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2009 10 27 Staff Report to Council City 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 27th 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 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 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 a single-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 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.