Inside Bay Area reports:
BERKELEY
-- City planning and building officials are proposing a package of
safety-related urgency ordinances in response to the June 16 collapse of a
fifth-floor balcony at a downtown apartment complex that killed six young
adults and injured seven more. A city councilman, meanwhile, is proposing
tougher building and inspection standards for balconies.
The
City Council is scheduled to consider the proposals on July 14.
An
inspection by Berkeley building official Alex Roshal and Senior Building
Inspector Steve Messinger on June 16 found the cantilevered joists
of the balcony, at the Library Gardens at 2020 Kittredge St., completely shorn
off about 16 to 20 inches from the exterior building face, with a torn
waterproofing membrane hanging over the joist ends, according to a report from
Roshal. The deck joist ends protruding from the exterior wall appeared to be
severely dry-rotted, the report stated.
The
rotted wood beams that held a balcony jut out from side of the residential
apartment building on Kittredge Street in Berkeley on June 17, 2015. Six people
died and seven others were seriously injured when the balcony collapsed. (Laura
A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)
Planning
and Development Director Eric Angstadt proposes adding several sections to the
city Building Code.
One
would mandate cross-ventilation for enclosed assemblies of balconies, landings,
decks and stairs.
Another
would require naturally durable or preservative-treated wood,
corrosion-resistant steel or similar approved materials for the floors of
balconies, landings, decks, stairs and other projections.
Angstadt
also proposes requiring inspection and certification by a licensed expert of
balconies and other weather-exposed areas within six months, and thereafter
every five years.
Urgency
ordinances require a seven-ninths vote of the council and are effective
immediately upon approval.
Councilman
Jesse Arreguin wants the city to move toward requiring steel reinforcement for
all balconies in new developments, and proposes to send a letter to the
California Building Standards Commission urging it to update the state code to
require steel in balcony floors.
"Unlike
wood, steel is less likely to deteriorate over time, is better able at
withstanding the elements, and is a stronger material," the proposed
letter reads in part.
"As
we develop more housing in the city of Berkeley, it is of the utmost public
importance to ensure that balconies that are built are to the best safety
standards to prevent another tragic loss of life," Arreguin said through a
spokesman Tuesday.
"While
ventilated, treated wood is an improvement over the design and materials
implicated in the recent balcony collapse, corrosion resistant steel provides
superior strength, and durability, he said, adding that the increased cost of
galvanized steel "is well exceeded by its higher degree of
assurance."
Moreover,
he continued, experts advise that "it is just as important, if not more,
to inspect and certify weatherproofing and other elements prior to completion
as post-completion inspections when structural components are enclosed."
Arreguin
also wants periodic inspections of balconies in multiunit rental properties,
with a time frame yet to be worked out.
Additionally,
he wants written disclosure requirements for owners of rental properties and
homeowner and condominium associations with balconies that are not
steel-reinforced, and the posting of signs in the balcony area specifying the
maximum weight capacity.
The
regular July 14 City Council meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Old City Hall, 2134
Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
The
June 16 balcony collapse killed Olivia Burke, Eimear Walsh, Eoghan Culligan,
Niccolai Schuster and Lorcán Miller, all 21 and from Ireland, and Ashley
Donohoe, 22, of Rohnert Park.
Courtesy Inside Bay Area.
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