AS AMENDED a bill for an ordinance amending the Building and Fire Code of the City and County of Denver. Amends Article II of Chapter 10 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code to approve a second set of amendments to the approved 2016 Denver Building and Fire Code. The Committee approved filing this bill at its meeting on 11-29-16. Amended 12-19-16 to make non-substantive changes to reflect an amended filing number and date in which an amended packet of amendments to various International Codes were submitted the Clerk. The original amendments to the International Fire Code submitted to the Clerk contained an incorrect PSI reference in IFC Section 913.6.1, and an incorrect footnote and table entry in Table 503.2.1. Both errors have been remedied in the packet of amendments re-filed with the Clerk. The changes are reflected on pages 238 (footnote 1 at bottom of page added additional language clarifying the table) and 300 (913.6.1 changed the psi from 150 to 175).
Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Councilwoman. All right, moving on, Madam Secretary, if you please put the next item on our screens. And Councilman Cashman, could you please put Council Bill 1195 on the floor? Thank you, Mr. President. I move the council bill 1195 be placed upon final consideration and do pass. It has been moved and seconded and I am going to offer up an amendment. So I move that council bill 1195 be amended in the following particulars on page one, line 21 Strike the date of December six, 2016, and insert the date of December 19th, 2016. And on page one, line 21, strike the clerk filing number of 20160067003 and insert the clerk filing number of 20160067004. Has been. Moved. And second, it will go on the comments by members of council and I'll start the comments by explaining the amendment. The purpose of the proposed technical amendments to Council Bill 1195 is to make non substantive changes to reflect an amended filing number and date in which an amended packet of amendments to various international codes were submitted to the clerk. The original amendments to the International Fire Code submitted to the Court contained an incorrect piece I reference in IFC Section 913.8.1. or sorry 913.6.1 and incorrect footnote and table entry in table 503.2.1. Both errors have been remedied in the packet of amendments re filed with the clerk. The changes are reflected on pages 238. Footnote one at the bottom of page added additional language clarifying the table and 309 on 3.6.1 Change the PSA from 150 to 175. So that's with the amendment. And then says We have this bill called out. This is one that I'm really excited about and have had the pleasure of working on a package of updates to our codes that are going through. And one of them is about signage, which doesn't sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but four for me and I think for a lot of people, this is a really exciting change to our signage and this is and how we sign single store restrooms. So a restroom that you can go in and lock the door and it's just you inside. And the way our code was set up before was if you had two single stall restrooms or more, you were required to sign them as a men's room and a women's room. And what this amendment does is it changes that to require that these single stall restrooms are signed as gender neutral. And I think that this is just a great example of one your government at work for you, because this was brought forward by the people saying, hey, this is a change we'd like to see. And I think it's also a great example of common sense in in what we do. And that I think that as we started having the conversations about this to every stakeholder group that we talked about, this was a common sense solution as shared in committee, you know, as a share of a few things as I went through this journey, learning about this signage change and starting to pay more attention to the signs that are on the restrooms throughout Denver. But we had, you know, so many different stakeholders at the table talking about how this change of changing something as simple as design was really great for families with children, for transgender people , for caregivers to achieve potty parity, which was a term I had never heard before, but I had experienced many, many times when my eight year old daughter was standing in line at a single stall restroom when right next to it was another one because it had was marked as a men's room. She couldn't use it. And and also our business community when we met with the Downtown Denver Partnership and some of their committees to talk about it, we actually had a business owner who said, Oh, yeah, that's the most ridiculous rule. I put those signs up to tell your inspectors, come and check me off, and then I immediately take them down because it's bad for business. It's bad for business to have people waiting in line when there is nothing different about the bathroom across the hall, and they should be able to to use that. And so I think that this is, again, one of those commonsense changes that really doesn't make a difference for a lot of people. I know that it's going to personally affect my life and my district on Pearl Street and Broadway, where most of the businesses are already doing this. And yet if someone were to call them in prior to us voting, this change through the city would be compelled to take it and find them for having signs that say, Behind this door there's a toilet and anybody who needs a toilet can use it. And I think