1986-2401542L
NO
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 10 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF
THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE
UNIFORM FIRE CODE, 1985 EDITION, PROVIDING FOR AMENDMENTS
THERETO, REPEALING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE III OF SAID
CHAPTER RELATING TO THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE FIRE MARSHAL,
REPEALING THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE IV OF SAID CHAPTER RELATING
TO LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS, ADOPTING A NEW ARTICLE IV ENTITLED
"ALARM SYSTEMS", TO PROVIDE FOR THE INSTALLATION OF SMOKE
DETECTORS IN CERTAIN DWELLING UNITS, REPEALING ARTICLE IV
("BURNING OF TRASH AND RUBBISH RESTRICTED") OF CHAPTER 12 OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES, PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY IN THE MAXIMUM
AMOUNT OF $1,000 00 FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF, PROVIDING FOR A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT
THEREWITH, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I
That Article I of Chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances is
amended to read as follows
ARTICLE I IN GENERAL
Section 10-1 Uniform Fire Code--Adopted
There is hereby adopted by the City of Denton, Texas, for
the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions
hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion, that
certain Code and Standards known as the Uniform Fire Code,
including Appendices I through VI, inclusive, and the Uniform
Fire Code Standards published by the Western Fire Chiefs Asso-
ciation and the International Conference of Building Officials,
being particularly the 1985 editions thereof and the whole
thereof, save and except such portions as are hereinafter
deleted, modified or amended by Section 1 02 of this ordinance,
of which Code and Standards have been and are now filed in the
office of the City Secretary and the same are hereby adopted and
incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein, and from
the date on which this ordinance shall take effect, the
provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the
City of Denton, and within 5,000 feet thereof, where specified
therein
Section 10-2 Amendments
The Uniform Fire Code, adopted in Section 10-1, is hereby
amended as follows
a By the deletion of the following provisions
1 Section 2 103, "Fire Prevention Bureau"
2 Section 2 104, "Fire Prevention Engineer or Fire
Marshal"
3 Section 78 103, "Bonds for Fireworks Display Required"
b By the addition thereto of Article IV of this Chapter
c By the amendment of the Uniform Fire Code as follows
(1) The amendment of Section 2 107, Right of Entry, to
read as follows
Sec 2 107 Right of Entry Whenever necessary to
make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions
of this Code, or whenever the Chief or his authorized
representative has reasonable cause to believe that
there exists in any budding or upon any premises any
condition which makes such building or premises un-
safe, the Chief or his authorized representative may
enter such building or premises at all reasonable
times to inspect the same or to perform any duty im-
posed upon the Chief by this Code If such building
or premises be occupied, he shall first present proper
credential and demand entry If such building or pre-
mises be unoccupied, he shall first make a reasonable
effort to locate the owner or other persons having
charge or control of the building or premises and
demand entry If such entry is refused, or, if no
owner or other person having charge or control of the
building or the premises can be located, the Chief or
his authorized representative shall have recourse to
every remedy provided by law to secure entry
"Authorized Representative" shall include the officers
named in Sections 2 105 and 2 106 of this Code
(2) The amendment of Section 2 108, Liabilit for Damages,
by adding a second paragraph to rea as ollows
All regulations provided in this Code are hereby
declared to be governmental and for the benefit of
PAGE 2
the general public Any member of the City Council,
any City Official or employee, or any member of the
Building Code Board, charged with the enforcement of
this Code, acting for the City in the discharge of
his duties, shall not thereby render himself person-
ally liable, and he is hereby relieved from all
personal liability for any damage that may occur to
persons or property as a result of any act required
or permitted in the discharge of his duties Any
suit brought against any such official or employee
because of such act performed by him in the enforce-
ment of any provisions of this Code shall be defended
by the City of Denton through its designated attorney
until the final adjudication of the proceedings
(3) The amendment of Section 2 201 (a), Inspection and
Unsafe Buildings, to read as follows
(a) The Fire Marshal or his designated representative
shall inspect annually all buildings or premises,
or portions thereof, used for of nonresidential
group occupancies, including hotels and lodging
houses, as defined by the Uniform Building Code,
and at other times all other buildings and pre-
mises as may be necessary, including such other
hazards or appliances as the Chief may designate,
for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be
corrected any conditions which would reasonably
tend to cause fire or contribute to its spread,
or any violation of the purpose or provisions of
this Code and of any other law or standard
affecting fire safety
(4) The amendment of the last sentence of Section 2 201
