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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1206 ORDINANCE NO. 1206 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, ADDING TO PART 4 OF CHAPTER 1 OF ARTICLE III OF THE ARCADIA MUNICIPAL CODE NEW SECTIONS 3142.2 THROUGH 3142.5, 3142.5.1, 3142.6 THROUGH 3142.9. 3143, 3143.1, 314L~ -_' THR~UGH, 3144.2,_, 3145 THROUGH 3145.2 AND 3146 THROUGH 3146.2. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. That the Arcadia Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding to Part 4 of Chapter 1 of Article III thereof new Sections 3142.2, 3142.3, 3142.4, 3142.5, 3142.5.1, 3142.6, 3142.7, 3142.8, 3142.9, 3143, 3143.1, 3144, 3144.1, 3144'~J:3145~' ,: , 3145.1, 3145.2, 3146, 3146.1 and 3146.2, ttle same to read respectively as follows: 3142.2. OUTDOOR FIRES. No person shall build, ignite or maintain any outdoor fire of any kind or character, or for any pur- pose whatsoever, in or upon any hazardous fire area, except by the authority of a written permit from the Fire Chief. No permit will be required for outdoor fires within habited premises or designated camp sites where such fires are built in a permanent barbecue, , '. portable barbecue, outdoor fireplace, incinerator or grill, and are a minimum of thirty (30) feet from any grass, grain, brush or forest covered areas. Such a permit shall incorporate such terms and con- ditions which will reasonably safeguard public safety and property. Regardless of permit, however, no person shall build, ignite or main- tainany outdoor fire in or upon any hazardous fire area, under the / following conditions: 1. When any high wind is blowing; or 2. When there is no person aged seventeen (17) or over present at all times to watch and capable of tending such fire; or -1- 1206 3. Such times as public announcement is made that there shall be no open burning. No person shall use any permanent barbecue, portable barbecue, out- door fireplace, or grill for the disposal of rubbish, trash or com- bustible waste material. 3142.3. OPEN FLAME DEVICES. No person shall operate or use any device, machine or process such as a welding torch, tar pot, decorative torch, or any other device liable to start or cause fire in or upon any hazardous fire area, except by the authority of a written permit from the Fire Chief; provided, however, that no per- mit will be required if such use is within habited premises or desig- nated camp sites and such uses are a minimum of thirty (30) feet from any grass, grain, brush or forest covered areas. No person shall operate or use any flame employing device such as a lantern or kerosene road flare as a signal or marker in or upon any hazardous fire area. This Section shall not apply to or restrict the proper use of fusees at the scenes of emergencies or as required by standard railroad operating procedures. 3142.4. INCINERATORS AND FIREPLACES. No person shall build, install or maintain any incinerator, outdoor fireplace, permanent barbecue, or grill in any hazardous fire area without first securing written approval of the Fire Chief. Every incinerator, out- door fireplace, permanent barbecue or grill shall be maintained in good repair and in a safe condition at all times. All openings in any such appliance shall be provided with an approved spark arrester, screen or door. If required for their proper functioning, barbecues and grills may be approved with certain openings left unprotected. 3142.5. FIREWORKS. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3130.2 no persons shall use or possess fireworks within a hazardous fire area. Fireworks shall mean and include any article or substance or combination thereof which produces a visible or audible effect upon combustion, explosion, detonation 'or def1agra- tion. Fireworks shall include but not be limited to fire crackers, -2- 1206 sparklers, torpedoes, sky rockets, roman candles, blank cartridges, caps, tracers, tracer bullets, tracer charges or any similar item or anything containing any proportion of any substance of an explo- sive nature. 3142.5.1. SAME. EXCEPTION. The preceding Section shall not prohibit the possession of any item therein described, when otherwise lawful, at a location and in a manner otherwise lawful, within an occupied dwelling, or the transportation thereof to or from an occupied dwelling by vehicle upon public streets when other- wise lawful. 3142.6. EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING. No person shall possess, keep, store, sell, offer for sale, give away, use, discharge, trans- port or dispose of in any manner any explosives within any hazardous fire area except by the authority of a written permit from the Fire Chief. 3142.7. TRACER BULLETS. No person shall fire or cause to be fired any tracer bullet or tracer charge into or across any hazard- ous fire area, nor shall he have in his possession any tracer bullet or tracer charge on such area. 3142.8. ROCKETS AND MODELS. No person shall use, fire or proJect into or across any hazardous fire area any rocket, model plane, glider or balloon powered with an engine, propellent, or other features liable to start or cause fire in said area. 3142.9. DISPOSAL OF ASHES. No person shall place, deposit or dump any ashes or coals in or upon any hazardous fire area except in the hearth of an established fire pit, camp stove or fireplace; or in a noncombustible container with a tight fitting lid which is kept or maintained in a safe location not less than ten (10) feet from any combustible vegetation or structure; or where such ashes or coals are buried and covered with one (1) foot of mineral earth not less than twenty-five (25) feet from any combustible vegetation or structure. -3- 1206 3143. SPARK ARRESTERS. EQUIPMENT. No person shall use or operate in, upon, or within two hundred (200) feet of any hazardous fire area, any tractor, construction equipment, engine, machinery or any steam, oil or gasoline operated stationary or mobile equipment, from which a spark or fire may originate unless such equipment is provided with a qualified device or spark arrester installed in or attached to the exhaust pipe which will prevent the escape of fire or sparks. Said qualified device or spark arrester shall meet the United States Forest Service Interim Standards for Spark Arresters for Internal Combustion Engines Number 1, dated April 7, 1959. For the purpose of this Section, any registered motor vehicle operated on a road or highway and which is equipped with a muffler in good conditon as required by the Vehicle Code, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this Section. 