HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/8/2019 Item 1, Cooper (2)
Goodwin, Heather
From:Allan Cooper <saveourdowntownslo@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday,
To:Bell, Kyle; Codron, Michael; Advisory Bodies
Subject:1121 Montalban Street - Modification to the Draft Resolution to Address Bedroom
Partitions
Attachments:805_08_19...lettertopc.pdf
Dear Kyle -
Would you kindly insure that the Planning Commission will have an opportunity to read this letter before their meeting
today? Thanks!
- Allan
Allan Cooper, Secretary - Save Our Downtown, San Luis Obispo, CA
Website: www.SaveOurDowntownSLO.com
1
Save Our Downtown
______________________________________________________________________________
Seeking to protect and promote the historical character, design, livability and economic
success of downtown San Luis Obispo.
To: San Luis Obispo Planning Commission
Re: 1121 Montalban Street - modification to the Draft Resolution to address bedroom
partitions
From: Allan Cooper, Secretary Save Our Downtown
Date: May 7, 2019
Honorable Chair and Commissioners -
I am responding to the letter you received on May 7, 2019 from Associate Planner Kyle Bell and
Community Development Director Michael Codron regarding Item #1 1121 Montalban and the
“modification to the Draft Resolution to address bedroom partitions”.
Mr. Bell informs you about occupancy standards but his discussion should be confined to
defining the number of bedrooms, not occupancy, in determining the minimum parking
requirements. Occupancy will not have an impact on the number of parking spaces required.
Mr. Bell stated “The proposed partitions do not qualify as additional bedrooms under the
California Building Code, or the City’s Zoning Regulations.” I defy both you or Mr. Bell to
actually find the citations within either the California Building Code, or the City’s Zoning
Regulations that will provide you with the precise definition of a “bedroom”. I have looked
everywhere in these two documents and these definitions cannot be found. You should place
the burden on staff to provide you with these specific citations before you determine that
this issue is settled.
Nevertheless, I can tell you how the National Building Code defines a “bedroom”. “A room
must have a window for direct egress to the exterior with an opening of no less than 6 square
feet and a door on it so that the room can be closed.” Each of these partitioned off spaces are
provided with both a window and a door such that the room can be closed. There should be no
debate that the partition, once installed, will result in meeting the definition of a “closed room”.
More specifically, the California Building Code states that a bedroom must have a minimum of
70 square feet, a minimum dimension of 7 feet, in any direction, 2 means of egress,
temperature controls between a specific range and a smoke detector.
Mr. Bell further states that “partitions that are used as privacy screens in the proposed project
do not constitute walls that create additional bedrooms in the project”. Again, I defy both you
or Mr. Bell to find the citations within either the California Building Code, or the City’s
Zoning Regulations that define a “wall”. The closest I can come to the definition of a “wall”
is in the International Building Code. The 2018 IBC Code defines a wall as “a vertical element…
used to enclose space.” I believe these partitions fit that description .
1
(see https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2018/chapter-2-definitions)
1
Chapter 2 Definitions First Printing August 2017:
“Wall (for Chapter 21). A vertical element with a horizontal length-to-thickness ratio greater than three,
used to enclose space.”
As an aside, appraisers will still consider a room a bedroom if it is provided with a free-standing
armoire as opposed to a built-in closet but there is nothing in writing from a legal perspective
that requires a built-in closet in the U.S. However, the International Residential Code states that
a “bedroom” does not require a closet but that it must also have a permanent heat method that
brings the room to 68 degrees measured 3 feet off the floor. Thank you!