(b), Inspection and Unsafe Buildings, to read as
follows
All such unsafe buildings are hereby declared to be
public nuisances and shall be abated by repair,
rehabilitation, demolition, or removal in accordance
with the procedure specified in the "Minimum Housing
and Building Standards Code" of the City of Denton
(5) The amendment of Section 2 302, Board of Appeals, to
read as follows
Sec 2 302 Appeals to Building Code Board In order
to determine the suitability of alternate materials
and type of construction and to provide for reasonable
interpretations of the provisions of this Code, the
PAGE 3
Building Code Board as created and organized under
the Buildings Chapter of the Code of Ordinances shall
pass upon all pertinent matters Whenever the Fire
Marshal disapproves an application or refuses a permit
applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions
of this Code do not apply or that the true intent and
meaning of the Code have been wrongly misconstrued or
wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from
the decision of the Fire Marshal to said Board within
thirty (30) days from the date of the decision
appealed
In addition to such board, the Fire Marshal may re-
quest that additional members be appointed for a
specific ruling or interpretation Such members shall
be voting, ex-officio members and appointed by the
Chairman of the Building Code Board to assist in the
determination and /or ruling of a specific issue or
case Such appointment shall be temporary until the
ruling 1s rendered No more than two (2) members
shall be appointed at such time, each having exper-
tise in the matter of question The Board shall
adopt reasonable rules and regulations for conducting
its investigations and shall render all decisions and
findings in writing to the Fire Marshal with a dupli-
cate copy to the appellant and may recommend to the
City Council such new legislation as is consistent
therewith
(6) The amendment of Section 3 101, Unlawful Continuance
of Fire Hazard, to read as follows
Sec 3 101 Unlawful Continuance of Fire Hazard
(a) Any person operating or maintaining any occu-
pancy, premises or vehicle subject to this Code
who shall permit any fire hazard to exist on
premises under his control or who shall fail to
take immediate action to abate a fire hazard when
ordered or notified to do so by the Chief or his
duly authorized representative shall be guilty of
a separate offense for each and every day or
portion thereof during which any violation of any
of the provisions of this Code is commuted or
continued A person convicted of a violation of
any provision of this Code shall be guilty of an
offense punishable by a fine not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000 00)
PAGE 4
(b) When any vehicle is found in violation of any
provision of this Code, such fact shall consti-
tute prima facie proof that the person in whose
name said vehicle is registered is guilty of a
violation of this Code
(7) The amendment of Section 4 101, Permit Required, by
adding a new provision to read as ollows
48 Automatic Fire Alarm Automatic Fire Exrin H
T_ _d Stan i e S stems To ins utall,
in S stems an
construct, modify or reconstruct any automatic
fire alarm system, automatic fire extinguishing
system or standpipe system, provided however that
the permit required herein shall not apply to the
installation of smoke detectors in "dwelling
units" as defined by Article IV of this Chapter
(8) That the definition of "Bureau of Fire Prevention"
contained in Section 9 104 is amended to read as
follows
BUREAU OF FIRE PREVENTION is the Office of City
Fire Marshal
(9) That the definition of "Chief or Chief of the Fire
Department" contained in Section 9 105 is amended to
read as follows
CHIEF OR CHIEF OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT is the Chief
of the Fire Department or the City Fire Marshal
(10) That the definition of "Jurisdiction" contained in
Section 9 112 is amended to read as follows
JURISDICTION is the City of Denton, Texas
(11) The amendment of Section 10 207, Fire Apparatus and
Access Roads, (a) to read as follows
(a) General Fire apparatus access roads shall be
prov-wed and maintained in accordance with the
provisions of this section, which shall govern
and control over any other provision of any ordi-
nance relating to the same subject matter, to the
extent of any conflict thereof
(12) The amendment of the first paragraph of Section 10 302
(c), Water Supply, to read as follows
PAGE 5
(c) WaterrSupQ1 An approved water supply capable of
supper required fire flow for fire protection
shall be provided to all premises upon which
buildings or portions of buildings are hereafter
constructed When any portion of the building
protected is in excess of 300 feet from a water
supply on a public street there shall be provided,
when required by the Fire Marshal, on-site fire
hydrants and mains capable of supplying the re-
quired fire flow The requirements of this Code
relating to water supply shall be in addition to
any other requirements of any other ordinance
relating to water supply
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 2 302,
any appeal made from a determination of the Fire
Marshal under this section of the minimum water
supply required for a proposed development, plat,
plan or replat submitted for approval pursuant to
the provisions of the Denton Development Code,
shall be made in accordance with the provisions
and procedures of the Denton Development Code
(13) The amendment of Section 78 102, Permits for Manu-
facturing Sale and Discharge, to read as follows
(a) Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be
unlawful for any person to possess, store, to
