Appeal 20581

2016 Portland Fire Code (PFC) Sections 503 and Appendix D (Fire Apparatus Access Roads)

Approved fire apparatus access roads shall be provided for every facility, building, or portion of a building hereafter constructed or moved onto or within the jurisdiction. The fire apparatus access road shall comply with the requirements of this section and shall extend to within 150 feet of all portions of the facility and all portions of the exterior walls of the first story of the building as measured by an approved route around the exterior of the building or facility. 503.2.1 states that fire apparatus access roads shall have a unobstructed width of not less than 20 feet.

At the end of the 325 foot asphalt access road on the subject property a 20-foot wide, 110' alternate 90° dead-end hammerhead asphalt turnaround and required NO PARKING / FIRE LANE signs will be provided per PFC Adopted Code Guide, with minor modifications required per the attached site plan to clear property lines and existing mature trees for the New Single Family Residence (NSFR). Applicant requests that Fire Bureau approve the existing asphalt access road conditions without an engineer's evaluation.

The two original existing lots (12430 and 12434 SW Orchard Hill Rd) have houses that were built in the 1950s. Flag lots serviced by the access road, they were in compliance with PCF 503.1.1 (exception 3 -- serving two or less Group R-3 occupancies) until the 2012 construction of 12424 which, being the third house on the access road, made the access road non-conforming. The 12424 house was built following a Public Works Appeal (2012-131912-PW) which, in part, required the applicant to "include any additional width as required by the Fire Bureau". Under that permit (2012-113521-RS) a 15' wide access road appears to have been approved. The current 15' wide, 325' long asphalt access road currently serves the three residences. Widening the road is unpractical because of the proximity to a property line fence to the east and trees, a drainage ditch, culverts, and catch basins to the west. In addition, Title 33 Planning and Zoning Code (33.266.120.C.3.b) has a restriction on the maximum coverage of paved area on a lot's flag pole (40%). At 15 feet wide the existing access road is already over that limit by 3 feet. Demolition of the existing structures and construction of the replacement NSFR on the subject property (12434) will not change the existing use of the property or the access road.

2016 Portland Fire Code (PFC) Section 507.5 (Fire hydrant systems)

In group R-3 occupancies where a portion of the building is more than 600 feet from a hydrant located on an approved fire access road (SW Orchard Hill Rd), as measured by an approved route around the exterior of he building, on-site fire hydrants and mains shall be provided where required by the fire code official.

Install a NFPA 15D approved fire sprinkler system for the New 1-story Single Family Residence (NSFR) that will replace the existing residence located on the property.

The distance of the route from the hydrant located at 12420 SW Orchard Hill Rd to the furthest corner of the proposed house is ~650 feet. This is a slight improvement over the ~660 feet distance to the existing far corner of the current house. Providing a private water main and hydrant is a logistical challenge and a financial burden to the homeowner. As an alternative, automatic sprinklers will provide passive protection for the house and be able to actively fight a fire in a manner that will offer equivalent or better protection than that of a house without sprinklers located slightly closer to a hydrant.