Joshua City staff to draft ordinance lowering commercial fire-flow requirement to 1,000 gpm

Mr. Peacock, a city staff member, told the Joshua City Council that the city’s current fire-flow standard — 1,000 gallons per minute for residential and 1,500 gpm for commercial — is creating permitting delays and is “just not attainable” in parts of the system.

He said developers have faced “sticker shock” when asked to upgrade water infrastructure to reach 1,500 gpm, and that frequent variance requests have slowed projects. “If we could produce that 1,500 gallon ready fire flow down to a 1000, so it's a1000 straight across the board,” Mr. Peacock said, “It made permitting a lot simpler.”

The staff presentation outlined operational mitigations the city has pursued, including purchase of a large tanker truck and mutual-aid arrangements that can temporarily boost flow electronically. Mr. Peacock said those tools, combined with targeted capital work over time, would allow the city to lower the standard without abandoning plans to improve the system later.

Councilmembers discussed insurance implications for commercial properties, existing variance practice, and the cost of rebuilding infrastructure. One councilmember warned that developers seeking higher flows may expect the city to help pay for upgrades. Mr. Peacock and council members noted capital planning and street reconstruction could be opportunities to upgrade water mains.

Council did not adopt an ordinance at the meeting. Instead, the body asked staff to prepare an amended ordinance for review at a future work session. Mr. Peacock and the fire chief volunteered to draft the language and return next month with a formal proposal.

The discussion was presented as a policy-direction item; no formal vote on a code amendment was taken at the meeting.