Form revised December 4, 2006

 

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

 

Department:

Contact Person/Phone:

DOF Analyst/Phone:

Planning and Development

Maureen Traxler/233-3892

Karen Grove/684-5805

 

 

Legislation Title:

An ordinance relating to the Seattle Mechanical Code, amending Chapter 22.400.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code, and adopting by reference Chapters 2 through 9, and Chapters 11 through 15 of the 2006 International Mechanical Code with errata published by the International Code Council, and amending certain of those chapters; adopting a new Chapter 1 related to administration, permitting and enforcement; and repealing Sections 3-55 of Ordinance 121523 and Section 1 of Ordinance 122048.

 

·        Summary of the Legislation:

This Bill adopts the 2006 International Mechanical Code with Seattle amendments, and is part of a group of several companion bills that regulate construction and use of buildings in the City of Seattle.  It governs installations of mechanical equipment other than equipment powered by fuel gas.

 

·        Background:

The International Mechanical Code is adopted statewide according to the State Building Code Act, RCW 19.27.  Seattle adds local interpretations and a chapter on administration and enforcement.  Every three years a new edition of the International Code is published and adopted by the City.

 

 

·        Please check one of the following:

 

__X__ This legislation does not have any financial implications.

 

Attachment:  Changes in Seattle amendments – 2006 Seattle Mechanical Code

 

Changes in Seattle amendments—2006 Seattle Mechanical Code

 

Note:  This list includes changes proposed for the Seattle amendments to the International Mechanical Code.  Amendments that are carried forward from the 2003 Seattle Mechanical Code are not listed; differences between the 2003 and 2006 editions of the International Mechanical Code are not listed.

 

Generally.

The following Chapters have no new amendments: Chapter 7, Chapters 9 -13, and Chapter 15.

 

References to “smoking lounges” are stricken in multiple sections that regulate ventilation and Table 403.3, Footnote J, provides a reference to the smoking ban codified in RCW 70.160.

 

Chapter 1 Administration.

Several sections: The procedures for enforcing the code are modified to conform to legal requirements, including procedures for serving notices.  Sections have been added to provide a mechanism for parties impacted by a stop work order, notice of violation and revocation of permit to request a review by the code official.  The procedures affected are in the following sections: 108.4 stop work orders, 112.2 and 112.3 notices of violation, and 118.8 and 118.9 permit revocation.

 

Section 112.4  A section is added specifying that the code is enforced in Municipal Court.

 

112.6  This section is modified to clarify that criminal penalties are an alternative to civil enforcement means.

 

Section 116.2 Plans and specifications. The dollar amount of projects requiring a mechanical engineering stamp and signature was raised to $50,000 from $30,000.

 

Section 117.5 Suspension or revocation. Additional language is added to this section that requires the code official to serve upon the permit holder notice of suspension or revocation. The notice shall state the reason, shall be legally served and may be posted on the property. The section also provides the permit holder the means to request the code official review the suspension or revocation by following the procedure established in Section 111.5.

 

Chapter 2 Definitions.

The definitions under “duct” for environmental air duct and product-conveying duct are deleted. This change is made to eliminate redundancy.

 

The definition of environmental air is expanded to include relief air for clarification.

 

A definition for product-conveying air is added.

 

A definition of relief air is added.

 

Chapter 3.

Section 304.10 Clearances and encroachments in public right of way. This is a new section that requires approval of the Director of Transportation and the code official before encroachments into the right of way are allowed. The Department of Transportation assisted in the drafting of this section.

 

Chapter 4 Ventilation.

Section 401.1 Scope. A new paragraph is added to the scope to direct the reader to Chapter 5 for exhaust ventilation systems such as those used with clothes dryers.

 

Section 401.4.1 Intake openings. This section is revised to ensure adequate air movement around intake openings by requiring that when an intake opening is located under a deck, there must be at least three feet of airspace directly below the opening.

 

Section 403.2 Outdoor air required. This section is revised to allow designs engineered in accordance with American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) Standard 62.1-2004.

 

Section 403.3.5 Ventilation of occupied spaces accessory to the maintenance and repair of vehicles. This section requires offices and waiting rooms associated with vehicle repair businesses must be maintain at a positive pressure to prevent the infiltration of vehicular exhaust.

 

Section 403.3.6 Ventilation systems for Group R occupancies of more than 4 stories. This is an entirely new section to address the ventilation requirements of tall residential buildings. The section pulls together the requirements for natural ventilation and required mechanical ventilation at specific sources of moisture and odor, such as bathrooms and kitchens. The source specific requirements are modeled on the Washington Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality Code (VIAQ)  and the natural ventilation requirements are taken from the Building Code. These changes allow windows to be used as the source of outdoor air rather than requiring only mechanical intake of outdoor air.

 

Section 404 Enclosed loading docks and parking garages. Revisions to this section include the addition of “enclosed loading docks” and descriptions of acceptable vehicle exhaust ventilation controllers. The size of garage that is not required to have gas sensors is reduced to those with a total design capacity of less than 8,000 cfm. Garage exhaust uses a great deal of electrical energy and gas sensors are now considered by national standards to be a safe way to reduce energy consumption while providing safety to garage users.

 

Chapter 5 Exhaust Systems.

Section 502.14 Motor vehicle operation. A sentence was added to this section requiring specific mechanical ventilation rates when a tailpipe exhaust-capture system is longer than 10 feet from the end of a tailpipe to the outside of the building.

 

Section 504.6.3 Protection required. This section requires that clothes dryer exhaust ducts be protected from penetration by nails or screws. The substance of the 2003 Seattle language was adopted by the State with some clarification. The state version replaces the 2003 Seattle language in both Fuel Gas and Mechanical codes.

 

Section 513.12 Detection and control systems. This section was revised to align with Section 907 of the Seattle Building Code for smoke control systems.

 

Chapter 6 Duct systems.

Section 601.3 Contamination prevention. A fourth exception was added to require insulation and sealing of clothes dryer exhaust ducts.

 

Chapter 8 Chimneys and vents.

Sections 804.3.4, Horizontal terminations, and 804.3.5 Vertical terminations. Both of these sections are amended to be consistent with Chapter 5 in the distances required for vent terminations.

 

Chapter 14 Solar Systems.

Section 1401.1 Scope. An exception was added to this section that requires installation of electricity-generating photovoltaic solar systems to comply with the International Building Code and Article 690 of the Seattle Electrical Code.