DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES

August 28, 2003

Members Present
Patricia Childs
Mike Colletto
Stephen Elssmann
Michael Fries
Herb Hacker
Peter Hemingway
Barbara Koffron
Scott Mardian
Herman Orcutt
Greg Russell
Kenneth Roth
Steve Speer
Julie Stiak

Members Absent
Ben Barcon
Melissa Gallegos
Larry Litchfield
Danny Ortega
Darrell Wilson

Staff
Karen Beckley, City of Phoenix, DSD
Carole Borrego,City of Phoenix, DSD
Joeli Brandi, City of Phoenix, Streets Transportation
Aimee Conroy, City of Phoenix, Water Services Dept.
Ralph Goodall, City of Phoenix, Street Trans.
Joyce Grossman, Mayors Office
Jon Kolstad, City of Phoenix, EAS Department
Lionel Lyons, City of Phoenix, DSD Director
Joe McElvaney, City of Phoenix, DSD
Joanne Owens, City of Phoenix, DSD
John Parks, City of Phoenix, DSD
Jeannett Reynolds, City of phoenix, NSD
John Watson, Phoenix Fire
Jon Wendt, City of Phoenix, DSD

Ex-Officio's Present
Rick Doell, City of Phoenix, DSD
Sandy Zwick, City of Phoenix, Planning and Zoning

Ex-Officio's Absent
Joe Parma, City of Phoenix, NSD
John Siefert, City of Phoenix, Streets
Jim Shannon, City of Phoenix, WSD

Others in Attendance
Paul Barnes, Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix
Barry Boehmier. Isolater/CAFCO
Rus Brock, Homebuilders Association
David Dratnol, Osolatek International
Thomas Carlo Gegen, RJA
Courtney Gilstrap, AMA
Joe Meyer
Donna Neill, COP Resident
Jerry Neill, NAILEM
Kay Shepard, COP Resident
Arnold Siegel, BOMA
Jim Ternosky, AMA
Carl Triphahn, PIPE
David W. Ware, Owens Corning
Sharon Webber, Specified Products

CALL TO ORDER
Pete Hemingway, DAB Chairperson, convened the meeting at 3:10p.m.

INTRODUCTION OF A NEW DAB MEMBER:
Mr. Hemingway introduced the newest Board member, Mr, Herb Hacker. Mr. Hacker is affitiated with Cawley Architects Corporation and is representing the residents of Phoenix

A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR LIZ CARABINE

MINUTES OF May 15, 2003:
Pete Hemingway asked the Board to review the meeting minutes of May 15, 2003 for approval.

Motion was made by Michael Fries, seconded by Barbara Koffron, to approve the meeting minutes of May 15, 2003. Motion carried unanimously.

REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Patricia Childs requested that she would like an update on what other City departments are doing. Would like to see this item on a future agenda.

Pete Hemingway stated that he would like a financial status of DSD

DISCUSSION OF SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:

Process and Procedures Subcommittee:
Joe McElvaney stated that the subcommittee has started to work on the Quality Assurance Manual and this will be presented to the DAB upon completion of their work.

Fiscal and Performance:
Herman Orcutt stated that Judy Lenz, DSD, has been working on reducing items in the fee schedule and, thus far, has done an excellent job. This subcommittee has been working on the budget stabilization plan. He stated that the increase in revenue would allow DSD to start hiring additional staff.

NFPA Correlating:
Mike Colletto stated that the Correlating subcommittee met and reviewed requests submitted by citizens to reconsider a number of items. The subcommittee listened to the citizens concerns and the subcommittee reaffirmed their position and the DAB's position.

Water Services Subcommittee:
Scott Mardian stated that this subcommittee met twice and that they were moving ahead with the draft of the Design Manual for Water and Wastewater Offsite Manuals. The comment time for the public will end the end of August 2003. Once all the comments have been reviewed, Water Services, will respond to the comments made in September 2003.

NFPA:
Joe McElvaney stated that one of the tasks that he was assigned to do was to start a Focus Group Meeting, which is open to the public, to discuss NFPA 5000, ask questions, and use as an educational tool. This meeting will be used to develop policies and procedures or interpretations. To date, two meetings have been held.

Hillside Subcommittee:
John Parks stated that the Zoning Ordinance portion of the Hillside Text Amendment is scheduled for Council action on September 17, 2003. The ordinance should be heard ten days after that.

