Superior council to consider 2024 fire code, private-hydrant retrofit rule

Superior Town Council is scheduled to consider first reading Aug. 10 of a proposal to replace the town’s fire-code provisions with the 2024 International Fire Code. The proposal would add district-specific rules for permits, inspections, fire-protection systems and enforcement, but is not yet in effect.

The Town Council agenda lists the item as a public hearing at the council’s 6 p.m. meeting and says staff recommend approval on first reading. The materials do not set a date for second reading or final adoption.

For properties served by the Mountain View Fire Protection District, the district would act as the code-compliance agency, with its fire marshal serving as fire-code official. The proposed ordinance would adopt the 2024 code and appendices covering subjects including fire flow, hydrant distribution, fire-apparatus access, hazardous materials, existing ambulatory-care facilities and valet trash and recycling at some multifamily buildings.

Mountain View could charge fees for operational and construction permits, plan reviews, revisions and resubmissions, re-inspections, after-hours inspections and work begun without a permit. The ordinance lists no dollar amounts, leaving the fees to the district. Starting construction without a required permit could trigger an unauthorized-work fee equal to the construction-permit fee, in addition to the original fee and other penalties, unless the fire-code official gives written permission to begin.

The proposal also includes project-specific requirements for fire-apparatus access, fire-protection cisterns, private-hydrant testing and maintenance, fire-alarm systems, and sprinkler and commercial cooking-suppression notifications. Tents or membrane structures larger than 500 square feet would need anchoring information in permit submissions, and open burning generally would require an operational permit.

Residential sprinkler requirements would continue to depend on Superior’s adopted building and residential codes. If those codes do not require sprinklers in single- and two-family homes, the proposal would exempt those residences from the added Group R requirement. Where sprinklers are required, some systems would need features including fire-department connections, garage sprinklers when an attached garage serves as an egress path, and water-flow notification.

The ordinance would create a five-business-day written appeal deadline for Mountain View-related applications, interpretations and orders. Mountain View-specific violations could be misdemeanors punishable by fines of up to $250, with separate treatment for continued work after a stop-work order. Superior’s general penalty provision allows fines of up to $2,650, up to 180 days in jail, or both unless another penalty applies.

Properties served by the Louisville Fire Protection District would receive different amendments. The proposal would revise stop-work penalty language to refer to penalties prescribed by law and delete one International Fire Code appeal provision; the detailed Mountain View fee, hydrant, sprinkler and appeal provisions are not stated as applying to Louisville-served properties.

The proposal would not immediately require every existing building to meet every 2024-code provision. It does require owners, within 15 days after notice, to change private hydrants that do not meet town specifications or are not oriented for emergency use, at the owners’ expense. The ordinance also adopts appendices on noncompliant fire-protection conditions and existing ambulatory-care facilities, but the supplied text does not spell out their compliance triggers or deadlines. If adopted, the ordinance would take effect 10 days after publication; the effective date cannot yet be calculated.