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Council advances townhouse-code amendment after fire-safety and infrastructure debate
Summary
Council introduced and preliminarily approved an ordinance to change the city's townhouse definition to allow certain townhouses under the IRC (two-hour firewall, no sprinkler requirement) rather than the IBC; the fire chief said life-safety requirements are unchanged and the measure passed 5-1.
The council unanimously moved the townhouse-definition ordinance to preliminary approval after a lengthy debate over lot-line removal, infrastructure sizing and life-safety implications.
Staff (Brooks) said the change would not permit duplexes in single-family zones and is intended to simplify the townhouse definition so townhouses can be built under the International Residential Code (IRC) with two-hour fire-separation walls rather than automatically under the International Building Code (IBC), which commonly requires sprinklers. "We're just not requiring the lot line anymore," Brooks said, describing the intent as reducing regulatory barriers for row-house construction.
Councilors worried the change could limit opportunities for homeownership and create unintended infrastructure demands. One councilor asked whether eliminating lot lines would make it harder for buyers to own units rather than rent them. Brooks replied that building-code and utility-sizing requirements would still apply at permit and plan review.
Fire Chief Murkowski addressed safety directly: "We're actually not reducing any sort of life safety requirement at all," he said, explaining the code provides alternatives such that buildings can either use active suppression (sprinklers) or passive separation (two-hour walls) consistent with life-safety standards.
After questions and debate, council approved preliminary introduction and approval; the motion carried 5-1 with Osowski recorded as the dissent.
