SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) For the last 14 years, the California Building Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) has allowed for a maximum exit access travel distance of 400 feet for large warehouse buildings classified as Group F-1 or S-1. During this period, there have been no documented reports of injury due to this distance and recent studies have concluded that an exit travel distance of 400 feet for large warehouse buildings is safe provided that the storage areas are protected by early suppression fast response sprinkler systems.
(b) The 2009 International Building Code was revised to allow for a maximum exit access travel distance of 250 feet for large warehouse buildings classified as Group F-1 or S-1. This revision will also be automatically included in the 2010 triennial publication California Building Code, effective as of January 1, 2011.
(c) Unless further action is taken, the 2010 revision to the California Building Code will have significant negative consequences for two of the California industries most severely impacted by the current recession, the real estate and construction industries. The proposed revision will define existing large warehouses as noncompliant with the California Building Code and will significantly impact the construction of new large warehouses, many of which have been designed with a maximum 400 foot exit access travel distance.
(d) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the statutory guidelines of this act serve as an interim measure pending adoption of this standard into the California Building Code by the California Building Standards Commission.