Section K109 Alternate Means of Protection

Requests for approval to use an alternative means of protection shall be made in writing to the building official by the owner or the owner's authorized representative. The request shall be accompanied by a full statement of the conditions and sufficient evidence that the proposed alternate means of protection provides reasonable protection to occupants. The building official shall require the owner to obtain a written statement from the applicable emergency management authority regarding plans and processes related to notification of anticipated conditions of flooding, warnings, evacuations and other pertinent conditions relative to the proximity of nearby levees. The building official shall also require the owner to obtain a written statement and findings from the entity that has jurisdiction over the management, maintenance, monitoring and control of flood protection works in the vicinity of the location of the owner's property; such statement shall comment on the viability of the proposed alternate means of protection. The building official may request written statements from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the California Department of Water Resources, and the California Emergency Management Agency.

Approval of a request for use of an alternative means of protection made pursuant to these provisions shall be limited to the particular case covered by the request and shall not be construed as establishing any precedent for any future request except in substantially equivalent situations.

Note: Contact information for the California Department of Water Resources and the Department's Directory of Flood Officials, which includes levee and reclamation district boundary maps, is available on-line at the following web site: www.water.ca.gov/BuildingCodes. The Department of Water Resources Building Code Project Engineer can be contacted at 916-574-1451. The Central Valley Flood Control Board Chief Engineer can be contacted at 916-574-0609. The California Emergency Management Agency Inland Region Program Manager can be contacted at 916-845-8488.

When a request for an alternate means of protection has been denied by the building official, the applicant may file a written appeal with the board of appeals. In considering such appeal, the board of appeals may provide additional information to, and request additional written statements from, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the California Department of Water Resources, and the California Emergency Management Agency. If such additional written statements are provided, the board of appeals shall consider those statements.