O-1987-1501 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chairman Wilson and r~bers of the Commission City of LaPorte e Page 6 should be increased to correspond with the fire code requirement that any residential buildings may be located within five hundred (500) feet from a fire hydrant as the fire hose would lay. It should be noted that the requirement mentioned in the citizen comment pertains to single family dwellings and Section 5 -404 (2) ( a) ( 2 ) concerns i tsel f with the di stance tha't mul ti- family developments are located from a public or a private street. The current City of LaPorte fire code treats apartment and other multi-family dwelling units as commercial, since they are located in commercial zones under the current zoning Ordinance. This current fire code requirement states that commercial structures are to be located within 300 feet of a fire hydrant as the hose would lay. Section 5-404 (2)(a)(2) of the proposed zoning Ordinance does not address itself to fire hydrant placement but rather addresses the distance that a mUlti-family structure should be located from a public or private street. ANALYSIS: Both the distance of multi-family dwelling units from a public or private street and the distance of said structures from fire hydrants (as the hose would lay) are valid locational criteria. For purposes of all emergency vehicular access to said structures, 300 feet would seem to be a reasonable distance, based upon current fire code practise and based upon the requirement of 200 feet contained in the proposed Ordinance locational criteria requirements. ll) Section 5-404 (2)(a)(5): Citizen comment indicates that the maximum length of a cul-de- sac street should correspond with the length allowed by the Federal Housing Administration and may be permitted as long as the street has the standard fire hydrant spacing as required by the fire department. Note that this section applies only to private streets and multi-family developments. The maximum length of 300 feet is measured to the nearest right-of-way line of the intersecting public or private street. This ~tandard is based on the reasoning that as dead-end length increases, general circulation becomes more indirect, the number of vehicles and traffic activity increase, emergency vehicular access becomes more difficult and liable to misdirection, increased problems occur for refuse collection, and dead-end utilities would become a problem unless mitigated by proper planning. ANALYSIS: Therefore, it is recommended that this section of the Ordinance be left unchanged. l2) Section 5-501: Citizen comment indicates that other residential and supporting uses may be permitted within the manufactured housing district but that the supporting uses which are permitted are not defined.