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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