DOS-47-11-00003-P Construction Standards for Summer Camp Cabins Located in Children's Overnight Camps

11/23/11 N.Y. St. Reg. DOS-47-11-00003-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXIII, ISSUE 47

November 23, 2011

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. DOS-47-11-00003-P

Construction Standards for Summer Camp Cabins Located in Children's Overnight Camps

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

This is a consensus rule making to repeal section 1228.2; and add new section 1228.2 to Title 19 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Executive Law, section 377

Subject:

Construction standards for summer camp cabins located in children's overnight camps.

Purpose:

To clarify applicability of the Uniform Code and State Sanitary Code to summer camp cabins.

Public hearing(s) will be held at:

10:00 a.m., January 11, 2012 at Department of State, 99 Washington Ave., Conference Rm. 1135, Albany, NY.

Interpreter Service:

Interpreter services will be mad.e available to hearing impaired persons, at no charge, upon written request submitted within reasonable time prior to the scheduled public hearing. The written request must be addressed to the agency representative designated in the paragraph below.

Accessibility:

All public hearings have been scheduled at places reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment.

Text of proposed rule:

Section 1228.2 in Part 1228 of Title 19 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York is repealed and a new section 1228.2 is added to read as follows:

Section 1228.2. Summer Camp Cabins.

(a) This section is intended to clarify the effect of section 378(1) of the Executive Law, as amended by Chapter 443 of the Laws of 2009, and the applicable provisions of the State Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR, Chapter 1), as amended effective July 6, 2011, on construction standards for summer camp cabins located in children's overnight camps.

(b) Pursuant to 10 NYCRR section 7-2.12(b)(2), summer camp cabins located in children’s overnight camps are exempt from:

(1) the Uniform Code’s automatic sprinkler requirements and

(2) the Uniform Code’s minimum floor area per occupant requirements.

However, pursuant to 10 NYCRR section 7-2.12(b)(1), summer camp cabins located in children’s overnight camps are subject to all other applicable requirements and provisions of the Uniform Code. In addition, pursuant to 10 NYCRR section 7-2.16(c), summer camp cabins located in children's overnight camps are subject to the following minimum floor area per occupant requirements: "In sleeping quarters housing more than four persons, 40 square feet of floor area per occupant shall be provided, when single beds are provided. When double deck bunk beds are provided, 30 square feet of floor area shall be provided for each occupant. Floor area includes space within the occupied structure to accommodate: the bed, storage for personal belongings, aisles and exitways, and associated assembly space. Space for toilets, lavatories and showers shall not be used to calculate a sleeping quarter's floor area. For structures built prior to 1975, the required minimum floor area for single beds is 36 square feet."

(c) For the purposes of this section, the term "summer camp cabin" shall mean a sleeping quarter which:

(1) is located in a children's overnight camp;

(2) has a sleeping capacity of fewer than twenty-five occupants, with a total combined sleeping room floor area of 1200 square feet or less for all sleeping rooms;

(3) is one story;

(4) is used and occupied only between June 1 and September 14;

(5) has no cooking facilities, no heating systems, and no solid fuel heating or burning systems;

(6) has only sleeping rooms (including the necessary area for storing occupant belongings) and bathrooms;

(7) has no interior corridors or separate common area rooms;

(8) has at least two exits per sleeping room which are remote from each other and which discharge directly to the building’s exterior;

(9) has exit doors that open in the direction of, and are non-locking against egress; and

(10) has smoke alarms in each sleeping room that are interconnected such that the activation of one alarm will activate all of the alarms in the cabin.

An existing structure that is altered, enlarged or otherwise improved shall not be deemed to be a summer camp cabin unless such structure, as so altered, enlarged or otherwise improved, satisfies all of the criteria set forth in this subdivision.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the term "children’s overnight camp" shall mean a property consisting of a tract of land and any tents, vehicles, buildings or other structures that may be pertinent to its use, any part of which may be occupied by persons under eighteen years of age under general supervision for the purpose of outdoor or indoor organized activities and on which provisions are made for overnight occupancy of children. However, the term "children’s overnight camp" shall not include any place or facility which has been excepted from the State Sanitary Code by the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health pursuant to section 1392(1) of the Public Health Law.

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Raymond Andrews, Department of State, Division of Code Enforcement and Administration, 99 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12231, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Joseph Ball, Department of State, Office of Counsel, 99 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12231, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Public comment will be received until:

Five days after the last scheduled public hearing.

Consensus Rule Making Determination

Subdivision 11 of State Administrative Procedure Act § 102 provides that "consensus rule means a rule proposed by an agency for adoption on an expedited basis pursuant to the expectation that no person is likely to object to its adoption because it merely. . . makes technical changes or is otherwise non-controversial." The Department of State has concluded that this rule making is non-controversial and therefore no person is likely to object to its adoption.

In general, the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code) specifies the standards for construction for all classes of buildings. However, by reason of a recent amendment of section 378(1) of the Executive Law, construction standards for "sleeping quarters in children's summer camps" are subject to the State Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR, Chapter 1). The State Sanitary Code was recently amended (effective July 6, 2011) to provide that, in general, all buildings on all children's camps are subject to the Uniform Code, but that "summer camp cabins" (as defined in the Sanitary Code) are exempt from the Uniform Code's automatic sprinkler requirements and minimum floor area per occupant requirement. (Summer camp cabins are subject to the minimum floor area per occupant requirements set forth in the State Sanitary Code).

This rule would add a new provision to the Uniform Code to reflect the impact of the recent amendment of the State Sanitary Code. This new provision would be added to Part 1228 of 19 NYCRR, a part reserved for "additional provisions" of the Uniform Code, i.e., for provisions not found in Parts 1220 to 1227 of 19 NYCRR.

The subject of this rule making makes it highly unlikely that any one will object to its adoption. This rule neither adds any new requirement nor repeals any existing requirement. Rather, this rule merely reflects the impact of the recent amendment on Executive Law section 378 (1) and the recent amendment of the State Sanitary Code. By adding this new provision to the Uniform Code, code enforcement officials throughout the State will be more likely to be aware of the new Sanitary Code provisions and the impact of those provisions on "summer camp cabins."

Therefore, the Department of State has determined that no one is likely to object to the adoption of this rule, and that it is appropriate to characterize this rule making as a consensus rule.

Job Impact Statement

The Department of State has concluded after reviewing the nature and purpose of the proposed rule that it will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities in New York.

This rule would add a new provision to the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code) to reflect the impact of the recent amendment of section 378(1) of the Executive Law and the recent amendment of the State Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR, Chapter 1) on “summer camp cabins” (as that term is defined in the State Sanitary Code. By reason of the recent amendment of the Executive Law, construction standards for such “summer camp cabins” are subject to the State Sanitary Code. By reason of the recent amendment of the State Sanitary Code, such “summer camp cabins” are, in general, subject to the Uniform Code; however, such “summer camp cabins” are exempt from the Uniform Code’s automatic sprinkler requirements and minimum floor area per occupant requirements. (Summer camp cabins are, however, subject to the minimum floor area per occupant requirements set forth in the State Sanitary Code.)

This rule would neither add any new requirement nor repeal any existing requirement. Rather, this rule would merely add a provision to the Uniform Code that reflects the impact of the recent amendment of the State Sanitary Code on “summer camp cabins.” Adding this new provision to the Uniform Code will make it more likely that code enforcement officials throughout the State will become familiar with the provisions of the State Sanitary Code and its effect on summer camp cabins. The Department finds that it is evident from the subject matter of the rule that it will have no adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities.