HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Reso 2025-50 - Establishing Findings of Fact for Local ConditionsRESOLUTION 2025-50
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF UKIAH CITY COUNCIL ESTABLISHING FINDINGS OF FACT
AND NEED FOR CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS TO THE STATE BUILDING STANDARDS
CODE BECAUSE OF LOCAL CONDITIONS
CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS: Pursuant to Section 13869.7, 17958.5, 17958.7, 17922, and
18941.5 of the State of California Health and Safety Code, the City of Ukiah City Council in its
ordinance adopting and amending the 2025 Edition of the California Fire Code with reference to the
2024 Edition of the International Fire Code, changes or modifies certain provisions of the 2025
California Building Standards Code (Title 24, Part 9) as it pertains to the regulation of buildings
used for human habitation. A copy of the text of such changes or modifications is attached.
Findings: Pursuant to Sections 17958.5, 17958.7, 17922, and 18941.5 of the State of California
Health and Safety Code, the City of Ukiah City Council has determined and finds that the attached
changes or modifications to the 2025 California Building Standards Code are needed and are
reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geographic, and topographic conditions.
Local Conditions: Local conditions have an adverse effect on the prevention of (1) major loss fires,
(2) major earthquake damage, and (3) the potential for life and property loss, making necessary
changes or modifications to the 2025 California Fire Code, 2024 International Fire Code and the
2025 California Building Standards Code in order to provide a reasonable degree of property
security and fire and life safety in this Fire District.
Below are listed adverse local climatic (see No. 1), geographic, and topographic (see No. 2)
conditions.
1 1. Climatic
a. Preci Ritation. Precipitation ranges from 13 to 71 inches per year with an average of
approximately 37 inches per year. Approximately eighty-nine percent (89%) falls during the
months of November through April, and eleven (11 %) from May through October.
b. Relative Humidity. Humidity generally ranges from 35% during daytime to 85% at night.
The humidity can drop to 12% or lower during the summer months.
c. Temperatures. Temperatures have been recorded as high as 115 degrees F. Average
summer highs are in the 86 to 91 degree range.
d. Winds. Prevailing winds are from the northwest. However, winds are experienced from
virtually every direction at one time or another. Velocities are generally in the 3 — 18 mph
range, gusting to 33 mph, particularly during the summer months. Extreme winds, up to 50
mph, have been known to occur.
e. Summary. These local climatic conditions affect the acceleration, intensity, and size of fire
in the community. Times of little or no rainfall, of low humidity and high temperatures create
extremely hazardous conditions, particularly as they relate to the ignition of structure fires
which have the potential to burn into the vegetation (wildland), and vice versa. The winds
experienced in this area can have a tremendous impact upon structure fires in buildings of
close proximity to one another, commonly found in the residential neighborhoods throughout
the Ukiah Valley. During structure, or wildland fires, winds can carry sparks and burning
brands to other structures, thus spreading the fire and causing conflagrations. In building
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fires, winds can literally force fire back into the building and create a blowtorch effect, in
addition to preventing "natural" ventilation and cross -ventilation efforts.
2. Geographic and Topographic
a. The fire environment of a community is primarily a combination of two factors: the area's
physical geographic characteristics and the historic pattern of urban -suburban development.
These two factors, alone and combined, create a mixture of environments, which ultimately
determines the area's fire protection needs.
The basic geographical boundaries of the District include Nelson Ranch Road to the south,
Cleland Mountain to the west, Gold Gulch to the north and Cow Mountain to the east.
Because of the size of the Ukiah Valley Fire District (98 square miles), the characteristics of
the fire environment changes from one location to the next. Therefore, the District has not
one, but a number of fire environments, each of which has its individual fire protection
needs.
The service area of the Ukiah Valley Fire District has a varied topography and vegetative
cover. A conglomeration of valley floor, mountainous slopes, and ridges make up the
terrain. Development has occurred on the flat lands in the central portion of the District.
However, over the last thirty years, development has spread onto the surrounding
mountainous slopes.
b. Seismic Location. The relatively young geological processes that have created the San
Francisco Bay Area are still active today. The District sits on the Maacama fault between
the San Andreas fault to the west and the Bartlett Springs fault to the east.
c. Size and Population. The Ukiah Valley Fire District covers 98 square miles including a
population estimated at 35,000. Ukiah Valley Fire has the largest number of dispatches of
any fire district in Mendocino County. Within the Fire Protection District are four (4) fire
stations and a total of 34 Fire District personnel. The Fire Protection District handles diverse
responsibilities including wildland, urban, freeway, and medical.
d. Roads and Streets. The 2005 Regional Transportation Plan states that the mountainous
nature of Mendocino County tends to minimize ground transportation options throughout the
region. As a result, lengthy cul-de-sacs, dead-end roads, and looped road systems
generally service many of the existing and new developments. Some planned unit
developments are served by private roads, which create access problems (i.e., narrow
paved widths and on -street parking).