DISCUSSION/UPDATE/POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE CITY OF PHOENIX STORM WATER POLICY AND STANDARDS MANUAL:

Mr. Ralph Goodall stated that since his last presentation to the DAB he has been working diligently with Rus Brock, Homebuilders Association, and Darrell Wilson, DAB Member, to address the final comments on this manual. He stated that many, many hours was put into this manual going over every detail and adjusting the language to obtain clear and precise wording to be understood by designers and reviewers. The revisions made in the manual will provide flexibility for designers and reviewers in situations that are not exactly described in the manual, but clearly defining the intent of various policies and standards. Mr. Goodall stated that this manual is very user friendly.

Mr. Goodall thanked Darrell Wilson, Rus Brock, and Engineers, for all their help and effort. He thanked Darlene Helm and Andy Granger, Development Services, for all the hours they spent in helping developing the manual, along with many other people from Street Maintenance, the Planning Department, Parks Department, Engineering and Architectural Services.

The latest version of this manual is dated June 2003 is now available on the City website and a final revised September version is expected to be online in September 2003.

Mr. Hemingway commended Ralph and his efforts to bring this to closure. He stated that he endorses this document and feels that it is a very good document to move forward on.

Motion was made by Michael Colletto, seconded by Herman Orcutt to approve the final draft of the City Of Phoenix Storm Water Policy and Standards Manual.Motion carried unanimously.

DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE STREET CLOSURE POLICY FOR LOCAL RESIDENTIAL STREETS:
Randy Weaver, Development Services, requested that the DAB allow them to continue this application. This policy phases abandonment's at the end of the spectrum of the items that they look at to address traffic issues. Abandonment requests will proceed through the Street Mitigation Program to determine if alternative traffic reduction methods are appropriate.

Jerry Neill and Kay Shepard each completed a comment card but did not wish to speak. Mr. Paul Barnes, Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix, stated that they appreciate the problems that the City has had in the past. He stated that they fully support this policy of embracing the neighborhood traffic management program as an initial set. Mr. Barnes requested that they be able to work with Mr. Weaver on this process. Ms. Donna Neill also completed a comment card and asked that she be contacted as well, to work on this policy with Mr. Weaver. Mr. Hemingway asked Mr. Barnes and Ms. Neill to contact Mr. Weaver to find out meeting dates and times.

Mr. Hemingway asked the Board if they would like to take action on this item or table this for further discussion.

Motion was made by Herman Orcutt seconded by Mike Colletto, to continue to discuss the Street Closure Policy for Local Residential Streets on future DAB agendas. Motion carried unanimously.

Jon Wendt, Assistant Development Services Director, stated that Lionel Lyons, Director of Development Services, received a letter dated June 17, 2003 from Mr. Joseph E. Meyer, Arizona Multihousing Association, reported the implementation of three specific steps related to the adoption of the NFPA 5000 Code. The three steps are as follows:

1) That the Development Review Board allows the NFPA review subcommittees to reopen their process to the adoption of additional amendments to the NFPA 5000 that are pertinent to our ability to develop and construct both safe and affordable multifamily housing.

2) That the Correlating Committees revise certain proposed amendments that adversely impact multifamily construction and provide further clarification on certain ambiguities contained either within the code itself or in some of the proposed amendments to the code.

3) That the Development Services Department create an NFPA Implementation Advisory Board that will be empowered to provide the following services for a minimum of twenty-four months following the implementation of this code:



Upon adoption of the NFPA 5000, the Development Services Department intends to conduct study sessions with DSD Staff, City of Phoenix Staff, and City of Phoenix professionals, and customers, to learn and explain the new code.

Carl Tripahn
Carl Triphahn, Executive Director of PIPE, is opposed to this item. He addressed the DAB and stated that this has been one of the most open processes that he has ever seen. He stated that it's time to more forward and there been more than adequate time to work on this. Mr. Triphahn encouraged the DAB to move forward with this process and put the code in place.

Joe Meyer
Gray Development, Representing Multi-housing Association, is in favor of this item. He stated that under the current way the code is being developed there seems to be much more issues that are arising than normal. They are requesting a more expeditious process than appealing to staff, the building official, and the DAB. He asked the DAB how can the appeal process proceed more quickly?

Mr. Meyer's major concern is the ability to provide a good quality-housing product at a reasonable price. He stated that this new code will add costs. Other factors of this code are far more significant, such as land use density and policies. The new building code will increase building separation requirement codes by $5. That will have a direct impact on the ability to build on property in the infill portions of the City.

