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Ocean Shores Planning Commission questions proposed sprinkler requirement for new homes
Summary
City staff and the commission discussed a draft ordinance to require residential sprinkler systems in new construction, with the fire department citing an estimated cost of $1.53 per square foot and commissioners asking staff to get local cost and insurance information before the council considers the proposal.
The Ocean Shores Planning Commission on March 24 reviewed a proposal to require residential fire sprinkler systems in all new construction and asked staff for more local cost and insurance data before forwarding any ordinance to the mayor and city council.
Commissioners heard from a department representative who said the city is "still looking at putting [a residential sprinkler system ordinance] together" and was at the meeting "to answer any questions you guys might have." The representative said the requirement under discussion would apply only to new construction, not existing homes, and that the ordinance, if advanced, would be advisory at the commission level and would need council and mayoral action to take effect.
On costs, the fire department representative gave the commission a benchmark figure: "on the average, it's a dollar 53 a square foot" to install a residential sprinkler system. The representative and commissioners clarified that the quoted price is for materials and labor and that responsibility for installation would typically fall to the homeowner or the builder, depending on the contract. Commissioners asked staff to obtain broader local estimates and to look into typical contractor markups.
The department representative described residential NFPA 13D systems as low-maintenance, noting they are often flow-through designs that draw water through plumbing when toilets are flushed and do not require annual certified inspections the way many commercial systems do. The representative said, "the 13 d system for NFPA is not required to have a certified inspection yearly."
Commissioners raised questions about retroactivity and how short-term rentals (for example, VRBOs or Airbnb properties) might be classified, since such properties can be built under the residential code but operate as transient lodging. The department representative said state code boundaries can limit what a city can enact and that the city is exploring alternative methods to address protection for transient-occupancy properties.
Several commissioners asked staff to contact local insurance providers and obtain clearer estimates of any homeowner insurance discounts or surcharges associated with home sprinkler systems. One commissioner noted an earlier higher estimate discussed in prior meetings (a difference commissioners described as inconsistent with the $1.53/sq ft figure) and asked staff to reconcile those figures.
Next steps: commissioners asked staff to bring back a short briefing on NFPA 13D and to collect more precise local installation quotes and insurance-impact information so the commission can decide whether to forward a formal recommendation to the mayor and council.