that it's as simple as that. And so I just want to give a quick shout out because there are a lot of people who put a lot of work into this. So to Jill and the entire CPD team, it's always easy to be on this side of the table and say, Hey, I think we should do it this way. And then not so easy when you're working with an international building code, it turns out to get to that end result. And so thank you to the LGBTQ commission, who is one of the first groups to bring this forward and say, Hey, maybe there's a better way for us to do this. And can we look at this, too? The mayor and the mayor's office, this guy Stuart for all the help and gone through this the downtown Denver partnership one Colorado. And I want to give a big shout out to my colleague, Councilwoman Canete. You really helped me through this. We were partners in crime on looking at this issue and and navigating it. And she just has a wealth of experience that was awesome to be able to rely on. So that's we're amending it to make those very boring. Changes. But it's it's a it's a great change and a great build. And I think it's reflective of the inclusive city that we are, that we make the most simple thing possible as inclusive and as comfortable for every single person as possible. Tonight, when we vote on that vote on the. So with that other comments, Councilwoman. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to first, kudos to you. You really did put in a lot of work on this, as did your staff, Maggie. So thank you to Maggie as well and leading in many of the conversations with the business community and others. So thank you for your leadership. And, you know, you mentioned families. He also mentioned the the the the gender issue. I one community we haven't talked about as the disabled community. If you're a caretaker of a different gender than the person you may be a caretaker with and you need to use the restroom. The single store restrooms are usually big enough for you to use. Sometimes they are the disabled restroom and being able to go in there without anyone questioning you is an opportunity for that community. Have more inclusion. I think, you know, some people may wonder why the LGBTQ commission brought this forward. I was just like to do a little public education when we're up here, which is that right now in the state of Colorado, transgender people already have the opportunity to use the bathroom of their gender. If they identify as female, they have the legal right under our laws to use the women's restroom, vice versa if they identify as male. But we know that you can't always legislate a comfort level. You can't legislate the fact that sometimes our community doesn't always understand transgender members of our community. We have a lot more work to do to educate about the lives they lead, the very simple challenges that they face, and the many contributions they have to our community, just like the rest of us, with their employment and with their their their civic engagement. And so this creates just a choice. It's an option, right? So we're not really changing what was already a civil right that a community had, but we're creating an option for folks in our city. And I will just to to to call out the building code, folks. I think that many cities have taken this very simple measure, and they've done it through policy without checking with the building code. And I think that this is an example of how we take common sense steps, which is this is a building issue. It's about how you sign things and we fix the building code. And and I think we might be one of the first cities to have done that that way. So. So kudos to them for doing it through the, the simple and common sense way of, of the building code. So with that, I will be excited to support this tonight. And I think it demonstrates that while, you know, our community may have questions about inclusion, given some of the world events and some of the backlash we've seen against vulnerable communities, I think Denver has been here on these issues of inclusion, will continue to be here and your city will always be a place where people of all backgrounds are welcome and have access to the services they need, like going to the bathroom. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilman Herndon. Thank you, Mr. President. This is the deja vu. We had the same process in committee where we all talked about this. And I won't repeat what my colleagues were eloquent in speaking, but it also with this new regulation creates what I refer to as diaper changing station parity. It is amazing in 2016, essentially 2017, how I will take my 18 month old into a men's bathroom and there's no place for me to change him. And so this requirement, gender neutral, now allows facilities to be in both stations and both of the restrooms. So it's great as a father. So now that burden is no longer on my wife. And so I when I made this comment, that committee, I received an email from somebody else that said, thank you for saying that, because that is something that we should absolutely not be having to deal with in 2016, in addition to certainly the greater needs that my count my council colleagues spoke about as well. So thank you from that perspective, as a father of a toddler, that ability that we my wife doesn't have that burden as much as she should. So kudos to all. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman. Councilman Lopez. Thank you, Mr. President. Councilman Hernandez, good to hear you talk like a daddy, because it makes me feel good as well, too, because I for for a long time, I raised my daughter and single dad. And when she needed to use the restroom. I'm sending my daughter into this restroom where I have no idea who the heck is in there, hoping that she comes right back out. And those of you who are parents either have a little boy or a little girl, and you send your your kid into the restroom. You have no idea who is in there. That's worrisome. And, you know, you start worrying 30 seconds in, you're like, oh, my God, are they okay? Okay. Now I get to actually go in being be at the sink while she's in the stall, making sure she's okay. Right. And so and that's you know, frankly, to be honest, this shouldn't be something that's strange or unusual unless you have. The little dude or the lady with the skirt. As on your door. Bathroom door is at home. Right? I mean, this is how we have it at home. Might as well do it this way anyway. So I think it's a great it's a great fix for all the reasons that Robin said. Councilwoman, can you just talking about for equity and making sure that we respect that? Absolutely. I'm just surprised that it took us this long to realize that it. So anyway. And plus, what if the lady doesn't want to wear a dress? What if she wants to wear jeans? And that representation, I mean, for crying out loud. Not all girls wear dresses. Thank you, Councilman Lopez. Councilman Flynn. Thanks, Mr. President. Just a quick question. I don't see Jill here. He's right there. Where? Oh, hiding behind the computer term. Would it be possible under this change for some small businesses, some low volume businesses, and. Pardon the. Expression, to be relieved of the obligation to provide a men's in a women's room. Now, could they get. Away with just one and save costs? Does the building code require a small space to provide to restrooms? I'm wondering if this could actually save small business money. So I'm going I hope my technical folks correct me if I get this wrong. Jill Jennings Garlock, Deputy Director of Community Planning and Development. This change doesn't change the number of restrooms you have to provide. So if you have to provide under the code one man's and one women's, you still provide that. They're just one is they're both same gender neutral. So there still will be a minimum of two no matter how what the size of the business. Okay. That might be something worth revisiting. Thank you. Thank you. Just to follow up and clarify on that, there is a level where you're only required to provide one. And it's it's signed, gender neutral or the minimum is two. That's correct. Eric Browning The Denver Building Department. The quantity. Threshold for a. Single bathroom does not change. And that single bathroom, when it's provided. Will be required to be same gender neutral. Hmm. Thank you. Thanks for the clarification. All right. So seeing no other comments, madam secretary, raquel espinosa. I. Flin i herndon cashman. I can eat lopez. All right. New Ortega II Assessment by Black Eye. Mr. President. All right. Madam Secretary, please close voting and health results. 11 eyes. 11 eyes. So Council Bill 1185 has been amended and now we have to vote on passing it. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. As amended. So, Councilman Cashman, can you please put accountable 1195 on the floor to pass as amended? Thank you, Mr. President. I move the council bill 1195 be placed upon final consideration and do pass as amended. It has been moved and seconded and I think we already got all our comments out of the way. So, Madam Secretary, Rocco O. Great. Councilman Espinosa, you have another comment? Yeah, I had one question, actually. My still allowed to ask her, is. It just the the whole bill is up now, so go. For it. Jill, it's really just a clarification on the on the fire side. These minimal unobstructed widths. Is there a height, a vertical component? No, it's just a horizontal component. So if you had 14 feet or 20 feet of clearance, you can't then bridge over that gap. So the bridging of a street, for instance, would be set by the utility easements underneath that. So I believe Denver Water, for instance, requires a 24 foot clear over any utility. I can't say if Denver fire has something different than that. Okay. They're shaking their head now. This looked like it would be it would be applicable even on interior lots. And, you know, so it's not just true. It is it does apply to private streets as well. There's a minimum width in order to ensure fire trucks get access. Yes. So there we do have provisions, though, that will allow encroachment over these obstructed I mean, these clear these horizontal clearances. I believe so, yes. That would have to go through a process of approval by each utility and other provider. All right. It's just something that I'll probably follow up with you, because, sure. If there's a way to put development over the top of these things, somebody in northwest Denver will find a way. So I would like to follow up with you guys. Thank you to talk. All right. Thank you, Councilman. Seeing no other comments. Madam Secretary, roll call. Black by Espinosa. I Flynn, i herndon. I can I can eat. Lopez. All right. New Ortega. Sussman Hi, Mr. President. Hi. Madam Secretary. Please close the voting. Announced the results. Let's see. Sorry, Espinosa. No. Lebanese Lebanese counterpart, 1195, has passed as amended. Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screens. Councilwoman Canete, you have called out comfortable 1231 for a comment. Go ahead.