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HomeMy WebLinkAbout049 - 03/25/2003 - EXTENDING THE STATE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE CITY MANAGER AND RATIFYING AND CONFIRMING THE EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 049, 2003 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS EXTENDING THE STATE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE CITY MANAGER AND RATIFYING AND CONFIRMING THE EMERGENCY REGULATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER PERTAINING TO THE BLIZZARD OF MARCH 17, 18 AND 19, 2003 WHEREAS,on March 17, 18 and 19, 2003,the City was greatly impacted by a snow storm which deposited in excess of 30 inches of heavy, water-laden snow upon the City; and WHEREAS,the City has not experienced a winter storm of this magnitude since December, 1913,and the weight of the snow loads upon many rooftops in the City has been so heavy as to cause multiple total collapses of rooftops, multiple partial collapses of rooftops and has also stressed, fractured and rendered unsafe other rooftops and structures within the City, some known and some unknown to the City government at the time of the passage of this ordinance; and WHEREAS,in order to undertake emergency measures to protect the life,health,safety and property of the citizens of the City and persons conducting business therein,and in order to attempt to minimize the loss of human life and the preservation of such property, the City Manager, acting pursuant to the authority granted in Section 2-671(a)(1) of the City Code, has proclaimed the existence of a local emergency; and WHEREAS, having proclaimed such emergency, the City Manager has issued emergency rules and regulations in order to protect the safety of City residents and of persons conducting business within the City, a copy of which regulations is attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference as Exhibit "A" (the "Emergency Rules and Regulations"); and WHEREAS, one of the purposes of the Emergency Rules and Regulations was to establish a procedure for immediately vacating certain buildings that were determined by the Fire Chief and/or Building and Zoning Director to be a threat to the life,health or safety of the citizens of the City or of any person conducting business within the City,until such time as the threat to public safety has passed; and WHEREAS,the Emergency Rules and Regulations provide that any such premises deemed to be unsafe shall not be reoccupied until the premises have either been repaired and returned to a safe condition in accordance with the Uniform Building Code and/or the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, or until the Fire Chief or Building and Zoning Director has determined, according to the procedures described in Attachment 1 to the Emergency Rules and Regulations, that the building no longer presents a risk to public health and safety; and WHEREAS,pursuant to Sec.2-67 1(a)(6)a.,the Emergency Rules and Regulations have been presented to the City Council for confirmation; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Sec. 2-671(a)(1), the City Manager has requested that the City Council continue the proclamation of local emergency as established by the City Manager on March 19, 2003,beyond the seven(7)days automatically authorized to the City Manager under the Code; and WHEREAS, Article II, Section 6, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins states that the City Council may act by ordinance,resolution or motion and that every act placing any burden upon or limiting the use of private property shall be by ordinance; and WHEREAS,because the Emergency Rules and Regulations may be construed as temporarily limiting the use of private property,the City Council wishes to ratify,by ordinance,its confirmation and extension of the Emergency Rules and Regulations; and WHEREAS, Article H, Section 6, of the City Charter allows the City Council to pass an emergency ordinance on first reading upon the affirmative vote of at least five members of the City Council. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Manager's establishment of the Emergency Rules and Regulations,attached hereto as Exhibit"A"and incorporated herein by this reference,was necessary in the interest of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Fort Collins. Section 2. That the Council hereby confirms,ratifies and approves the Emergency Rules and Regulations, as of the date and time of their establishment by the City Manager. Section 3. That the Council hereby continues the Emergency Rules and Regulations for the purpose of protecting the public health and safety against, among other things, the collapse of buildings whose roof structures were damaged or compromised by the heavy snowfall of March, 2003. Section 4. That the state of local emergency and Emergency Rules and Regulations shall continue in effect until such time as the City Manager determines in writing that the same are no longer necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents of the City and such written determination is filed with the Office of the City Clerk. Section 5. That the circumstances described above require the immediate passage of this Ordinance, and this Ordinance is therefore enacted pursuant to Article H, Section 6, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins as an emergency Ordinance and shall be immediate effective upon its passage on first reading. 2 Introduced, considered favorably by at least five (5) members of the Council of the City of Fort Collins and finally passed as an Emergency Ordinance and ordered publishedois 25th day of March, A.D. 2003. Mayor .... ATTEST: City Clerk 3 EXHIBIT "A" EMERGENCY RULES AND REGULATIONS SNOW STORM OF MARCH 17, 18 AND 199 2003 TO ALL PERSONS TAKE NOTICE: That for the protection of life, health, safety and property as affected by reason of the snow storm of March 17, 18 and 19,2003,which snow storm resulted in my declaration of a"local emergency" under the authority of Chapter 2,Article IX of the Code of the City of Fort Collins,(the"City")and which declaration of local emergency was filed with the City Clerk and with the Colorado Division of Disaster Emergency Services on March 20, 2003, I have hereby established,under the authority of Sec. 2-671(a)(6)a, the following rules and regulations: 1. Commencing 1:00 o'clock, a.m., on Wednesday, March 19, 2003, and continuing until 4:00 o'clock,p.m.,Thursday,March 20,2003,Cityresidents were strongly encouraged not to use streets in the City except for emergency purposes. 