Milwaukee committee examines sprinkler rules after Highland Court fire; state law seen as barrier to retrofit mandates

The Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee examined whether Milwaukee can require sprinkler retrofits in older multifamily buildings after the May fire at 2725 West Highland Boulevard that killed five people and displaced more than 100 residents.

The committee heard a presentation from Hesamila Royo Vega, commissioner with the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS), who summarized Wisconsin's adoption of building codes over the 20th and 21st centuries and said state law constrains local authority to mandate retrofits in many existing buildings. Royo Vega said Wisconsin adopted its first state building code in 1914, moved toward the International Building Code framework in the 2000s, and that the 2013 Wisconsin Act 270 (often referenced as Act 270) created a uniform commercial code that limits municipalities'ability to adopt local rules stricter than state standards.

DNS told the committee that whether an older, nonconforming building must be upgraded hinges on the type and extent of work done: alterations or additions that exceed certain thresholds (a…