| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to building safety; amending s. 633.025, |
| 3 | F.S.; exempting existing buildings from minimum firesafety |
| 4 | codes until a specified date; exempting owners of certain |
| 5 | apartment buildings or condominiums from a requirement to |
| 6 | install a fire alarm system; amending s. 718.1085, F.S.; |
| 7 | extending until 2016 a provision prohibiting local |
| 8 | authorities having jurisdiction from requiring the |
| 9 | retrofitting of condominium common areas with handrails |
| 10 | and guardrails; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsections (6) and (7) of section 633.025, |
| 15 | Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (11) is added to |
| 16 | that section, to read: |
| 17 | 633.025 Minimum firesafety standards.-- |
| 18 | (6) With regard to existing buildings, the Legislature |
| 19 | recognizes that it is not always practical to apply any or all |
| 20 | of the provisions of the minimum firesafety code and that |
| 21 | physical limitations may require disproportionate effort or |
| 22 | expense with little increase in lifesafety. Prior to applying |
| 23 | the minimum firesafety code to an existing building, the local |
| 24 | fire official shall determine that a threat to lifesafety or |
| 25 | property exists. If a threat to lifesafety or property exists, |
| 26 | the fire official shall apply the applicable firesafety code for |
| 27 | existing buildings to the extent practical to assure a |
| 28 | reasonable degree of lifesafety and safety of property or the |
| 29 | fire official shall fashion a reasonable alternative which |
| 30 | affords an equivalent degree of lifesafety and safety of |
| 31 | property. The decision of the local fire official may be |
| 32 | appealed to the local administrative board described in s. |
| 33 | 553.73. Buildings in existence on July 1, 2009, may not be |
| 34 | required to comply with any provision of the minimum firesafety |
| 35 | code prior to December 31, 2016. |
| 36 | (7) Nothing herein shall preclude a municipality, county, |
| 37 | or special district from requiring a structure to be maintained |
| 38 | in accordance with the applicable firesafety code. However, |
| 39 | buildings in existence on July 1, 2009, are exempt to the extent |
| 40 | provided in subsections (6) and (11). |
| 41 | (11) The standards established by s. 31.3.4.1.1 of the |
| 42 | National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101, Life Safety |
| 43 | Code, 2007 edition, do not apply to structures that have direct |
| 44 | access to the outside from each living unit or that are three or |
| 45 | fewer stories in height. |
| 46 | Section 2. Section 1. Section 718.1085, Florida Statutes, |
| 47 | is amended to read: |
| 48 | 718.1085 Certain regulations not to be retroactively |
| 49 | applied.--Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 633 or of |
| 50 | any other code, statute, ordinance, administrative rule, or |
| 51 | regulation, or any interpretation thereof, an association, |
| 52 | condominium, or unit owner is not obligated to retrofit the |
| 53 | common elements or units of a residential condominium that meets |
| 54 | the definition of "housing for older persons" in s. |
| 55 | 760.29(4)(b)3. to comply with requirements relating to handrails |
| 56 | and guardrails if the unit owners have voted to forego such |
| 57 | retrofitting by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all voting |
| 58 | interests in the affected condominium. However, a condominium |
| 59 | association may not vote to forego the retrofitting in common |
| 60 | areas in a high-rise building. For the purposes of this section, |
| 61 | the term "high-rise building" means a building that is greater |
| 62 | than 75 feet in height where the building height is measured |
| 63 | from the lowest level of fire department access to the floor of |
| 64 | the highest occupiable level. For the purposes of this section, |
| 65 | the term "common areas" means stairwells and exposed, outdoor |
| 66 | walkways and corridors. In no event shall the local authority |
| 67 | having jurisdiction require retrofitting of common areas with |
| 68 | handrails and guardrails before the end of 2016 2014. |
| 69 | (1) A vote to forego retrofitting may not be obtained by |
| 70 | general proxy or limited proxy, but shall be obtained by a vote |
| 71 | personally cast at a duly called membership meeting, or by |
| 72 | execution of a written consent by the member, and shall be |
| 73 | effective upon the recording of a certificate attesting to such |
| 74 | vote in the public records of the county where the condominium |
| 75 | is located. The association shall provide each unit owner |
| 76 | written notice of the vote to forego retrofitting of the |
| 77 | required handrails or guardrails, or both, in at least 16-point |
| 78 | bold type, by certified mail, within 20 days after the |
| 79 | association's vote. After such notice is provided to each owner, |
| 80 | a copy of such notice shall be provided by the current owner to |
| 81 | a new owner prior to closing and shall be provided by a unit |
| 82 | owner to a renter prior to signing a lease. |
| 83 | (2) As part of the information collected annually from |
| 84 | condominiums, the division shall require condominium |
| 85 | associations to report the membership vote and recording of a |
| 86 | certificate under this subsection and, if retrofitting has been |
| 87 | undertaken, the per-unit cost of such work. The division shall |
| 88 | annually report to the Division of State Fire Marshal of the |
| 89 | Department of Financial Services the number of condominiums that |
| 90 | have elected to forego retrofitting. |
| 91 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |