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2009 10 27 Staff Report to Council with attachmentsCity of Yelm STAFF REPORT To: Mayor Ron Harding Yelm City Council From: Grant Beck, Director of Community Development Tim Peterson, Public Works Director Date: October 21, 2009 (for October 27t" City Council Meeting) Subj: Palisades West Subdivision Alteration Recommendation None. Information only from the October 12, 2009, Council meeting. Background LIABILITY ISSUES WITH NOT MEETING DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR THE OPERATION OF A GROUP A WATER SYSTEM. As noted during the public hearing on the subdivision alteration, the Smiths cannot waive any City liability for not meeting Department of Health regulations for water service. Section 246-290-230 (5) WAC requires that: New public water systems or additions to existing systems shall be designed with the capacity to deliver the design PHD quantity of water at 30 psi (210 kPa) under PHD flow conditions measured at all existing and proposed service water meters or along property lines adjacent to mains if no meter exists, and under the condition where all equalizing storage has been depleted. The static pressure at Palisades West is 24 psi under normal conditions, not during Peak Hour Demand (PHD) and with the water tanks nearly full. The City can not waive this standard without being in jeopardy of an enforcement action by the Department of Health. As indicated at the hearing, Department of Health regulations do allow the use of booster pumps for individual services as an interim measure until system improvements are made to resolve pressure deficiencies. Individual booster pumps must be under the management and control of the purveyor, in this case the City of Yelm. Interim is not defined but is considered to be short term with plans for long term solutions to be in progress or planned within a reasonable time October 21, 2009 Page 1 of 4 frame. It is not unreasonable to expect that the Department of Health would require the City at some point in the future to remedy the situation at City expense. Dan Lee, the developer's agent and contractor for the Smiths, indicated at the hearing that he had installed an individual booster pump inside the home. This pump was placed without a permit from the City of Yelm and does not meet the standards for an exception to pressure requirements noted above. In order for the individual booster pump to be allowed under Department of Health regulations, it would have to be: • Reviewed and approved by the City of Yelm and the Washington Department of Health. Located on the public side of the water meter in the public right-of-way. • Enclosed in a heated structure. • Be provided with auxiliary power in the form of a generator. • Dedicated to the City. Individual booster pumps were explored as an option by the City in December of 2008 and were determined to be unfeasible for these reasons and for the fact that an individual booster pump would not provide required fire flows. An individual booster pump would also not solve a potential water quality issue caused by back-siphonage. A single household would not use enough water to keep the water in the main serving Palisades West fresh which could result in unsatisfactory water quality for the home owner. This situation could also cause the City increased public works staff time and resources for the purpose of water testing and main flushing for one residential home. Additionally, during a fire flow or low pressure event in another area of the City, stagnant water in the main at Palisades would be drawn back down the hill into other portions of the distribution system, potentially causing water quality issues and potentially a violation reportable to the Department of Health. The booster pump station that was originally identified through the development review process as necessary for the proposed development solves the above issues. RESPONSE TO APPLICANT'S ENGINEERING REPORT RELATED TO FIRE FLOW. As noted during the public hearing, Dr. McClure's letter is based on incorrect assumptions regarding the situation in Yelm. Dr. McClure properly quotes the International Fire Code as adopted by the City of Yelm but makes the incorrect assumption that the Fire Chief of SE Thurston Fire/EMS is the `fire code official' for the City of Yelm and has the authority to determine compliance with codes or standards. In fact, the City of Yelm contracts with SE Thurston for fire protection services but does not utilize the fire district for fire plan review or fire code compliance reviews. Gary Carlson is the City's duly appointed Building Official and Fire Marshal and serves at the City's fire code official. Mr. Carlson has participated in every stage of the review of the Palisades West subdivision and the Smith building permit and has consistently October 21, 2009 Page 2 of 4 maintained that fire flows as required by the International Fire Code must be maintained in the subdivision before occupancy of any habitable structure. Mr. Carlson reviewed the letter from SE Thurston Fire/EMS submitted by the developer's agent and building contractor and determined that the district did not conclude that required fire flows were met at the site but rather provided a tactical plan for fighting a fire without the required flows. This conclusion was confirmed by the Deputy Chief of SE Thurston at a meeting between the City, the District, and the Smith's. The Deputy Chief also noted at this meeting that allowing a development with inadequate fire flow could impact the fire insurance rating throughout the City, increasing fire insurance premiums for other City residents. The static pressure in the hydrant in Palisades West subdivision is less than the required residual pressure during fire events. At 20 psi residual pressures, as required by fire codes, the hydrant provides just over half the required fire flow. The hydrant in question flows 578 gpm and the required flow is 1,000 gpm for 60 minutes without sprinklers, per Appendix A of the International Fire Code. The Yelm Development Guidelines at Section 6.030 require hydrants to provide fire flows per the IFC except that under no conditions shall a hydrant flow less than 750 gpm at 20 psi residential pressure. RESPONSE TO APPLICANT'S ENGINEERING REPORT RELATED TO SEWER SYSTEM PRESSURE SUSTAINING VALVE. Dr. McClure assumes that the Yelm sewer system is a traditional gravity system rather than a pressurized Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) system and apparently did no independent research relating to the current pressures found within the existing sewer collection system. The engineering firm Parametrix has been involved in the planning, engineering, and operation of the STEP sewer system since its initial conception. According