Porterville Municipal Code § 3304.3 Site Security

Where required by the fire code official or building official, sites under a valid permit for construction, demolition, rehabilitation, or repair, may be required to install adequate site security to a level that would discourage the attractive nuisance and curiosity of vagrants, children, or persons of immoral character from gaining access.

16. Section 505.1.1 (“Rear Addressing”) is added to read as follows:

505.1.1 Rear Addressing. When required by the fire code official, approved numbers or addresses shall be placed on all new and existing buildings and rear suite doors in such a position as to be plainly visible and legible from the fire apparatus road at the back of a property or where rear parking lots or alleys provide an acceptable vehicular access. Number stroke and size shall comply with 505.1.

17. Section 505.1.2 (“Accessory Dwelling Unit Addressing”) is added to read as follows:

505.1.2 Accessory Dwelling Unit Addressing. A detached accessory dwelling unit shall have a designated address. The address shall be the same Arabic numerals as the primary residence followed by the alphabetic letters identifying the accessory dwelling unit as “Unit A”. Example: The primary residence is addressed as 123 Blank Street. The detached accessory dwelling unit shall be addressed as “123 Blank Street Unit A”.

Addressing signage shall be affixed to the ADU structure next to the main entry door and shall meet all applicable requirements as outlined in all sections and subsections of Chapter 5 as amended or as otherwise directed by the fire code official.

For ADUs with addressing that cannot be viewed from the public way, addressing signage shall be installed in a manner visible from the street frontage and shall meet all applicable requirements as outlined in Chapter 5 subsections 505.1 through 505.2 as amended or as otherwise directed by the fire code official.

18. Section 606.2 (“Where Required”) is amended to read as follows:

606.2 Where required. A Type I hood shall be required to be installed at or above all commercial cooking appliances and domestic cooking appliances used for commercial purposes that produce grease laden vapors. Cooking facilities in assembly occupancies, B occupancies containing kitchen cooking appliances, bed & breakfast, care facilities, community centers, congregate residences and/or other similar uses as determined by the fire code official shall be considered commercial operations. Protection of commercial cooking equipment shall be by means of an automatic fire-extinguishing system complying with UL-300, or another approved standard, that is listed and labeled for its intended use.

All Type I hood systems shall have a horn strobe device installed as a means of audible and visual notification. The horn strobe shall be activated by actuation of the system. Where a fire alarm is provided in a building, then the kitchen hood extinguishing system shall be connected to the fire alarm system and all other applicable Codes and Standards shall apply so that the actuation of the extinguishing system will sound the fire alarm and upon activation of the system, an audible alarm horn and visual indicator strobe at the same location shall be provided.

19. Chapter 1, Section 112; Chapter 36; Appendix A; Appendix K; Appendix L; Appendix M; and Appendix N are deleted.

C. Fire Code Copy on File: One (1) copy has been and now is filed in the Office of the Fire Marshal of the City of Porterville and the same hereby adopted with the amendments herein set forth and incorporated as fully as if at length herein and provisions thereto shall be controlling within the limits of the City of Porterville. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this article that can be given effect without the invalid provision of application, and to this end the provisions of this article are severable. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

The Fire Code adopted by section 12-1.1 of this article shall be enforced by the City of Porterville Fire Prevention Division in the Fire Department of the City which is hereby established and which shall be operated under the supervision of the Chief of the Fire Department. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

The Fire Marshal, named and appointed by the Chief of the Fire Department, shall be in charge of the City of Porterville Fire Prevention Division. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

Where the Chief of the City of Porterville Fire Prevention Division is given the title “Fire Marshal” the words “Chief of the City of Porterville Fire Prevention Division “ shall be held to mean the Fire Marshal who is the fire code official. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

All burning within the City of Porterville shall comply with the rules and regulations of the Air Pollution Control District, County of Tulare, and State of California. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

Nothing contained in the referenced edition of the Fire Code shall be construed as to exempt any person, firm or corporation from complying with all applicable regulations and restrictions of the zoning ordinance of the City of Porterville regarding the storage, operation and use of liquefied petroleum gases (LPG). LPG may be used as a second fuel for emergency generators as permitted by the Fire Code. LPG will also be permitted for fueling mobile equipment. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