offer for sale, expose for sale, store, sell at
retail, manufacture, or use or explode any fire-
works within the City limits or within five
thousand feet (5,0001) thereof
(b) A person may make use of fireworks for the pur-
pose of a public fireworks display upon the issu-
ance of, and in accordance with, a permit issued
for such display pursuant to the provisions of
article 5 43 of the Texas Insurance Code, as
amended
Section 10-3 Arson Reward
The City will pay a reward of two hundred and fifty dollars
($250 00) cash to any person furnishing and providing the City
with information leading to the arrest and conviction of any
person for the offense of arson within the corporate limits of
the City
PAGE 6
Section 10-4 Fire Inspection and Permit Fees
(a) Fire Safet Ins ectlon Fees The occupant, lessee or
person ma ing use o any ullding or premises, or portion
thereof, required to be inspected annually, in accordance
with Section 2 201 (a) of this Code, as amended, shall be
charged, and pay within thirty (30) days of being billed
therefor, as a condition to continued lawful occupancy of
the building or premises required to be inspected, a fire
safety inspection fee based upon the amount of interior
square footage of the building leased, occupied or used
by such person The fee shall be charged no more than
once per year for each building inspected, regardless of
the number of inspections or reinspections, and shall be
in an amount established, and as from time to time
amended, by ordinance of the City Council, a copy of
which shall be on file with the City Secretary Inspec-
tion fees for common areas of such buildings or premises
shall be charged to and paid by the owner in accordance
with the square footage inspected as provided for herein
(b)
osed for Permits Required
le 4 of
Uniform ire Co e -Any permit required by Article 4 or
the Uniform Fire Code, as amended herein, shall be issued
only upon payment of a permit fee in an amount estab-
lished, and as from time to time amended, by ordinance
adopted by the City Council, a copy of which shall be
kept on file with the City Secretary
Sections 10-5--10-17 Reserved
SECTION II
That Section 10-33 of Article III of Chapter 10 of the Code
of Ordinances is amended to read as follows
Section 10-33 Duties of Fire Marshal
The Fire Marshal shall have the primary duty of administering
and enforcing the Uniform Fire Code
SECTION III
That the provisions of Sections 10-34 through 10-43 of
Article III of Chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances are repealed
SECTION IV
That the provisions of Article IV of Chapter 10 of the Code
of Ordinances are repealed
PAGE 7
SECTION V
That there is enacted a new Article IV of Chapter 10 of the
Code of Ordinances to read as follows
ARTICLE IV ALARM SYSTEMS
Sec 10-54 Definitions
(1) Bedroom means any room which is designed with the intent
t at it be used for sleeping purposes
(2) Corridor means a passage which connects parts of the
dwelling unit
(3) Dwelling Unit means a home, mobile home, duplex unit,
apartment unit, condominium unit, or any dwelling unit
in a multi-unit residential structure It also means
one or more rooms which are subject to a single rental
agreement and which are rented to a tenant or tenants
for use by persons as a permanent residence
(4) Landlord means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of a
welling unit A managing agent or leasing agent,
whether residing or officing on-site or off-site, shall
be considered the agent of the landlord for purposes of
notice and other communications required or allowed
under this article Otherwise, a manager or agent of
the landlord shall be considered a landlord under this
article only if the manager or agent purports to be the
owner, lessor, or sublessor to the rental agreement
(5)
Smoke Detector
means a device which is (1) designed to
(2)
b
t
detect visible
ion,
us
or invisible products of com
designed with
an alarm audible to the bedrooms it ser-
vices, (3) powered by either battery, alternating cur-
rent, or other
power source, (4) tested and listed for
use as a smok
e detector by Underwriters Laboratories,
Factory
Inc
Mutual Research Corporation, or United
,
States Testing
Company, Inc , and (5) in good working
order
(6)
Tenant means
any person who is entitled to occupy a
welling unit
to the exclusion of others and who is
obligated to
pay rent for the dwelling unit under a
written or oral rental agreement
(7)
Test of Smoke
Detector means the performance of the act
or acts which
the manufacturer of a smoke detector
PAGE 8
recommends for that particular model of smoke detector
as a simple test of whether or not the smoke detector is
in good working order
(8) Units Constructed After Se tember 1 1981 means any unit
or which a building permit was issue after September
1, 1981, or, if no building permit is issued, any unit
which is occupied as a residence for the first time
after September 1, 1981
(9) Units Constructed on or before Se tember 1 1981 means
any unit or which a building permit was issue on or
before September 1, 1981, or which was occupied as a
residence for the first time on or before that date
Sec 10-55 Duty to Install Smoke Detectors in Certain Dwell-
ing Units
(a) New units constructed after September 1, 1981, at least
one smoke detector shall be installed by the landlord
outside of each separate bedroom in the immediate
vicinity of the bedroom, except that
(1) where the dwelling unit is designed with the intent
that a single multi-purpose room be used for dining,
living, and sleeping purposes, the smoke detector
shall be located inside the room rather than outside,
(2) where the bedrooms are served by the same corridor,
