if they also provided an access that would continue through the <br />parking lot out to Public Way, they would not need to provide any actual space for people <br />to stop. <br />In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Fox regarding whether the occupancy was <br />rated high enough to require three emergency egress/ingress areas or whether two areas <br />were required by Code, Mr. Thomas replied that he had not looked at the overall <br />occupancy load but that 500 occupants were required before three exits were required. <br />Because the occupancy load was more than 50 people, two exits were required. He noted <br />that the arrangement of exits required one off the back; the exits could not be close <br />enough so that one fire or other event would block both exits. <br />In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Fox regarding egress through the pinch point <br />between the dumpster and the black container, Mr. Thomas replied that the gate as <br />constructed was approximately six feet wide. He believed that Hap's had rolling <br />dumpsters on the other side of the wall and that one may be black. He noted that the <br />dumpsters were movable and that they may be in the exit path. <br />In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Fox regarding whether this property's <br />dumpster was required to have a fire sprinkler, Mr. Thomas replied that if the building <br />was required to be sprinklered, the accessory buildings must be sprinklered according to <br />City ordinance. The building at 55 West Angela was not required to be sprinklered, and <br />he did not believe the dumpster enclosure must be sprinklered in this case. <br />Commissioner Fox inquired whether the enclosure must be sprinklered if Hap's was <br />required to build a structure to house its dumpster. Mr. Thomas replied that he did not <br />know at this time whether Hap's was sprinklered, based on its age. If it were a fire- <br />sprinkleredbuilding and the current requirements were applied, he anticipated that the <br />owners would also want to install sprinklers in accessory buildings, including the <br />enclosure. <br />Commissioner Narum noted that one of the exit routes that had been discussed was out <br />the door, to the west, along the back side of the building that contained windows that <br />could blow out in a fire. Mr. Thomas noted that could be an issue. <br />Commissioner Narum noted that the three exit routes were across the back to the west, <br />towards Neal Street on the east side, and the exit through the gate. She inquired which of <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, February 13, 2008 Page 6 of 42 <br />