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Tag:government
Residential Fire Sprinklers
I ran across an interesting article at QRFS.com’s Blog titled The Conflict Over Residential Fire Sprinkler Requirements which I found interesting. It does a reasonable job of laying out pro’s and con’s on the the cost of the systems themselves and their safety benefits. What it does not discuss is the additional regressive fees that communities are currently putting on these systems. This is often a hidden tax as well, i.e. one that’s not recognized until the bill comes after construction.
This is an argument I had with the Town of Culver last year. Sand Hill Farm Apartments has a Fire Sprinkler System. This is required by the State of Indiana. We also installed a fire hydrant on the property. This was not required, but just seemed like a reasonable way to terminate the line. (There is a fire hydrant adjacent to the site in the street, so there was no insurance benefit or coverage benefit to it. It was just there to flush the line.) Before construction was even complete, we received two invoices from the Town, one for $700 for having a Fire Hydrant and one for $1,200 (plus tax!) for having a Fire Sprinkler System. When I inquired about this, I was told that it was in the ordinance. It doesn’t cover material, maintenance, inspections, replacement or any other service. Paraphrasing: It is there to cover additional load and upsizing of the system to support the additional fire protection. These are arbitrary fees, i.e. it is the same fee whether one of these is installed in a single family home, a 24 unit apartment building or a 400,000 sf manufacturing facility.
This is not solely picking on Culver. Culver is just where it first came to my attention. While they are not as high, Plymouth has the same fees. Neither community allows for higher densities (as suggested in the linked article) or gives any other incentives; just punitive fees if these things are installed. They are also not capped, so if a developer/apartment building owner/homeowner would rationalize these fees as they stand and plan for them, there is no guarantee that they will not double or triple in the future. Being an arbitrary fee suggests that it can change arbitrarily as well. These fees are apparently suggested by the accountants doing the rate studies as a way of reducing fees charged to residents.
It cost $500 to remove the fire hydrant at Sand Hill Farm Apartments. Wasted money on top of the original installation, but a reasonable investment against $700 or more a year forever more. Again, there was no issue regarding coverage as there is a fire hydrant in the street in front of the building. It was installed on site as a way to flush the line where it terminated.
In my opinion, the assertions made about the additional costs for the system are specious. 1) The standard line size was used in the street in front of the apartments to provide the loop service and to supply the fire hydrant that would have been there regardless of the development. The line was not upsized due to the sprinkler system. 2) The whole point of the sprinkler system is to put out a fire before it spreads. Theoretically, a fire in one of the apartments would be extinguished before it spread to other units, using much less water than a building that could otherwise be engulfed in flames.
Furthermore, it would make sense to encourage sprinkler systems with incentives in lieu of penalizing them with regressive fees. 1) They improve life safety for residents. 2) They improve life safety for fire fighters. 3) They reduce fire fighting equipment costs. 4) They improve a communities fire rating, which helps all residents.
Because the State requires sprinkler systems in multifamily housing, the local community has building owners over a barrel. We took this into account for the Riverside Commons project planned for Plymouth. That development will be 100% townhouses. By using this model, with firewalls in-between units, the State requirement is void. This increases initial construction costs, but helps control yearly ownership costs.
At some point, as discussed in the QRFS article, fire sprinklers may be required in all residential construction. I cannot say this is a bad thing or that it doesn’t improve life safety. It is one more thing that contributes to the high cost of housing and is an expense that must be considered on any affordable housing project.
Max’s Playhouse at the BZA
Last Thursday Brandy Pohl appeared before the BZA to get a Special Use Variance for Max’s Playhouse‘s new location at 450 & 454 School Street. I’ve been helping Brandy through the construction process and appeared with her at the variance hearing. The article to the right appeared in the December 26th Edition of the Culver Citizen.
Max’s Playhouse is an interesting project as it is basically residential construction with added caveats required for licensing as a child care provider. Brandy knows her requirements backwards and forwards, but blending those into residential construction has created a few challenges for us.
The location on School Street seems to be a perfect one as it is grouping three of the main child care providers, Max’s Playhouse, Culver Community Schools and Wesley Church within a two block area. There are some issues with the traffic flow which Brandy hopes to work out with the Town Council soon. Solutions there could affect the budget and the work she hopes to do.
As a personal side note, the BZA is a tough sell when the Town is looking for citizens to serve. Very rarely do all sides appearing before the board leave happy. Dan Adams has served on that board for years. He demonstrated his pragmatism and tact again Thursday night as he condensed the hearing down to the basic issues and brought the board to a unanimous decision. There was some public opposition, but most of it didn’t pertain to the issues before the board. He allowed the audience input and then tactfully ended it before it became contentious. I was pleased to hear that Dan has agreed to serve another term on the board. His steady hand there has served the Town well. I always know I will get a fair hearing when Dan runs the show.
Affordable Housing
Courtney Papa, District Director, Office of Senator Todd Young
Affordable Housing continues to be the buzzword. A couple of weeks ago I was at a meeting with Governor Holcomb and we spoke about the issue. One of his staff members is trying to connect with me on that. MacKenzie Ledley, Library Director for Pulaski County Public Libraries, made a connection with Courtney Papa, District Director for Senator Todd Young’s office. Courtney and MacKenzie met me for a tour of Sand Hill Farm Apartments this past Wednesday. The issue is on Senator Young’s radar as well.
It is clear that our political leaders recognize that there is an issue. In my discussion with Governor Holcomb, he had just finished a presentation on the great job climate in Indiana and their efforts to reverse out-migration trends. I raised the question regarding where these new residents were going to live? This seems to be a harder question to answer than how to bring in new business. I get it. I don’t have a solution either. He took notes and then proceeded with the follow-up.
What I do in these situations is explain what we’ve done here in Culver. It may not be an universal solution, but without the Town of Culver becoming a partner in these efforts, Sand Hill Farm apartments wouldn’t be here and there would be no consideration of The Paddocks, the next phase of housing at Sand Hill Farm development. Without the proposed IHCDA funding, The Paddocks will not happen.
Damore Amphitheater Completion
Ginny Munroe, Town Council President, making a dedication speech at the Ribbon Cutting for the Damore Amphitheater
July 12th Culver held a dedication ceremony and the inaugural concert at the Damore Amphitheater. This is a project that we completed earlier in June. This Spring was challenging, with our pre-construction meeting being held with snow on the ground, but despite that, we were able to complete the project with minimal delays. FH Deck and Landscaping did great work placing the stones and completing the landscape work. In house we completed wiring and assembly of the pergola structure. The site was designed by Mike Reese with Troyer Group.
Inaugural Concert at Damore Amphitheater
The cold start this year made it difficult to get the plants in place as all of nurseries were behind. The original design called for hydroseeding parts of the site, but again, they were behind so we ended up donating additional sod to the project. Then it turned hot just as everything was completed. It was a challenge going forward to keep things watered, but the except for a few brown patches of sod, everything looked good for the grand opening.
This was one of the projects from the 2016 Stellar Communities application that Culver was able to move forward without Stellar. This is a project that received funding from IHCDA and Marshall County Community Foundation. That made room for other things in the 2017 application. The separate funding of this project and the advancement of the Sand Hill Farm apartment project, both outside Stellar, contributed to our Stellar Designation in 2017.
Hopefully the Town will be able to start scheduling performances here and make the site a destination. We’re proud of our part in bringing this project to fruition.
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MacKenzie Ledley - Executive Director, Pulaski County Public Library