at least one smoke detector shall be installed in
the corridor in the immediate vicinity of the bed-
rooms, and
(3) where one or more bedrooms are located on a level
above the cooking and living area, the smoke detector
for the bedrooms shall be placed at the center of
the ceding directly above the top of the stairway
(b) A smoke detector required by this section shall be in-
stalled prior to commencement of possession of the dwell-
ing unit by the tenant in accordance with manufacturer's
recommended procedures, subject to the following
(1) a smoke detector shall be installed on a ceiling or
wall,
(2) if installed on a ceiling, the smoke alarm shall be
installed no closer than six inches to a wall,
PAGE 9
(3) if installed on a wall, the smoke detector shall be
installed no closer than 6 inches to the ceiling and
no farther than 12 inches from the ceiling,
(4) a smoke detector may be located elsewhere if
permitted by the Budding Code, and
(5) if a smoke detector is electrically operated rather
than battery operated, the power system and instal-
lation procedures for the smoke detector shall comply
with the Building Code
(b) Existin Units For all dwelling units constructed on
or e.ore September 1, 1981, at least one smoke detector
shall be installed by the landlord in accordance with
Subsection (a) A smoke detector required by this
subsection shall be installed in accordance with the
location and installation procedure requirements of
Subsection (a)
Sec 10-56 Duty to Inspect and Repair
(a) Upon commencement of a tenant's possession of a dwelling
unit containing a smoke detector, the landlord shall have
a duty to test the smoke detector to verify that it is
in good working order Upon installation of a smoke
detector by a landlord after commencement of the tenant's
possession of a dwelling unit, the landlord shall have a
duty to test the smoke detector at that time to verify
that it is in good working order
(b) During the term of the rental agreement or any renewal
or extension thereof, the landlord shall have a duty to
inspect and repair a smoke detector only if the tenant
has given notice to the landlord of a malfunction or made
a request to the landlord for inspection or repair The
notice of the landlord need not be in writing unless
written notice is required in the written rental agree-
ment The landlord shall comply with the tenant's
request for inspection and repair within a reasonable
time, considering the availability of material, labor,
and utilities
(c) A landlord shall not have a duty to inspect or repair a
smoke detector if the damage or malfunction is caused by
the tenant or the tenant's family, guests, or invitees
during the term of the rental agreement or any renewal
or extension period of the rental agreement Provided,
however, a landlord shall have a duty to repair or
PAGE 10
replace a smoke detector covered by this subsection if
the tenant pays in advance for the reasonable cost of
the repair or replacement, including labor, materials,
taxes, and overhead
(d) A landlord shall have satisfied his duty to inspect or
repair a damaged or malfunctioning smoke detector if,
after a test of the smoke detector, a test indicates
that the smoke detector is in good working order
Sec 10-57
(a) A person commits an offense if as landlord of a dwelling
unit he
(1) fails to install a smoke detector in compliance with
Section 10-55, or
(2) fails to test or repair a smoke detector in
compliance with Section 10-56
SECTION V
That the provisions of Article IV (Burning of Trash and
Rubbish Restricted) of Chapter 12 of the Code of Ordinances are
repealed, said article being reserved for future use
SECTION VII
That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause,
phrase or word in this ordinance, or application thereof to any
person or circumstance is held invalid by any court of competent
,jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this ordinance, and the City Council of
the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted
such remaining portions despite any such invalidity
SECTION VIII
That the repeal of any ordinance or any portion thereof by
the preceding sections shall not affect or impair any act done
or right vested or accrued or any proceeding, suit or prosecution
had or commenced in any cause before such repeal shall take
effect, but every such act done, or right vested or accrued, or
proceedings, suit or prosecution had or commenced shall remain
in full force and effect to all intents or purposes as if such
ordinance or part thereof so repealed had remained in force
PAGE 11
SECTION IX
Any person who shall violate a provision of this ordnance,
or fails to comply therewith or with any of the requirements
thereof, or of a permit or certificate issued thereunder, shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000 00) Each such person shall be
deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or
portion thereof during which any violation of this ordinance is
committed, or continued, and upon conviction of any such
violations such person shall be punished within the limits above
SECTION X
That this ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14)
days from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is
hereby directed to cause the caption of this ordinance to be
published twice in the Denton Record-Chronicle, the official
newspaper of the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of
the date of its passage
PASSED AND APPROVED this the _2 day of 1986
OR
CITY 0 DENTON, TEXAS
ATTEST
12- 1 049
CH LO ALL C Y 1~
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
DEBRA ADAMI DRAYOVITCH, CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
BY
PAGE 12