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Posted By: stamcon No #14 wire - 04/28/04 02:23 AM
I pulled building and plumbing permits for a bathroom today, in a city I haven't worked in for quite awhile, and inquired with the building department if they had any code amendments that I needed to be aware of? The reply was there is only one amendment from the all the CA codes and that is no #14 wire allowed. Is this common in other parts of the country? I'm in the San Francisco area and this is the first I've heard of it.


steve
Posted By: ga.sparky56 Re: No #14 wire - 04/28/04 02:31 AM
A jurisdiction near here has that same restriction as far as I know. Or at least they did have a couple years ago.

Russell
Posted By: CRW Re: No #14 wire - 04/28/04 03:16 AM
I believe in Davenport, Iowa they have a similar rule.
Posted By: caselec Re: No #14 wire - 04/28/04 03:28 AM
Steve

I have worked in most of the City's and County’s in the SF bay area and haven’t run into this yet. Which City was this? Did you ask if the State of CA has approved this amendment? All amendments to the UBC, UPC, UMC and NEC must be approved by the state. Unfortunately the State doesn’t review the proposed amendments very well and approves most of them.

Curt
Posted By: stamcon Re: No #14 wire - 04/28/04 03:45 AM
Curt, this is in Pacifica. I thought the Ca Codes were minimums and the cities/counties can make/approve any amendments they wanted, as long the amendments were stricter than the minimums?

steve
Posted By: DougW Re: No #14 wire - 04/28/04 04:10 AM
We have a similar requirement for commercial installs here.
Posted By: caselec Re: No #14 wire - 04/28/04 06:18 AM
Steve

The only job I remember doing in Pacifica was a small fire job at an apartment building but this was several yesrs ago. As I rmeember all existing wiring was in flex but I don't remember if any #14 was used.

In my last post I should have said CBC, CPC, CMC and CEC. Below are the State of California's requirements for Local amendments to the CBSC.


Any city, county, or fire protection district may establish more restrictive building standards than those contained in the California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24), if the amendment is reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions [Health and Safety Code Section 18941.5(b)].

Rules for Cities/Counties
When making a local amendment, the law requires that a city or county do all of the following [Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7(a)]:


Expressly mark and identify each change to existing building standards.
Make an express finding that each change is reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions.
File with the BSC a copy of each change and its related findings.

No city or county amendment is effective until the city or county files the change and its related findings with the BSC. The failure of a city or county to file its amendment with the BSC implies that the California Building Standards Code, without amendment, applies within that local jurisdiction.

Rules for Fire Protection Districts
A fire protection district must submit its findings and modifications to a city or county for ratification. In turn, the city or county must submit the findings and modifications to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).


BSC Response to Amendment Filing
The BSC will send a letter to the city or county acknowledging receipt of the amendment.


Additional Information
For more information on local amendments, see Bulletin 99-01: Local Government Amendments and Bulletin 01-01: Fire Protection District Amendments.
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