Mr. Meyer continued saying that the code does not have a place that allows for accepting ICBO reports or already accepted building components and techniques. He stated that they will be forced to do extensive research and compare that to the NFPA 5000, which will add a lot of time to get plans processed.

Mr. Meyer stated that his industry is most complex. He continued to explain that at the last Correlating Subcommittee meeting there is an interest by some of the members in reconsidering this code. Mr. Meyer stated that Councilman Siebert hosted a meeting with members of the industry and City staff to come up with a way to address the industry needs or concerns. It was recommended that they return to the DAB to suggest reopening the process, at least to see if City staff and the industry can meet half way on some of the issues in question.

Ken Roth Inquired about the time frame that Mr. Meyer is requesting. Mr. Hemingway stated that Mr. Meyer is requesting a 24-month Board to review the implementation. He stated that this amendment process will be ongoing once the Code is adopted. There will be an opportunity to make adjustments, revisions, amendments to the code. This is always an option through the standard process. Once the code is in place, it's not a stagnant document, but a dynamic document.

Mr. Meyer
Stated then when they're going through the design process at an early stage, they would like to be able to sit down with staff and problem solve items. This needs to be done before time and effort goes into a whole set of plans. Mr. Wendt stated that the developers will be working closely with DSD and City staff will make every effort to ensure the customer understands the code, etc. There will be ongoing technical training for the plan reviewers and the inspection staff to make sure everyone understands the NFPA 5000 in the same way.

Jim Ternosky, AMA
Is in favor of this item. Mr. Ternosky has concerns about the firewall issue. They recognize that staff and the various subcommittees have worked extremely hard and have been extremely diligent. Mr. Ternosky is asking that the remaining items to be addressed correctly.

Dave Dratnol, Alliance for Fire Safety/Member of the NFPA Structural Subcommittee,
Is opposed to this item. He urged that this process not be delayed any further with an additional amendment package. He stated that a lot of time has been devoted to this process and if the City delays this by one or two years it would a disservice to the community. He stated that the amendment process is alive and well and that this is a living document.

Ken Roth
Asked if the Correlating Subcommittee approves the changes above would this delay the process of moving forward. Mr. Hemingway stated that on the September DAB agenda, there will be an item to move this to Step 5 in the Five Step Process. That would move the NFPA 5000 Building Code, with amendments to the City Council for consideration. If this item were agreed upon, this would delay the process because some of the items would then be sent back to the NFPA subcommittees for their review. Also, the DAB took action as a Board at the April 2003 meeting and agreed upon no amendments after a cut off date.

Mr. Hemingway
Continued to explain that there would always be ongoing amendments/changes as things go through construction, adjustments would have to be made, etc.

Mr. Orcutt
Asked for clarification on the meeting with Councilman Siebert and Lionel Lyons.

Rick Doell
Stated that the letter expands on the discussion of that meeting. What was discussed was that AMA would put their thoughts together into a letter to the DAB for reconsideration. At the time of the meeting, there were three issues of concern. Since that time, the letter has expanded to about 19 issues. He stated that the NFPA Correlating Subcommittee has reviewed quiet a few of these issues indicated in the letter at the last subcommittee meeting. There are maybe 3 or 4 that still require further study. Mr. Doell stated that this will be presented to the community, and all along the City has been asking for a 6-month period time after adoption before implementation to go through the codes as suggested to make sure policies are in place and staff understands it. This will give our customers a chance to make comments so that the City can work with them.

Mr. Hemingway
Asked for clarification from the NFPA Correlating Subcommittee if there is anything that the DAB needs to be concerned about or needs to be brought to the Board's attention. Mr. Colletto responded by saying that this Board and the Subcommittees have worked with the Multi-housing Association and the Homebuilders. Conflicts came to the Correlating Subcommittee, they were reviewed, and decisions have been made. There is a wide variety of expertise on these subcommittees and staff has been excellent. People need to remember that once the code is adopted it is a living document and always subject to change.

Scott Mardian
Asked if the Building Official could look at Item 17/Section 12.20.2-Exception 4, Accessibility of Townhouse Units and Item 18/Code Requirements for Handicap Accessibility - Accessibility Chapter. He stated that the vote didn't go the way multihousing wanted it to, so it then went to the Correlating Subcommittee twice. He mentioned that there is a difference of opinion as to whether or not there's going to be negative impact on the citizens of Phoenix if these items are not included in the code. He's asking what the process will be.