Whenever the Chief of the Fire Department or the Fire Marshal shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant a permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions or intent of this code or the rules legally adopted hereunder have been incorrectly interpreted, the provisions of this code do not apply, or an equally good or better form of construction is proposed, or that the true intent and meaning of this Code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the decision of the Chief of the Fire Department or the Fire Marshal may be made to the following board. The local fire board of appeals shall consist of five fire code officials, or their designee, from the following jurisdictions: Tulare County Fire, Kings County Fire, Visalia, Tulare, Dinuba and Fresno City. The City of Porterville fire code official shall serve as an ex officio and this appeals board shall only convene as needed. As an alternative to the appeals board listed above, the applicant may appeal to the California Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) within thirty (30) days from the date of the decision. An appeal to the OSFM shall not be for relief from the appeals board. Should an applicant opt to appeal to the OSFM in lieu of the appeals board the decision of the State Fire Marshal shall be final. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

A. All open burning, recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces shall comply with the requirements set forth in the California Fire Code.

B. Nothing within this article shall be construed as exempting a person from complying with the requirements set forth with San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

C. Landowners must implement best management practices or reasonable alternatives to open burning for controlling and disposing of tumbleweeds on their property as set forth with San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District. A burn permit may be issued for burning tumbleweeds once the district has deemed that the only disposal method for the site is by open burning and the smoke will not affect smoke sensitive areas or contribute to a nuisance.

D. Permits are to be issued by SJVAPCD and permittee must comply with all requirements. Permittee must also notify the City of Porterville Fire Department prior to burning. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

The City Manager, Chief of the Fire Department and the Chief of the City of Porterville Fire Prevention Division shall act as a committee to determine and specify, after giving affected persons an opportunity to be heard, any new materials, processes or occupancies which shall require permits, in addition to those now enumerated in such Code. The Chief of the City of Porterville Fire Prevention Division shall post such list in a conspicuous place in his office, and distribute copies thereof to interested persons. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the Fire Code adopted by section 12-1.1 of this article, or its amendments, or fail to comply therewith, or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order made thereunder, or who shall build in violation of any detailed statement of specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder and from which no appeal has been taken, or who shall fail to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the State Fire Marshal or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within the time fixed herein, and any person violating any of the terms and provisions of this chapter with its amendments, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment of not more than six (6) months in the City or County Jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Alternatively, the City of Porterville reserves the right to enforce violations of this code utilizing the Administrative Citation process outlined in Chapter 2, Article 14 of the Porterville City Code. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with any operation or work of the Fire Department of the City of Porterville or any of the members thereof while the same are engaged in work, training, or any other recognized, or authorized activity, or while responding to or operating at the same of any fire or other emergency within the City of Porterville. (Ord. 1865, 11-19-2019; Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)

The Fire Chief, Fire Code Official, or their authorized representative, is hereby authorized to prohibit the parking of vehicles or other device on those portions of private streets, alleys and parking lots which have been deemed necessary in order to provide adequate fire protection to such private property, pursuant to Section 504.4 of the 2025 California Fire Code, as adopted by the City of Porterville.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, stand, or park any vehicle or other device on the private property of another where the owner of the property has, under the requirement of the Fire Chief, Fire Code Official, or their authorized representative, identified and required the marking of certain areas in accordance with the 2025 California Fire Code as adopted, sections 503.3 & D103.6. In addition to the signage requirements there shall also be a red painted curb marked with white lettering indicating “NO PARKING - FIRE LANE”.

B. In addition to the penalties associated with California Vehicle Code Section 22500.1, alternatively, or concurrent with a citation issued under that section, authorized Porterville City Officers and employees may enforce this article through the Administrative Citation procedure outlined in Porterville City Code, Chapter 2, Article XIV. For the purpose of this violation, the fine amounts shall follow those amounts issued for Building and Life Safety violations.

C. A designated fire lane shall not serve as the main entrance to a building, development, or facility if doing so would block emergency vehicle access. While the two can exist side-by-side or in parallel, the design must ensure that the fire lane remains unobstructed at all times. This article shall not alleviate the requirement for secondary Fire Apparatus Access where required.

D. An authorized and approved emergency vehicle as defined by the California Vehicle Code shall be exempt from the enforcement of this section when the vehicle and operator are recognized as in-service and on-duty. (Ord. 1920, 11-18-2025)