A bill updating the county fire code was temporarily set aside Wednesday to allow officials time to figure out a way to make an important component of the code compatible with the county’s online EPIC building permit system.
The County Council’s Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit postponed Bill 221 until Nov. 15 after Building Division Chief Julann Sonomura said her staff is already overwhelmed with work and wouldn’t have time to add uploading drawings for fire suppression plans into their workday.
The proposed code adds a 15% permit fee on top of the building permit fee for fire sprinkler and fire alarm system reviews, which take a couple of weeks as they are very technical.
Suggestions by county administrators to permit these systems through a separate track, perhaps by the Fire Department, met with skepticism by some council members, who want to see all aspects of a structure’s plans housed in a central system.
“It sounds like we need to have a talk story before we really advance this,” said Kohala Councilman Tim Richards in asking the bill be postponed. “We want to keep this thing rolling, but we also want to make sure it’s rolling in the right direction.”
Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, who sponsored the measure, agreed.
“It sounds like there’s a need for Building and Fire to connect after this meeting and work out some of those issues,” she said.
The committee, at the request of the Fire Department, struck the section of the bill that would have created fines for violations of the code. That portion of the bill can come back later, as it’s currently premature and refers to a fires board of appeal, which currently doesn’t exist, said Fire Chief Kazuo Todd.
Todd said the Fire Department has the authority to shut down businesses in violation of the fire code.
Permit fees for a variety of activities would double or more under the proposed law. The fees have not been increased since 2006.
For example, the fee for a carnival or fair would increase from $100 to $200; farmers markets, flea markets and open markets would go up from $25 biannually to $100; installation or removal of flammable and combustible liquids tanks of greater than 60 gallons would increase from $50 to $200; places of assembly permits for assemblies of 300 occupants or greater would increase from $50 to $200 annually, and permits for tents and temporary structures of more than 700 square feet, for Christmas trees and fireworks for example, would go from $25 to $50.
In addition, certificates of fitness are now required. This means the individual who is installing, maintaining and testing systems is credentialed by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, demonstrating they are capable and qualified to carry out the work.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.