Mr. Doell
Stated that there is a code being worked on to address accessibility issues. Janet Reed would be the go to person for all accessibility code issues. If the customer did not agree with her, they have the right to do a modification. If the modification is denied, they have the right to appeal this to the Building Official. If the Building Official denies the appeal, they have a right to a hearing in front of the DAB. If the DAB denies their request, the customer has the right to take it to Superior Court.

Mr. Orcutt
Asked Lionel Lyons about the meeting held had with Mr. Siebert and Mr. Washington about possibly opening up the amendment process again. Mr. Lyons responded by saying Joe Meyer was also at the meeting. He stated the consensus of the meeting was that this code adoption process has been an open and fair process. The multihousing association felt that they had not been clearly given due diligence on their requests. We strongly considered their changes that needed to be reviewed. Mr. Lyons continued to say that there were issues that were raised by staff in terms of that meeting and we responded to some of their questions. The ultimate decision is up to the DAB.

Mr. Lyons
Stated that DSD Staff are professionals who provide professional guidance and direction. Our goal is to facilitate the information that has been submitted to us, and make sure that there is an open process, where everyone is informed about meetings so that people have the opportunity to share their input and sit in on the various subcommittees. He stated that without a doubt, the City of Phoenix is not compromising life safety issues, building safety issues in this process. No matter what the City of Phoenix adopts, the concept is that there will always be an opportunity for people to return with other issues and concerns. Where need be amendments will be brought back to the DAB for further consideration. Mr. Lyons continued to say that this is the only way to do it, as this is a living process. With the openness of the process and bringing some of the issues to the table, this has really helped enlighten staff.

Mr. Mardian
Asked if any of the items in the letter are new items that should be worked out. Mr. Doell stated that the commercial dryer venting issue, item no. 9, is one of the items on the list, and currently this issue being reviewed at this time. Verbally DSD is informing customers that they are accepting reports, which are International Code Council Reports, and actual manufacturer reports, as long as they are tested.

Mr. Doell
Mentioned that there are still issues on Fire Walls. He stated that that issue still needs to be discussed during the 6-month time frame by staff and professionals to come to a conclusion together. The main issue with this is the Height and Area Table. This issue was addressed at the last NFPA Correlating Subcommittee meeting. They reaffirmed that the Height and Area Tables will move forward.

Mr. Doell commented on Special Inspections. Currently staff is going through the old Special Inspections Manual and comparing it to the new manual and comparing them to the NFPA 5000. Basically the requirements are the same. Currently, a subcommittee and outside professionals are reviewing this issue.

Mr. Doell stated that Item No. 1, Opening Protection Due to Proximity to Property Lines, which was a concern to staff. He stated that the NFPA 5000 should be compared to the I-Code. You should not compare NFPA 5000 to the Uniform Building Code since this is no longer being developed.

Mr. Elssmann
Asked Mr. Meyer if the concerns mentioned in the letter could be resolved in a 6-month period of time? Mr. Meyer answered by saying that he really likes the ideas that Mr. Doell mentioned in working with the staff and the Fire Department. We just want to figure out the most significant issues as quickly as possible. They are not thrilled with the code, but can work with it. He stated that currently this is a real big impact on the industry.

Mr. Meyer
Stated that after the 6-month period he feels that there will be a lack of urgency or lack of resolution by anyone to really settle things once the DAB makes the recommendation to go to City Council. There will be a lack of concerned effort and it won't be as intense as it is now.

Mr. Hemingway
Stated that he appreciates everyone's comments. He continued to say that the urgency will still be there. He stated that everyone needs to consider the time of year that this code was being presented. It was during the summer months and people were on vacations, quorums were not met for some extenuating circumstances, and this is just a reality of the time of year. He commended the subcommittees for working very diligently and with the professional's encouragement the urgency will still be there because these are issues that must be resolved. He stated that once this gets passed, it does not end at that point. This must be worked on as part of the DAB's responsibility.

Mr. Colletto
Stated that he feels extremely comfortable with the staff from Mr. Lyons on down that they will continue work with the Multihousing Association and everybody else who has been concerned about this code. He's been very impressed with the staff and their efforts and as chairman of the Technical Subcommittee, he would like to make a motion.