Response to Orange County Grand Jury Report Subject:*

There is a lack of uniformity in local building codes involving roofs for identical environmental conditions within Orange County. City Response: Based on the information compiled by the Grand Jury, there are different standards being enforced in Orange County related to roof installations. We agree that some jurisdictions with similar environments have different roofing standards; however, these jurisdictions may have different climatic, topographical, and geological conditions. These three conditions are taken into account as required by State law in amending the California Building Code. Response to Grand Jury Report May 6, 2003 It would be difficult to find two jurisdictions with the identical climatic, topographical, and geological conditions; therefore, the roofing standards adopted by each jurisdiction vary due to these different conditions. The City of Tustin has two roofing standards: Class B roofing standards for the flat areas that are generally not subject to high fire hazards and a Class A standard for the hillside area of the City.

The testing and qualification standards of wood shakes and shingles are below the environmental conditions of Orange County. City Response: Based on the testing standards of the wood shakes and shingles as described in the report and on the wind storm that occurred recently in the County, we concur with this finding. However, we feel that this is not an issue since no permit request has been made for wood shake or shingle roof installation in Tustin over the past three-year period. This is mainly due to the high cost of installing rated wood roofs and insurance restrictions.

The cities' and county's roofing codes do not adequately take into account the climate. particularly the Santa Ana winds, and topographical conditions unique to Orange County. City Response: We disagree with this finding. The City Council of the City of Tustin did take into account the three conditions (climatic, topographical, and geological) as required by State law in adopting and amending the California Building Code. The City of Tustin has recently adopted the 2001 California Building Code and amendments thereto requiring minimum Class B roofing throughout the City and Class A in high fire hazard areas. These amendments are more restrictive than the California Building Code.

Fire conflagrations stress finite fire fighting resources especially during the period of Santa Ana winds. City Response: The City of Tustin concurs with this finding, particularly in areas where the topography limits accessibility and/or in high fire hazard areas. In addition, the City of Tustin has a Citywide ban on the use of fireworks, thereby reducing the threat of fire particularly during the summer months. Response to Grand Jury Report May 6, 2003