We just saved a client $20,000. (Sometimes city officials don’t know state law.)

Often, the city can’t keep up with changing state laws (which is, frankly, almost impossible). We pointed out a new law. As a result, the city building department agreed not to create $20,000+ in work. 

When your city inspectors tell you that your accessory dwelling needs a fire sprinkler, you tend to trust that they know what they’re talking about. It is, after all, their job.

You don’t expect them to be wrong. But it happens.

It recently happened to one of our clients, who was building an accessory dwelling on their property. Fortunately, this homeowner hired a designer who knows the ins and outs of dealing with city hall. The designer helped the city official understand the law.

Here is a tutorial for how to work with city hall. (After all, when we play nice, they are our friends — most of the time.)

With any new construction or remodel, there are bound to be some headaches. It’s true of any major project.

When your city inspectors tell you that your accessory dwelling needs a fire sprinkler, you tend to trust that they know what they’re talking about. It is, after all, their job.

You don’t expect them to be wrong. And you certainly don’t expect them to be wrong to the tune of $20,000.

This recently happened to one of our clients, who was building an accessory dwelling on their property. Fortunately, this homeowner hired a designer who knows the ins and outs of dealing with city hall. The designer helped the city official understand the law, saving our clients $20,000.

Here’s how it all went down.

1) We received a comment from the city saying we had to put in sprinklers. With new water service, sprinklers, and all the work that goes into them, these systems can add up to $15,000 or more. With a new water meter, it can be $30,000 or more.

We knew sprinklers shouldn’t be required in the accessory dwelling, so we asked for clarification. Here’s what the city plan checker sent us:

From: City Building Plan Checker
To: Architect
Subject: RE: Fire Sprinkler Question

You do not need to install a fire sprinkler system in the existing single-family residence, but you do need one for the new detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU). Please add fire sprinklers to the plans.

2) We replied, pointing out the state law (which we contributed to back in 2016!) that says the sprinklers are not required.

From: Architect
To: City Building Plan Checker
Subject: RE: Fire Sprinkler Question

That conflicts with Senate Bill No. 1069, Section 5 (c). which states:

“Accessory dwelling units shall not be required to provide fire sprinklers if they are not required for the primary residence.”

Here’s where the law is posted online: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1069

3) The city sent another comment a day later, again telling us to add the sprinklers. So, we had to address this again.

From: Architect
To: City Building Plan Checker
Subject: RE: Fire Sprinkler Question

Good Afternoon. We just received additional comments from the city regarding our project.

It seems there is some confusion about the state law, which says that accessory dwellings do not need fire sprinklers if sprinklers are not required in the main home.

It is our understanding that we are not required to provide a fire sprinkler system to this project, since the existing single-family dwelling unit does not have a fire sprinkler system installed.

4) The city noted that they hadn’t been able to keep up with the changing laws and they would not require the sprinklers. 

From: City Building Plan Checker
To: Architect
Subject: RE: Fire Sprinkler Question

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

When this law passed in 2016, public works staff may have not been made aware of the changes. I did not know of this law until you brought it up. So for the past few years, I, and likely my colleagues as well, have been requiring new detached ADUs to have fire sprinklers installed as was done prior to this state law taking effect.

I will inform my colleagues of the 2016 state law and ask them to adjust their review process accordingly.

Result: Victory for our homeowner and, we hope, others who will build accessory dwellings in the future.

This isn’t unusual.

In fact, it’s happened before, and we expect it to happen again. There are a lot of rules about accessory dwellings, and there are a lot of state rules that say what cities can and can’t do. It’s actually pretty common for city planners to be out of date or confused about the law.

That’s where we come in.

A good designer or architect knows the rules and can get permits, eliminate unnecessary costs, and help the homeowner avoid surprises — all while creating a life-changing design.

At New Avenue, we helped write the rules, and our designers know the right questions to ask.

Schedule a call now to get a New Avenue designer on your side.