Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council adopts fire-code appeal procedure ordinance after debate over final-appeal route
Summary
Ordinance 6,353 adds two appellate paths for fire-code inspections — appeal from deputy fire marshal to the fire chief and, for inspections done by the chief, an administrative appeal to the State Fire Marshal — and passed on second reading by a 5–1 roll-call vote after discussion about whether final appeals should be heard locally.
On second reading the Fairbanks City Council adopted Ordinance No. 6,353 on Aug. 10, creating specified appeal routes for inspections under the city's adoption of the 2018 International Fire Code.
Tom Chard, providing the staff report, said the ordinance inserts two distinct procedures: if a deputy fire marshal conducts an inspection the appeal would go to the fire chief; if the fire chief conducts the inspection an appeal could be taken to the State Fire Marshal under a deferred-jurisdiction arrangement. Chard described the language as a due-process improvement that will be used rarely but fills a procedural gap: "it gives the, folks that are getting their properties inspected a way to appeal those inspections to people that know what they're talking about, and and can look at the International Fire Code..."
Council debate focused on the route for a final appeal. Council member Cleaver objected to a final administrative appeal to the State Fire Marshal and proposed an amendment to allow an outside local body or a mayor/council hearing instead; that amendment died for lack of a second. Chief Gucaro and staff said the state maintains a local presence (two deputy fire marshals working out of the trooper post on Pega Road) and that the draft ordinance mirrors state process. The council adopted the ordinance by roll call (5–1). The staff and the fire department said appeals are expected to be uncommon.
The ordinance as adopted establishes an administrative appeal path and does not prevent a property owner from pursuing judicial review in superior court, which staff reiterated is an available option beyond administrative remedies.
The council did not adopt Cleaver's proposed language creating a local final-appeal body at this meeting.
