Form revised February 6, 2008

 

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

 

Department:

Contact Person/Phone:

DOF Analyst/Phone:

Planning and Development

Vicki Baucom / 206-233-2757

Karen Grove / 206-684-5805

 

Legislation Title:

An ordinance relating to the Seattle Building Code, amending SMC 22.100.010 and Sections 508.2.1, 704.8, 1007.2, 1007.2.1, 1007.3, 1007.4, 1007.5, 1007.6, 1014.2.2, 1019.2, 1208.2.1, 1403.2, 1607, Table 1607.1, and Sections 3016.12, 3020.2 and 3021.1 of the Seattle Building Code.

 

·        Summary of the Legislation: This Bill codifies new Washington State Building Code amendments, adds new Seattle amendments and provides interpretations of several sections of the Seattle Building Code.

 

·        Background: The State amendments codified with this Bill clarify weather protection requirements for exterior walls; remove the distinction between decks and balconies for the purpose of determining structural loads; and make changes to the requirements for stretcher-sized elevator cars. With this Bill, the City is incorporating these state changes into the Seattle Building Code.

 

New Seattle amendments codify Washington State Department of Health interpretations of medical “suite”; clarify construction requirements for elevator machine rooms; modify sizing and power requirements for elevator cars; and modify Seattle requirements for single-exit buildings.

 

This Bill also adds an informational note that a stretcher-sized elevator may serve as an accessible means of egress, and adds interpretations to clarify the allowable area of opening calculations for exterior walls, requirements for elevators to serve as means of egress for persons with disabilities; and moisture protection in exterior wall construction.

 

·        Please check one of the following:

 

_X_     This legislation does not have any financial implications.  

 

Please list attachments to the fiscal note below:

 

Attachment A:  Detailed List of Proposed Changes to the Seattle Building Code

Attachment A

Detailed List of Proposed Changes to the Seattle Building Code

Section

Subject

Description of proposed amendment

508.2

 

Elevator machine room fire protection

The Seattle Building Code currently requires elevator machine rooms, which serve as incidental use areas, to comply with Section 508.2.  The amendment creates an exception to Section 508.2.1 for elevator machine rooms to align it with the requirements in Table 508.2 (incidental use areas) and Section 3020.2.

704.8

Allowable openings

A new interpretation clarifies how to determine the maximum area of protected and unprotected openings in an exterior wall.

1007

Accessible means of egress

Amendments remove the use of horizontal exits as a permissible portion of an accessible means of egress.  DPD has made a commitment to adopt a director’s rule that will allow horizontal exits with adequate protection for persons with mobility impairments.

1007.2

Accessible means of egress required

A new interpretation clarifies how to determine if an accessible floor is four stories above a “level of exit discharge” for the purpose of determining whether an elevator is required in a building. 

1007.5

Standby power

The amendment replaces “standby power” with the phrase used in the Electrical Code—“legally required standby power.”

1014.2

Access to exit from a medical suite

An amendment adds a definition for “suite” in Group I-2 occupancies, and two interpretations clarifying the relationship between intervening rooms or corridors to a medical suite.

1019.2

Buildings with one exit

An amendment excludes boarding houses as a type of Group R-2 occupancy buildings which may contain only one exit. 

1208.2

Furred ceiling

This section, which was deleted in the 2006 amendments to the Seattle Building Code in error, is reinserted.

1403.2

Weather protection of exterior walls

A new State amendment that clarifies the requirements for preventing moisture in exterior wall assemblies is adopted. A new Seattle interpretation clarifies the drainage methods for exterior wall cladding and provides that they should conform to manufacturer’s installation instructions and other sections of the code.

Table 1607.1

Live loads for decks and balconies

A new state amendment adds a category and footnote requiring “other assembly areas” to have greater live load requirements than those with limited private access from a single office or residence. 

3016.12

Ambulance stretcher in elevator car

The amendment clarifies that at least one elevator must be sized to accommodate a stretcher in buildings having four or more stories or in buildings containing a Group R-1, R-2 or I occupancy that is required to have an elevator for accessibility.

Additionally, the amendment requires that the stretcher car be on emergency or standby power.

3020.2

Elevator machine room fire protection

The amendments clarify that when a horizontal assembly encloses an elevator machine room, it must have a 1-hour fire-resistance-rating, and that exterior walls and roofs are not required to have a fire-resistance rating unless required elsewhere in the code. 

3021.1

Elevator floors

The amendment requires that in new construction the floor of elevator hoistways and machine rooms be non-perforated and resistive to oil, grease and similar materials.