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Committee directs study on feasibility of mandatory sprinkler retrofits and standpipe alternatives for residential high‑rises
Summary
The committee adopted a motion directing departments to study requiring fire sprinkler retrofits in residential high‑rise buildings and to report feasibility, costs, displacement protections and possible exemptions if wet/dry standpipe systems with full‑length hoses are present; the motion passed unanimously as amended.
The Planning and Land Use Management Committee voted unanimously to adopt a motion instructing the Fire Department, with assistance from Building and Safety, the Housing Department, the City Attorney, CLA and CAO, to report on the feasibility of requiring residential high‑rise buildings to install automatic fire sprinkler systems or, alternatively, the possibility of exempting buildings if each floor is equipped with a wet or dry standpipe system with hoses extending the full floor length.
The motion asks departments to examine technical feasibility, retrofitting costs, cost‑pass‑through mechanisms that protect residents, potential for local workforce and apprenticeship use, and strategies to prevent permanent displacement during retrofit work. The committee adopted an amendment asking the departments to include an additional report on whether any residential high‑rise could be exempted from a mandatory sprinkler ordinance where full‑length standpipe systems with hoses are installed to ensure firefighting readiness.
Speakers from Sprinkler Fitters UA Local 709 said contractors have completed residential retrofit work elsewhere without displacement, described lower‑than‑publicized retrofit costs for some projects, and supported stipulated workforce and tenant protections. Roland Gutierrez, a business agent for UA Local 709, cited a Bunker Hill residential retrofit as an example and said his union’s contractors could perform retrofits with local hire and minimal resident displacement.
The committee approved the motion as amended (4–0 present at time of vote with roll call recorded as Bloomfield: aye; Hutt: aye; Nazarian: aye; Lee: aye; Raman: yes). The motion requests a staff report back with specific technical and financial analyses and recommended tenant protections.