The roadway systems on the flat lands within the Ukiah Valley Fire District are for the most
part a grid or loop system. Many of the roads servicing residential areas on the east and
west foothills of the District are narrow and winding affording difficult ingress to emergency
apparatus. Ingress and egress into the foothill areas will be made extremely difficult by
large-scale emergencies such as earthquake and wildland fire.
e. Topography. The District's service area is a conglomeration of valley floor, mountainous
slopes, and ridges. The flatter lands are found in the central portion of the District. Most of
the existing urban and suburbanized areas are on relatively flat lands (0 — 5% slope).
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Correspondingly, there is much diversity in slope percentages to the east and west of the
valley floor. Slopes on the northeast side of the valley floor average 26% and range from 8-
80%. Slopes on the southeast side of the valley floor average 35% and range from 9-80%.
Slopes on the northwest side of the valley floor average 32% and range from 13-80%.
Slopes on the southwest side of the valley floor average 48% and range from 6-80%. Slope
is an important factor in fire spread. As a basic rule of thumb, the rate of spread will double
as the slope percentage doubles, all other factors remaining the same.
Elevations are varied in the District with the most southwest turn on Ruddick Cunningham
Road listed as 566 feet above sea level. The average elevation of the valley floor within the
District is 585 feet above sea level. The highest elevation is located above Willow Creek on
the east side of the District at 2600 feet above sea level.
f. Veaetation. The Ukiah Valley's semi -arid Mediterranean -type climate produces vegetation
similar to that of most of Mendocino County, with specific growth locale a result of
topography and prevailing wind. The south facing exposures are primarily annual grass with
occasional clumps of Oak trees. The east, north, west facing slopes are heavily wooded
from lower elevations to ridge with Oak, Madrone, Douglas -fir, Redwood, and minor shrubs
of the general Chaparral class.
Expansion of the residential community into areas of heavier vegetation has resulted in
homes existing in close proximity to dense natural foliage. Often such dwellings are
completely surrounded by highly combustible vegetation compounding the fire problem from
a conflagration point of view.
g. Hydrology. The Ukiah Valley Fire District contains Lake Mendocino, the Russian River, Mill
Creek, Robinson Creek and multiple ephemeral streams. Annual precipitation at or above
the annual average of 37 inches can result in flooding along the Russian River and its
tributaries. These flooding events lead to increased emergency response times for
apparatus responding through or around the flooded roadways.
h. Summary. The above local geographic and topographic conditions increase the magnitude,
exposure, accessibility problems, and fire hazards presented to the Ukiah Valley Fire
District.
Fire following an earthquake has the potential of causing greater loss of life and damage
than the earthquake itself.
The majority of the Ukiah Valley's industrial/commercial complexes are located in close
proximity to the Maacama fault. This fault zone also contains the largest concentration of
hazardous materials. Hazardous materials, particularly toxic gases, could pose the greatest
threat to the largest number, should a significant seismic event occur. The District's
resources would have to be prioritized to mitigate the greatest threat, and may likely be
unavailable for smaller single -dwelling or structure fires.
Other variables may tend to intensify the situation:
1) The extent of damage to the water system;
2) The extent of isolation due to bridge and/or freeway overpass collapse;
3) The extent of roadway damage and/or amount of debris blocking the roadways;
4) Climatic conditions (hot, dry weather with high winds);
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5) Time of day will influence the amount of traffic on roadways and could intensify the
risk to life during normal business hours;
6) The availability of timely mutual aid or military assistance;
Conclusion: Local climatic, geographic, and topographic conditions impact fire prevention efforts,
and the frequency, spread, acceleration, intensity and size of fire involving buildings in this
community. Further, they affect potential damage to all structures from earthquake, or flood, and
subsequent fire. Therefore, it is found to be reasonably necessary that the California Fire Code and
the State Building Standards Code be changed or modified to mitigate the effects of the above
conditions.
Furthermore, California Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7 requires that the modification or
change be expressly marked and identified as to which each finding refers. Therefore, the City of
Ukiah City Council finds that the following table provides code sections that have been modified
pursuant to Ordinance 2023-1 which are building standards as defined in Health and Safety Code
Section 18909, and the associated referenced conditions for modification due to local climatic,
geological and topographical reasons.
Section Number Local climatic, geological and topographical conditions
503
le, 2a, 2b, 2e, 2f, 2h
503.3
le, 2a, 2b, 2e, 2f, 2h
503.3.3
le, 2a, 2d, 2e, 2f
505.1
le, 2h
505.3
le, 2h
505.4
le, 2c
505.5
le, 2h
506.1
le, 2h
506.1.1
le, 2h
506.2
le, 2h
1201.4
le, 2h
903.2
le, 2h
3307.5
1 e, 2h
Table B105.2
le, 2h
BB105.1
le, 2h
5704.2.9.6.1
le, 2h
5706.2.4.4
le, 2h
5806.2
le, 2h
6104.2
le, 2h
I
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED AND ORDERED that the Fire Chief of the
Ukiah Valley Fire District shall provide a copy of the change or modification together with a copy of
this resolution to the County of Mendocino pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section
13869.7(b) 0
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PASSED AND ADOPTED, by the City of Ukiah City Council, County of Mendocino, State of
California on September 17, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Rodin, Criss, Orozco, Sher, and Mayor Crane.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ATTEST:
LL��W
Kristine Lawler, City Clerk
L
Douglas F. rane, Mayor
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