Section 402 Covered Mall Buildings

The provisions of this section shall apply to buildings or structures defined herein as covered mall buildings not exceeding three floor levels at any point nor more than three stories above grade plane. Except as specifically required by this section, covered mall buildings shall meet applicable provisions of this code.

The following words and terms shall, for the purposes of this chapter and as used elsewhere in this code, have the meanings shown herein.

ANCHOR BUILDING. An exterior perimeter building of a group other than H having direct access to a covered mall building but having required means of egress independent of the mall.

COVERED MALL BUILDING. A single building enclosing a number of tenants and occupants such as retail stores, drinking and dining establishments, entertainment and amusement facilities, passenger transportation terminals, offices, and other similar uses wherein two or more tenants have a main entrance into one or more malls. For the purpose of this chapter, anchor buildings shall not be considered as a part of the covered mall building.

FOOD COURT. A public seating area located in the mall that serves adjacent food preparation tenant spaces.

GROSS LEASABLE AREA. The total floor area designed for tenant occupancy and exclusive use. The area of tenant occupancy is measured from the centerlines of joint partitions to the outside of the tenant walls. All tenant areas, including areas used for storage, shall be included in calculating gross leasable area.

MALL. A roofed or covered common pedestrian area within a covered mall building that serves as access for two or more tenants and not to exceed three levels that are open to each other.

Each covered mall building owner shall provide both the building and fire departments with a lease plan showing the location of each occupancy and its exits after the certificate of occupancy has been issued. No modifications or changes in occupancy or use shall be made from that shown on the lease plan without prior approval of the code enforcement official.

Each tenant space and the covered mall building shall be provided with means of egress as required by this section and this code. Where there is a conflict between the requirements of this code and the requirements of this section, the requirements of this section shall apply.

The occupant load permitted in any individual tenant space in a covered mall building shall be determined as required by this code. Means of egress requirements for individual tenant spaces shall be based on the occupant load thus determined.

In determining required means of egress of the mall, the number of occupants for whom means of egress are to be provided shall be based on gross leasable area of the covered mall building (excluding anchor buildings) and the occupant load factor as determined by the following equation.

OLF = (0.00007) (GLA) + 25

(Equation 4-1)

where:

OLF = The occupant load factor (square feet per person).

GLA = The gross leasable area (square feet).

The occupant load factor ( OLF ) is not required to be less than 30 and shall not exceed 50.

The occupant load of anchor buildings opening into the mall shall not be included in computing the total number of occupants for the mall.

The occupant load of a food court shall be determined in accordance with Section 1004. For the purposes of determining the means of egress requirements for the mall, the food court occupant load shall be added to the occupant load of the covered mall building as calculated above.

Wherever the distance of travel to the mall from any location within a tenant space used by persons other than employees exceeds 75 feet (22 860 mm) or the tenant space has an occupant load of 50 or more, not less than two means of egress shall be provided.

Assembly occupancies with an occupant load of 500 or more shall be so located in the covered mall building that their entrance will be immediately adjacent to a principal entrance to the mall and shall have not less than one-half of their required means of egress opening directly to the exterior of the covered mall building.

Required means of egress for anchor buildings shall be provided independently from the mall means of egress system. The occupant load of anchor buildings opening into the mall shall not be included in determining means of egress requirements for the mall. The path of egress travel of malls shall not exit through anchor buildings. Malls terminating at an anchor building where no other means of egress has been provided shall be considered as a dead-end mall.

Within each individual tenant space in a covered mall building, the maximum distance of travel from any point to an exit or entrance to the mall shall not exceed 200 feet (60 960 mm).

The maximum distance of travel from any point within a mall to an exit shall not exceed 200 feet (60 960 mm).

Where more than one exit is required, they shall be so arranged that it is possible to travel in either direction from any point in a mall to separate exits. The minimum width of an exit passageway or corridor from a mall shall be 66 inches (1676 mm).

Where exit passageways provide a secondary means of egress from a tenant space, doorways to the exit passageway shall be protected by 1-hour fire door assemblies that are self- or automatic closing by smoke detection in accordance with Section 715.4.7.3.

Mechanical rooms, electrical rooms, building service areas and service elevators are permitted to open directly into exit passageways, provided the exit passageway is separated from such rooms with not less than 1-hour fire-resistance-rated fire barriers and 1-hour opening protectives.

For the purpose of providing required egress, malls are permitted to be considered as corridors but need not comply with the requirements of Section 1005.1 of this code where the width of the mall is as specified in this section.