3143.1. SAME. Each chimney used in conjunction with any fireplace, barbecue, incinerator or any heating appliance in which solid or liquid fuel is used, upon any building, structure, or premises located within two hundred (200) feet of any hazardous fire area, shall be maintained with a spark arrester constructed with heavy wire mesh or other non-combustible material with openings not to exceed one-half (t) inch. 3144. CLEARANCE OF GROWTH FROM ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINES. Any person owning, controlling, operating or maintaining any electrical transmission line upon any hazardous fire area shall, at all times, maintain around and adjacent to any pole supporting a switch, fuse, transformer, lightning arrester, line junction, dead- ened, corner pole, towers or other poles or towers at which power company employees are likely to work most frequently, an effective firebreak consisting of a clearing of not less than ten (10) feet in each direction from the outer circumference of such pole or tower; provided, however, that this provision shall not be deemed to apply -4- 1206 to lines used exclusively as telephone, telegraph, telephone or tele- graph messenger call, fire or alarm lines, or other lines classed as Communication (Class C) circuits by General Order 64-A of the Public utilities Commission of the State of California. Any person owning, controlling, operating or maintaining any electrical transmission line upon any hazardous fire area shall maintain a clearance of the respective distances as specified in this Section in all directions between all vegetation and all conductors carrying electrical current: 1. For lines operating at 2,400 volts and less than 68,000 volts, four (4) feet. 2. For lines operating at 68,000 volts and less than 110,000 volts, six (6) feet. 3. For lines operating at 110,000 volts and over, ten (10) feet. In any case, such distance shall be sufficiently great to furnish the required clearance from the particular wire or conductor, at any posi- tion of such wire or conductor at any temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 1esso Forked trees, dead trees, old decadent or rotten trees, those weakened by cat faces, decay or disease, and trees lean- ing toward the line, which may contact the line from the side or may fall on the line, shall be felled, cut or trimmed so as to remove the hazard. No clearing to obtain line clearance is required when se1f- supporting aerial cable is used except that forked trees, leaning trees, and other growth which may fall across the cable and break it shall be removed. Nothing contained in this Section shall be construed to require any person to maintain any clearing on land where such per- son does not have the legal right to maintain such clearing, nor shall any provision of this Part be construed to require any person to enter upon or to damage property of another without consent of the owner thereof. -5- 1206 3144.1. CLEARANCE OF GROWTH FROM STRUCTURES. Any person owning, leasing, controlling, operating or maintaining any building or structure in, upon or adJoining any hazardous fire area, and any person owning, leasing or controlling any land adjacent to such build- ings or structures, shall at all times keep such land clear and free of hazardous brush conditions. Buildings and structures with roof covering of "fire-retardant" materials, as specified in Section 3203(a) of the Uniform Building Code, 1958 Edition, shall at all times: 1. Maintain around and adjacent to such building or struc- ture an effective firebreak made by removing and clearing away, for a distance therefrom of not less than thirty (30) feet on each side thereof, all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth. This Section shall not apply to single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery, or similar plants used as ground covers, provided that they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any structure. 2. Maintain around and adjacent to any such building or structure additional fire protection or fire-break made by removing all brush, flammable vegetation or combustible growth located from thirty (30) feet to one hundred (100) feet from such building or structures as may be required by the Fire Chief when he finds that because of extra hazardous conditions a firebreak of only thirty (30) feet around such structures is not sufficient to provide reasonable fire safety. Grass and other vegetation located more than thirty (30) feet from such building or structure and less than eighteen (18) inches in height above the ground may be maintained where necessary to staba- lize the soil and prevent erosion; Buildings and structures with roof coverings other than "fire-retardant" materials shall at all times: 1. Maintain around and adJacent to such building or struc- ture an effective firebreak made by removing and clearing away, for -6- 1206 a distance therefrom of not less than thirty (30) feet on each side thereof, all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth. This Section shall not apply to single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery, or similar plants used as ground covers, provided that they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any structure. 