HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 2019-01-15
Town of Ithaca
Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Board members present: Rob Rosen, Chair;Members George Vignaux, Chris Jung, and Caren
Rubin; Alternates David Squires and David FilibertoAbsent: Bill King
Staffpresent:BruceBates, Director of Code Enforcement;Debra DeAugistine, Deputy Town
Clerk; andSusanBrock, AttorneyfortheTown
Mr.Rosen opened themeeting at 6:00p.m.
Appeal ofCornell University,170 McGowan Woods Road, TP 64.-1-2.2 requesting a variance
from Town of Ithaca Code Chapter 225-3 (8) Sprinkler Systems to be allowed to not have a
sprinkler installed in a storage building exceeding 400 sq ft in size.
The applicant was not present.
Mr. Rosen reported thatthey’re requestinga variance because of cost, claiming that a sprinkler
system would far exceed the value of the structure.
Mr. Batessaid thatthis is a 15’x 40’prefab wooden building. In our code, it states that storage
buildings exceeding 400 sq ft in size need sprinklers. This building will be basically usedto store
equipment. It was previouslyused by Cornell on a propertyin the city,and when they no longer
needed it, they were going to get rid of it.The CornellGroundsDepartmentsaid they’d like to
have it, and when they applied for the permit to move it to its current location, we informed them
thatthey’d need a variance.The building will have to meet the propersetbacks.
Ms. Rubinasked if they’re storing gas-powered equipment.
Mr. Rosen responded thatthey just say equipment; they don’t say what type. Even if itwill be
things like gas-powered lawnmowers, that’s safe because people have thosein their garages all
the time.
Mr. Bates said sprinklers aren’trequired in residential uses; garages are exempt. Asked if the
shedhaselectricity, Mr. Bates respondedthat it shows electric on the back.
Ms. Rubinnoted that the applicationsays it will have no power and no heat.
Mr. Rosen said he didn’t find anything unusually dangerous about this shed; the question is
whether the sprinkler requirement is reasonable or not.He wondered whetherthey could use
plastic pipe for the sprinkler and have a dry pipe systemfull ofair.
Mr. Bates said if there’s no heat, you’dhave to put in a dry system. The valve system alone
probably exceeds the cost of the building. Then you’d have to pipewater to the building,and the
location sort of prohibits it. This sprinkler requirementis a town requirement, not a building code
requirement. Back when we re-wrote the sprinkler law in 2012, there was a discussion about this
because they the board wasconsidering exempting even bigger buildings.
ZBA 01-15-2019 pg. 1
Mr. Filiberto asked why the town has this requirementthat’s different from the building code.
Mr. Bates said the town has a more restricted law than the state; his understanding is that this
came about partly because of the fire on campus in which there were a number of deaths.
Mr. Rosen said we have to decide whetherthis could set a precedent. They said it’s too
expensive, so how much could it cost? Cornell has millions of dollars.
Mr. Bates said we’ve granted sprinklervariances to Cornell and IC beforefor smaller storage
buildings.The requirement used to be for any storage building that was used for other than
residential use; then theyincreased itto buildings larger than 400sq ft.
Ms. Brock said the thinkingprobably was that if it’s less than 400 sq ft, you’re not that far from
an exit and could dart out fairly quickly. She doubted it was mathematically precise based on
how long it takes the average person to move this far to get out of a building.
Ms. Ruben said the distinguishing features are that there’s no powerand no electricity,there
won’t be anybody in the structure, it’s 300 feet from any inhabited building. That makes it pretty
innocuous.
Mr. Rosen agreedthat it doesn’t seem like this building should need a sprinklersystem, but we
have to do the balancing test.
Mr.Vignauxpointed out that thesprinkler system would undoubtedly exceedthe valueof the
building.
Mr. Rosen saidthe buildingisfree, so just saying that the amount far exceeds the value of a free
building, it could be any amount.
Mr. Vignaux said it’s a shed: you could basically walk through a wall to get out if there’s a fire.
Mr. Rosen said the building hastwo doors: a 10-foot garage door and a 3-foot personnel doorat
opposite ends.
Mr. Vignaux said this means nobody is more than 20 feet from an exit.
Mr. Rosen said that there’s no electricity, no heat, and no water; those are things we can point to.
Even if there was water, it would be really expensive to install a sprinkler.
Mr. Vignauxasked if the board could prohibit the storage of flammables other than in the gas
tanksof small equipment. He said he has a20’x20’second garage.He stores his lawn mower
and other equipment in it, plus three 5-gallon cans of gasoline. If he had to sprinkler it, he would
tear it down. He said that if they cut the shedin half and separated it into two smaller buildings
and movedthem out five feet from each other, they’d be under the code. Or they could put a fire
wall down the middle to have two separate buildings. It’s muchado about nothing.
Mr.Squires said he’s supportive of the variance. He asked if conditions could be put on it such
asnoaddition of power or heat; that would ensure that it would never be occupied as an office.
Mr.Rosen said storage-use only is a better limitation than no power or no heat because they
might need power for something; that’s not hazardous.
ZBA 01-15-2019 pg. 2