The minimum width of the mall shall be 20 feet (6096 mm). The mall width shall be sufficient to accommodate the occupant load served. There shall be a minimum of 10 feet (3048 mm) clear exit width to a height of 8 feet (2438 mm) between any projection of a tenant space bordering the mall and the nearest kiosk, vending machine, bench, display opening, food court or other obstruction to means of egress travel.

The area of any covered mall building, including anchor buildings, of Type I, II, III and IV construction, shall not be limited provided the covered mall building and attached anchor buildings and parking garages are surrounded on all sides by a permanent open space of not less than 60 feet (18 288 mm) and the anchor buildings do not exceed three stories in height. The allowable height and area of anchor buildings greater than three stores in height shall comply with Section 503, as modified by Sections 504 and 506. The construction type of open parking garages and enclosed parking garages shall comply with Sections 406.3 and 406.4, respectively.

Fire-resistance-rated separation is not required between tenant spaces and the mall. Fire-resistance-rated separation is not required between a food court and adjacent tenant spaces or the mall.

An attached garage for the storage of passenger vehicles having a capacity of not more than nine persons and open parking garages shall be considered as a separate building where it is separated from the covered mall building by a fire barrier having a fire-resistance rating of at least 2 hours.

Each tenant space shall be separated from other tenant spaces by a fire partition complying with Section 708. A tenant separation wall is not required between any tenant space and the mall.

An anchor building shall be separated from the covered mall building by fire walls complying with Section 705.

Except for the separation between Group R-1 sleeping units and the mall, openings between anchor buildings of Type IA, IB, IIA and IIB construction and the mall need not be protected.

The covered mall building and buildings connected shall be equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1, which shall comply with the following:

1. The automatic sprinkler system shall be complete and operative throughout occupied space in the covered mall building prior to occupancy of any of the tenant spaces. Unoccupied tenant spaces shall be similarly protected unless provided with approved alternate protection.
2. Sprinkler protection for the mall shall be independent from that provided for tenant spaces or anchors. Where tenant spaces are supplied by the same system, they shall be independently controlled.
   Exception: An automatic sprinkler system shall not be required in spaces or areas of open parking garages constructed in accordance with Section 406.2.

The covered mall building shall be equipped throughout with a standpipe system as required by Section 905.3.3.

A smoke control system shall be provided where required for atriums in Section 404.

Kiosks and similar structures (temporary or permanent) shall meet the following requirements:

Structures intended as children's playgrounds that exceed 10 feet (3048 mm) in height and 150 square feet (14 m²) in area shall comply with the following.

Children's playground structures shall be constructed of noncombustible materials or of combustible materials that comply with the following:

1. Fire-retardant-treated wood.
2. Light-transmitting plastics complying with Section 2606.
3. Foam plastics (including the pipe foam used in soft-contained play equipment structures) having a maximum heat-release rate not greater than 100 kW when tested in accordance with UL 1975.
4. Aluminum composite material (ACM) meeting the requirements of Class A interior finish in accordance with Chapter 8 when tested as an assembly in the maximum thickness intended for use.
5. Textiles and films complying with the flame propagation performance criteria contained in NFPA 701.
6. Plastic materials used to construct rigid components of soft-contained play equipment structures (such as tubes, windows, panels, junction boxes, pipes, slides and decks) meeting the UL 94 V-2 classification when tested in accordance with UL 94.
7. Ball pool balls, used in soft-contained play equipment structures, having a maximum heat release rate not greater than 100 kW when tested in accordance with UL 1975. The minimum specimen test size shall be 36 inches by 36 inches (914 mm by 914 mm) by an average of 21 inches (533 mm) deep, and the balls shall be held in a box constructed of galvanized steel poultry netting wire mesh.
8. Foam plastics shall be covered by a fabric, coating or film meeting the flame propagation performance criteria of NFPA 701.
9. The floor covering placed under the children's playground structure shall exhibit a Class I interior floor finish classification, as described in Section 804, when tested in accordance with NFPA 253.

Children's playground structures located within the mall shall be provided with the same level of approved fire suppression and detection devices required for kiosks and similar structures.

Children's playground structures shall have a minimum horizontal separation from other structures within the mall of 20 feet (6090 mm).

Children's playground structures shall not exceed 300 square feet (28 m ² ) in area, unless a special investigation has demonstrated adequate fire safety.