Agenda - 03-28-2001-4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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officials on selecting a new site," says the League, "and they need not ensure that its location fits into a community's overall comprehensive plan." a6 In short, school districts may, if they choose, ignore plans for sensible, well- managed, "mart growth." In addition, they often act as magnets for sprawl. Building codes Everyone, preservationists included, agrees that schools must be safe. The debate in this area centers on the path taken to achieve the level of safety that all agree is essential. At the core of the problem is the application of modern building codes written with oily modern construction methods and materials in mind" to older schools. Since building codes are updated every few years, most existing buildings, even recent ones, do not comply with every code provision. This does not mean the buildings are unsafe. Installation of sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and other early warning systems can compensate for items required by modern codes -items that may not have existed when the older buildings were const<ucted In fact, many state building codes recognize that older buildings may not fully comply with modem codes but that they can be made safe through compliance with alternative code provisions. New Jersey's Rehabilitation Code and Massachusetts' Article 23 are two examples. Architects experienced in the rehabilitation of older buildings can often retrofit older schools to provide a level of life safety equivalent to that found in a brand-new building. But renovation alternatives are often not given that chance. One reason is that architects inexperienced in rehabilitation techniques sometimes overestimate the costs of bringing an older school up to code. If they overestimate renovation costs by hundreds of 6 thousands of dollars, or by millions of dollars, as sometimes happens (see p. 33 on Kokomo, Ind.'s experience), the school district will usually opt for new construction even though renovation is cheaper. Much cotifusion.surrounds the concept of `wood-frame" construction, a basic construction type used throughout the ages and often found in older schools. Although the mere presence of wood framing does not render a building obsolete or unsafe -and although code compliance altematives exist for the incorporation of wood-flamed 21