2. The requirement of removal of snow and ice as established in Sec. 24-21 of the Code of the City is hereby suspended until 7:00 a.m.,Monday,March 24, 2003. 3. Any building or structure within the City limits may be ordered to be vacated by the Building and Zoning Director or the Fire Chief if inspection demonstrates that the loading of snow weight upon such building or structure may have resulted in significant structural damage so as to make such building or structure immediately dangerous to the life,limb and property or safety of the public or its occupants. The vacation of such premises shall continue in effect until such time as the building or structure has been determined to be safe and re-entry is allowed in accordance with the procedures entitled "Structural Collapse & Damage Repair Advisory" attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference as Attachment"1". 4. The Building and Zoning Director or Fire Chief is hereby authorized to post placards or notices on or around such buildings or structures in a manner reasonably calculated to provide notice to those present at the premises. No person shall remain in or enter any building or structure which has been so posted, except that an entry may be made under the express authorization of the Building and Zoning Director or Fire Chief. Any person violating this rule shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as provided in Sec. 1-15 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins. 5. Notwithstanding the provision contained in Sec. 106.1 of the Uniform Building Code (1997 Ed.), requiring the obtaining of a building permit, persons making repairs pursuant to these emergency rules and regulations may commence such emergency repairs prior to the issuance of the building permit if such repairs are made pursuant to the authority of the "posted placard" as described in paragraph 2 of"Attachment 1". 6. Pursuant to Sec. 2-675 of the Code, these emergency rules and regulations shall take precedence over the existing ordinances, rules and regulations of the City in the event of a conflict. In the event, however, that property owners in the City have received a notice and order of the Building and Zoning Director pursuant to the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings,the procedures contained in said Code shall thereafter apply to the property that is the subject of said notice and order. 7. Nothing in this emergency regulation shall prevent the City from utilizing such other legal mechanisms as are available to it, including, without limitation,the Fire Code,the Building Code,Chapter 20,Article I of the City Code and/or the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings to bring buildings into a safe condition so that they do not present a threat to the public health and safety by reason of the heavy snow loads generated by the snow storm of March 17, 18 and 19, 2003. DATED this 21 st day of March, A.D. 2003,Nunc Pro Tunc March 19, 2003 at 1:00 a.m. John .Fischbach,City Manager and Director of the Office of Emergency Management Attachment 1 STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE & DAMAGE REPAIR ADVISORY 3/21/03 The building you occupy or own has evidence of major structural damage from the excessive snow accumulation, like loud cracking/popping sounds, cracked, sagging, buckled,or bulging ceilings,floors or walls,or other obvious signs. You need to evacuate the building immediately because of the danger of collapse. A City inspector will be dispatched to do an initial assessment of the damage. Due to the call volume it may be several hours before they arrive. If significant damage is found, you may be required by City of Fort Collins regulations to vacate the building immediately. A placard will be posted on the building in a conspicuous location declaring it unsafe to enter. Only City officials or others authorized to assess or repair the damage are allowed in the building until repairs are made, once the building is declared unsafe to occupy. Before you can safely re-enter the building,all of the following must happen: 1. If the City inspector determines the damage is a significant hazard requiring a professional engineer to further assess the damage and recommend repairs, a letter signed and sealed by a licensed Colorado structural engineer, indicating the building can be safely entered upon completion of specified temporary or permanent repairs, must be obtained; and, 2. The posted placard, which is authorization to begin emergency repairs according to the engineer's recommendations (if applicable), is returned to the Building &Zoning Department along with the engineer's written recommendations and a building permit is obtained (if applicable)as soon as possible;and, 3. The specified repairs must be performed by a licensed contractor; or, in the case of homeowner-occupants who decide to personally perform the repairs, such homeowner has submitted a signed City affidavit form advising of such intention,and; 4. The consulting engineer has reviewed and approved either the temporary repairs necessary only to enter and retrieve building contents, or has reviewed and approved the permanent repairs necessary to re-occupy the building,and; S. Final approval is obtained based on the consulting engineer's written compliance report and/or a final City inspection. Any Colorado licensed structural engineer, several of whom are listed in the phone directory, is acceptable. If it appears that you do have significant damage, it is advisable to contact an engineer as soon as possible to begin the process. An engineer's report may prevent an order to vacate when the building inspectors arrive. Contact the Building & Zoning Department for More information (970 2216760) located at 281 N.College Ave.