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Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION River TO ITEM NUMBER Mayor and City Council 8.1 AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY General Business September 17, 2012 T.John Cunningham,Fire Chief ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Request for Fire Code Variance for Mark and Penny Leadens, Bob Ru recht,Building Official 927 Highway 10 REVIEWED BY Cal Portner, City Administrator ACTION REQUESTED Approve the following fire code variance for Mark Leadens and Penny Leadens ("Leadens") for the property located at 927 Highway 10, Elk River,MN, 55330: • The property shall comply with Chapter 21 of the 2012 version of the International Fire Code (IFC),a copy of which is attached hereto, for the purpose of operating a dry cleaning business. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION Earlier this month, staff received a request for a fire code variance from Mackall, Crounse &Moore, PLC, of behalf of the Leadens, for the property located at 927 Highway 10, Elk River,MN, 55330. A copy of the variance request is attached. Currently, both the city and state enforce the 2006 version of the IFC. Under the current rules of the IFC, the Leadens would be required to install a sprinkler system at the above referenced property. Changes to the IFC in the 2012 version would exempt the Leadens from having to install a sprinkler system,based on the information provided in the August 30, 2012,letter. Since the state and the city, have not yet adopted the 2012 version of the IFC,the requirements of the 2006 version remain enforceable and the only exemption to the rules are through a variance. While staff strongly encourages and recommends fire suppression systems in commercial occupancies,we understand the financial and practical concerns that often accompany such requirements. In this specific instance,the applicant has,in staff s opinion,provided an acceptable justification for the approval of a variance, based on the changes and requirements set forth in the 2012 version of the IFC. Per § 299F.001, subsection 5, of the Minnesota Statutes, the City Council authorized to grant a variance to the Fire Code (emphasis added): Upon application,the state fire marshal may grant variances from the minimum requirements specified in the code if there is substantial compliance with the provisions of the code, the safety of the public and occupants of such building will not be jeopardized, and undue hardship will result to the applicant unless such variance is granted. No appeal to the state fire marshal for a variance from orders issued by a local fire official from the State Fire Code shall be accepted until the applicant has first made application to the local governing body and the local unit has acted on the application. The state fire FawIRED 0 N:APublic Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\09-17-2012\Variance Requestdocx U R E