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Council grants appeal for 300 Spruce Street remodel with condition to install upgraded fire alarm system
Summary
The Vermillion City Council voted to allow the owner of Cottonwood Apartments at 300 Spruce Street to proceed with interior reconfiguration without adding a sprinkler system, on the condition that the building receive an improved audible/visible fire alarm system tied together across units.
The Vermillion City Council on Monday granted an appeal of the city building official’s determination that interior work at Cottonwood Apartments, 300 Spruce Street, constituted a Level 2 alteration requiring an automatic sprinkler system, but approved the project on the condition the owner install an upgraded, building-wide alarm system.
The decision reverses the building official’s interpretation for this project and accepts an “other means” alternative (improved alarm system) in lieu of sprinklers, a choice that drew extended debate about fire safety, retrofit costs and local housing supply.
Building official Alex Goodwin told the council the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) classifies the contractor’s proposed changes — removal of bedroom walls and reconfiguration in all 12 units — as a Level 2 alteration that ordinarily triggers current-code requirements, including…
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