Yikes
Gold Member
Costa Mesa considers apartment garage ban after fire death
By CINDY CARCAMO
2011-04-11 08:13:48
COSTA MESA, CA – The death of a 17-year-old after a garage fire is leading Costa Mesa officials to consider several strategies to stop residents from converting their garages into living spaces.
On Monday night, the Costa Mesa Planning Commission will consider banning garages from newly constructed apartment complexes, in addition to other strategies that would likely affect many of the more than 700 apartment complexes already in the city, according to a staff report.
The move follows the February fire that led to the death of Luke Upton, who was pulled from a burning garage during a Costa Mesa apartment fire. Officials believe the fire began in a garage that had been converted to a living space before it spread to nearby rooms.
The commissioners are scheduled to consider the following strategies:
•Ban garages – allowing only carports – in new apartment construction. Some apartment complexes of a certain size would be exempt.
•Prohibit the conversion of carports into garages at existing apartments.
•Ban the installation of an access door from the interior of an apartment that directly leads to a garage.
•Publish and distribute flyers in English and Spanish, detailing the danger of garages being used as living areas.
•Mandate a self-certification program that would apply to complexes that have three to 16 units.
The program would mandate that the property owner submit a form annually that certifies that the apartment garages are being used and maintained in compliance with city law.
Apartment owners would also have to pay an administrative fee that would be calculate and collected on a per-unit basis. The fees would go to pay for code enforcement staff.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/apartment-295821-garages-garage.html?nstrack=sid:1378692%7Cmet:102300%7Ccat:0%7Corder:3&cb=1302551402
By CINDY CARCAMO
2011-04-11 08:13:48
COSTA MESA, CA – The death of a 17-year-old after a garage fire is leading Costa Mesa officials to consider several strategies to stop residents from converting their garages into living spaces.
On Monday night, the Costa Mesa Planning Commission will consider banning garages from newly constructed apartment complexes, in addition to other strategies that would likely affect many of the more than 700 apartment complexes already in the city, according to a staff report.
The move follows the February fire that led to the death of Luke Upton, who was pulled from a burning garage during a Costa Mesa apartment fire. Officials believe the fire began in a garage that had been converted to a living space before it spread to nearby rooms.
The commissioners are scheduled to consider the following strategies:
•Ban garages – allowing only carports – in new apartment construction. Some apartment complexes of a certain size would be exempt.
•Prohibit the conversion of carports into garages at existing apartments.
•Ban the installation of an access door from the interior of an apartment that directly leads to a garage.
•Publish and distribute flyers in English and Spanish, detailing the danger of garages being used as living areas.
•Mandate a self-certification program that would apply to complexes that have three to 16 units.
The program would mandate that the property owner submit a form annually that certifies that the apartment garages are being used and maintained in compliance with city law.
Apartment owners would also have to pay an administrative fee that would be calculate and collected on a per-unit basis. The fees would go to pay for code enforcement staff.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/apartment-295821-garages-garage.html?nstrack=sid:1378692%7Cmet:102300%7Ccat:0%7Corder:3&cb=1302551402