to Parametrix, the Yelm STEP sewer system is designed to maintain a minimum pressure throughout the collection system. This design is intended primarily to maintain asingle- phase flow in the system, reducing the introduction of air to the system and thus improving system efficiency and reducing odors. The existing STEP collection is generally very flat, allowing pressure to be maintained throughout the system using a single control point located at the wastewater treatment plant. All the homes in the Palisades West development are located approximately 60 feet above the average elevation of the collection system, rendering the control point at the treatment plant ineffective in maintaining system pressure in the Palisades West system. The pressure sustaining valve was recommended by Parametrix to maintain pressure in the higher area of the collection system for the Palisades West subdivision to maintain existing pressure conditions in the system and prevent inefficient system operation and odor issues in the subdivision. CITY LIABILITY FOR NOT ISSUING OCCUPANCY AFTER BUILDING PERMIT WAS ISSUED. Brent Dille, the City Attorney, has reviewed the City's potential liability for not allowing occupancy of the home despite the issuance of a building permit that was not for a October 21, 2009 Page 3 of 4 model home. Mr. Dille's response is in the form of a memo attached to this report. Mr. Dille has also been in contact with the Association of Washington Cities, Yelm's insurance provider. It should also be noted that the approved building plans, attached to the building permit issued for the construction of the home and an official part of the permit, included a copy of the final subdivision condition relating to the booster pump station with a note which reads "No certificate of occupancy will be Issue until Booster Pump is provided." Whether Dan Lee, the developer's agent and Smith's contractor, informed his clients of this condition is unknown, but the City did provide notice that the condition applied. Finally, even if the City waived the requirement for a booster pump station by issuing a building permit to here should have been no expectation that occupancy of any structure would be granted until the sewer pressure sustaining valve was in place, as this note was also on the final subdivision. Current Situation As noted in the staff report dated October 1, 2009, the policy issue before the City Council is whether to waive a clear requirement of the International Fire Code and Department of Health Regulations and knowingly allow occupancy of a dwelling unit in which the requirements for fire flow and residential pressures cannot be met. October 21, 2009 Page 4 of 4 :.. ~~_ ~ ~,,F O Q ',~ ll1 W W ~`, LL `' W~ Ja V '_. ~~FYm ee~gi 3=~~s EoB~- dog='s m""°~a x€- ~ ~~~g $w~~ ~~~~ e? Ep m gmy,q V ~.g U9S5U Ft'.~ ~~~~~ k ~A a~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ A ~. ~~ m ~~ ~~ 311 ~ ~ ~. rte.. ~~ _.;y~_~u ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~; r a ¢ ,gym na ~ ^' S"'a s~. 6 °, z UWENS DAMES FRISTOE TAYLOR & SCHULTZ, P.S. Attorneys at Law $. Robert Fristoe Don W. Taylor Frank J. Owens Theodore D. Schultz Richard G. Phillips, Jr. Michael W. Mayberry Kirk M. Veis Mat#hew B. Edwards Brent F. Dille JoEui V. Lyman Denise W. Derricott October 21, 2009 Yelm City Council City of Ye1m 105 Yelm Avenue West Yelm, WA 98597 RE: Palisades West Dear Council Members: Street Address: 1115 West Bay Drive, Suite 302 Olympia, Washington 98502 Mailing Address: P. O. Box 187 Olympia, Washington 98507 Phone (360) 943-8320 Facsimile (360) 943-6150 You have asked that I render an opinion as to the liability of the city far issuing the building permit and the feasibility of amending the plat approval to defer the instillation of a booster pump and roll seal. I have met with City staff and reviewed the testimony and materials presented at the public hearing and have the following comments: 1. The City has no liability for issuing the building permit. Dan Lee, the Smith's contractor, testified during the hearing that he was aware of the requirement of the booster pump and pressure sustaining valve ("Roll Seal"} at the time he applied for the building permit. I have further learned that Mr. Lee worked with Steve Chamberlain and attended meetings with city staff to go over these requirements prior to final plat approval in 2007. Because Mr. Lee was acting as agent for the Smiths and had actual knowledge of these requirements prior to requesting the building permit, the Smiths are deemed to have the same knowledge and, therefore, cannot now claim they were misled by the city when it issued the permit. Finally the Smiths had or, with reasonable investigation, should have known of this requirement as I am certain the Smiths' title report noted this exception and were provided a copy of the recorded plat prior to or at closing. Consequently, it is the Smith's contractor, Mr. Lee or the developer, Mr. Chamberlain, and not the City, who owes a duty to the Smiths. OWENS DAVIES FRISTOE TAYLOR & SCHULTZ, P.S. Yelm City Council October 2l, 2009 Page 2 2. Necessity for Booster Pump I fail to see haw we can resolve the booster pump issue. Regardless of whether or not the Smiths can extinguish a house fre, WAC 246-290-230(5) requires that there be a minimum of 30 PSI AT THE METER. I understand that there is only 24 PSI the Smith's meter and therefore the City would be in violation of the above cited WAC. I understand the Smiths have installed their own booster pump but it is installed after the meter and, therefore, does not satisfy this specific requirement. I simply cannot recommend a solution that causes the City to run afoul of a Department of Health regulation and jeopardize its water system permit and open the City to administrative sanctions. 3. Compliance with Roll Seal Requirement With regard to the Pressure Sustaining Valve (roll seal), in speaking with Tim Peterson, director of Public Works, the roll seal is necessary even if only one house is connected to the main line in order to prevent anover-pressurization in the waste distribution line. The Smiths' engineer could not guarantee that there would not be an over-pressurization event. Short of a multi- million dollar insurance policy issued by Lloyds of London in favor of the City for damages sustained to other residents, the Smiths' personal waiver of liability and indemnification is frankly, cold comfort. I empathize with the Smiths. They seem like nice folks who were misled by Steve Chamberlain or their builder. Unfortunately, for the reasons set forth above, I cannot recommend the City allow the plat amendment as requested. Very truly yours, OWENS DAVIES F E TAYL R & SC TZ, P.S. Brent F. Dille BFD/so N;IBFDIYe1mlPalisades WestlCouncil Ltr 162009 rev BFD.dac