# Save us from ourselves



## Yikes (Apr 11, 2011)

Costa Mesa considers apartment garage ban after fire death

By CINDY CARCAMO

2011-04-11 08:13:48

COSTA MESA, CA – The death of a 17-year-old after a garage fire is leading Costa Mesa officials to consider several strategies to stop residents from converting their garages into living spaces.

On Monday night, the Costa Mesa Planning Commission will consider banning garages from newly constructed apartment complexes, in addition to other strategies that would likely affect many of the more than 700 apartment complexes already in the city, according to a staff report.

The move follows the February fire that led to the death of Luke Upton, who was pulled from a burning garage during a Costa Mesa apartment fire. Officials believe the fire began in a garage that had been converted to a living space before it spread to nearby rooms.

The commissioners are scheduled to consider the following strategies:

•Ban garages – allowing only carports – in new apartment construction. Some apartment complexes of a certain size would be exempt.

•Prohibit the conversion of carports into garages at existing apartments.

•Ban the installation of an access door from the interior of an apartment that directly leads to a garage.

•Publish and distribute flyers in English and Spanish, detailing the danger of garages being used as living areas.

•Mandate a self-certification program that would apply to complexes that have three to 16 units.

The program would mandate that the property owner submit a form annually that certifies that the apartment garages are being used and maintained in compliance with city law.

Apartment owners would also have to pay an administrative fee that would be calculate and collected on a per-unit basis. The fees would go to pay for code enforcement staff.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/apartment-295821-garages-garage.html?nstrack=sid:1378692%7Cmet:102300%7Ccat:0%7Corder:3&cb=1302551402


----------



## TimNY (Apr 11, 2011)

In other news...

Two policemen were injured and the occupant of a residence was killed in an early day fire at a suspected meth lab in a Costa Mesa residence.

Officials believe the fire began in a bedroom that had been converted to a meth lab before it spread to nearby rooms.

The commissioners are scheduled to consider the following strategies:


Ban enclosed bedrooms, allowing people to habitate under canopies only

Prohibit the conversion of bedrooms into meth labs

Ban the installation of a door in a bedroom

Publish and distribute flyers on the dangers of cooking meth

Mandate a self certification program for all one- and two-family dwellings

The program would mandate that the property owner submit a form annually  that certifies that the bedrooms are being used and maintained  in compliance with city law.

Bedroom owners would also have to pay an administrative fee that would  be calculate and collected on a per-bedroom basis. The fees would go to  pay for code enforcement staff.

_...not to make light of this individual's death.. but the laws are already there.  More laws won't make anything better.  More enforcement, maybe.  Are multiple dwellings mandated to be inspected in CA?_


----------



## fatboy (Apr 11, 2011)

WOW!, And they still allow us to drives cars...................


----------



## mark handler (Apr 11, 2011)

Can't regulate stupidity


----------



## JBI (Apr 11, 2011)

Regulating stupid is easy, _fixing_ stupid on the other hand...

I agree with Tim, better enforcement is the answer. It was a bit more of a fire risk as a garage, no?


----------



## mark handler (Apr 11, 2011)

JBI said:
			
		

> Regulating stupid is easy


reg·u·late/ˈregyəˌlāt/Verb

1. Control or maintain or supervise

Can't regulate stupid


----------



## JBI (Apr 11, 2011)

Mark, Based on the definition you provide I must respectfully disagree. All we *can* do with stupid is _control, maintain or supervise_ it. That's what Property Maintenance is all about.

If we could _fix_ it we wouldn't have to _regulate_ it.


----------



## mark handler (Apr 11, 2011)

JBI said:
			
		

> Mark, Based on the definition you provide I must respectfully disagree. All we *can* do with stupid is _control, maintain or supervise_ it. That's what Property Maintenance is all about.  If we could _fix_ it we wouldn't have to _regulate_ it.


I also respectfully disagree







control, maintain or supervise this....






or this?


----------



## brudgers (Apr 12, 2011)

mark handler said:
			
		

> reg·u·late/ˈregyəˌlāt/Verb1. Control or maintain or supervise
> 
> Can't regulate stupid


I don't know, sometimes government seems pretty efficient insofar as maintaining stupidity goes.


----------



## Yikes (Apr 12, 2011)

OK Mark, you inspired me to re-post (from the old ICC BB archive in Aug. 2009) this apartment-in-a-swimming-pool:

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/08/creative_conversions_living_in_the_lap_lane.php


----------



## fatboy (Apr 12, 2011)

Oh my..........that is just too funny..........good thing this isn't the morning, would have had a coffee coated screen for sure.


----------



## Yikes (Apr 12, 2011)

On the plus side, whatever shower they may have in there probably has a code compliant water-resistant surround.


----------



## texasbo (Apr 13, 2011)

mark handler said:
			
		

> I also respectfully disagree
> 
> 
> 
> ...


There are two types of cluster in this post. One is a munition. The other rhymes with "duck".


----------



## FM William Burns (Apr 13, 2011)

Bustin a gut on those.....


----------



## TimNY (Apr 13, 2011)

Does anybody have the photos of the inflatable swimming pool inside the second floor apartment?  They were taken by a BI and posted on the old forum.

There are photos on the web of 'the guetto swimming pool'; these photos were not those.


----------

