GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado Glenwood Springs City Council voted 4-3 on Thursday to remove a section of the 2009 residential building code that would have required sprinkler systems for fire protection in new homes starting in 2013.

Councilman Ted Edmonds was the swing vote in favor of removing the provision, after council deadlocked 3-3 on the issue at a Sept. 20 meeting when Edmonds was absent.

I agree that one of our primary responsibilities is to ensure safety, Edmonds said.

He added, however, As a society, I fear we're becoming overregulated, and this is something that should be a matter of choice for the consumer.

The extra cost of adding a sprinkler system to a new home, estimated at between $2 and $8 per square foot, has been cited by critics as one of the main reasons the city should not mandate the systems.

The city of Glenwood Springs initially adopted the requirement for home sprinkler systems in all newly constructed single-family and duplex units as part of the uniform 2009 International Residential Code (IRC).

However, the requirement was not set to take effect until 2013. Cities and counties had until the end of the year to remove the provision before it automatically kicked in.

Sprinkler systems are already required for multi-family residential construction, such as apartments and condominium complexes.

Expansion of the requirement to new single-family and duplex construction was supported by the Glenwood Springs Fire Department, as well as the city's appointed Building Board of Appeals.

Councilmen Todd Leahy and Mike Gamba, along with Mayor Matt Steckler, joined Edmonds in voting to remove the new sprinkler provision. Council members Stephen Bershenyi, Leo McKinney and Dave Sturges wanted to keep it in the code.

Read the original post:

Glenwood removes home sprinkler requirement from code

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October 23, 2012 at 10:58 pm by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Sprinkler System