2. Maintain around and adjacent to any such building or structure additional fire protection or firebreaks made by removing brush, flammable vegetation or combustible growth located from thirty (30) feet to one hundred (100) feet, such brush, flammable vegetation and combustible growth to be reduced in height to less than eighteen (18) inches above the ground where necessary to stab1ize the soil and prevent erosion. Where the percentage of grade on slopes is such that required clearance distances between flammable vegetation and structures does not offer the protection intended, such clearance dis- tances will be measured from the structures on a horizontal plane to the verticle. 30 Remove that portion of any tree which extends within ten (10) feet of the outlet of any Chimney. 4> Maintain any tree adjacent to or overhanging any build- ing free of dead wood. 5. Maintain the roof of any structure free of leaves, needles or other dead vegetative growth. In the event any of the conditions prohibited by this Section exist, the City Council may instruct the Fire Chief to give notice to the owner of the property upon which such condition exists, to correct such prohibited condition, and if the owner fails to correct such condition the City Council may cause the same to be done and make the expense of such correction a lien upon the property upon which such condition exists. -7- 1206 3144.2. CLEARANCE OF GROWTH FROM ROADWAYS. The Fire Chief may remove and clear within ten (10) feet on each side of every road- way all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth, and may enter upon private property to do so. This Section shall not apply to single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery or cultivated ground cover such as green grass, ivy, succulents or similar plants used as ground covers, provided that they do not form a means of readily transmitting fire. As used in this Section, "roadway" shall mean that portion of a highway or private street improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. If the Fire Chief determines in any specific case that ' difficult terrain, danger of erosion or other unusual circumstances make strict compliance with the clearance of vegetation provisions with Sections 3144, 3144.1 and 3144.2 of this Part undesirable or impractical, he may suspend enforcement thereof and require reasonable alternative measures designed to advance the purposes of this Part. 3145. FIRE ROADS AND FIREBREAKS. No person, except public officers acting within the scope of their duties, shall travel upon, or drive or park any motorcycle, motor scooter or motor vehicle upon any fire road or firebreak beyond the point where travel is restricted by a cable, gate or sign without the permission of the property owner or owners involved. No person shall park any vehicle so as to obstruct the entrance to any fire road or firebreak. No person shall install or maintain a radio or television aeria~ or guy wires theret~ or any other obstruction on any fire road or firebreak, which is less than sixteen (16) feet above such fire road or firebreak. 3145.1. MOTORCYCLES, MOTOR SCOOTERS AND MOTOR VEHICLES. No person shall operate any motorcycle, motor scooter or motor vehicle, except upon clearly established public or private roads within any hazardous fire area without first having secured a permit to do so from the Fire Chief. No such permit shall be issued unless written permission from the property owner is first presented. -8- 1206 3145.2. TAMPERING WITH FIRE DEPARTMENT LOCKS, BARRICADES AND SIGNS. No person shall tamper with, mutilate, destroy or remove any lock, barricade, seal, cable, sign or marker installed within any hazardous fire area by or under the control of the Fire Chief, or other duly constituted authority. No unauthorized person shall unlock any gate, door, barrier or lock installed by or under the con- trol of the Fire Chief or other duly constituted authority. 3146. ENFORCEMENT. The Fire Chief and his deputies her~by are authorized to enforce the provisions of this Part. Said deputies shall consist of the following persons: 1. Officers and members of the Fire Department. 2. Officers and members of the Police Department. 3. United States Forest Service Officers. 4. Such other officers or employees of the City Council as may be recommended by the Fire Chief and approved by the City Council. The Fire Chief and his authorized representatives, to in- clude deputized personnel, may enter any premises, structure or build- ing at any reasonable hour to enforce this Part. The owner, tenant, lessee, occupant, manager or operator of any such premises, structure or building shall permit the Fire Chief or his authorized representa- tive to enter and inspect at the time and for the purpose stated in this Section; provided that the authority conferred by this Section shall not apply to the entry of a private residence unless written notice is served on the occupant thereof. Such written notice shall contain a statement of the time and the purpose of such inspection. 3146.1. AUTHORITY TO STIPULATE PERMIT CONDITIONS. The Fire Chief shall have the authority to stipulate such conditions as he deems necessary in all permits. If in his judgment public safety would be better served, he may refuse to issue any such permit. -9- 1206 3146.2. LIABILITY FOR FIRE DAMAGE. The expenses of fighting any fires which are the result of a violation of this Part are a charge against the person whose violation of this Part caused the fire. Damages caused by such fires shall constitute a debt of such person and are collectible by the Fire Chief in the same manner as in the case of an obligation under a contract, expressed or implied. SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Arcadia held on the 21st day of May , 1963, by the affirmative vote of at least three Councilmen, to wit: AYES: Councilmen Balser, Butterworth, Reibold, Turner and Phillips NOES: None ABSENT: None ~~ City Clerk of t~ity SIGNED AND APPROVED this 21st day of May , 1963. ~ CZoS ~e ~~c'adia . . "- r.: v -:-. y i . . . -10- 1206