Pagano applies full-court press to stop sprinkler systems requirement

The International Business Code (IBC) requirement that would mandate all new residential structures be constructed with sprinkler systems starting in 2010 has been a topic on many local government agenda in recent weeks. Some city officials have been racing to make their opposition known to the General Assembly before the current session expires.

Last September, the IBC Council elected to include the provision in the IBC update set to come out next spring, setting St. Peters Mayor Len Pagano in motion. Because most local governments have ordinances making the IBC the code of that jurisdiction, a number of elected leaders see this as bad timing, as indicated when Pagano brought the issue before the St. Charles County Municipal League on April 30.

At that time, no elected leader supported the IBC mandate during a sluggish economy.

But Pagano didn’t stop there. He has taken his show on the road in pursuit of more support for a stop-gap measure that would limit the damaging effects of the new mandate.

“Let’s face it, the economy just can’t take this right now,” Pagano said. The added expense of meeting such a requirement in new home construction would severely limit new home starts in St. Peters – and elsewhere.

Dardenne Prairie Mayor Pam Fogarty agrees. She said she’s worked too hard to grow Dardenne Prairie from a village to a respectable-sized, fourth-class city and shared her opinion during a May 13 Board of Aldermen work session.

Ultimately the aldermen decided to back a resolution similar to Pagano’s draft measure. During the discussion it came out that Pagano had called for a similar resolution from each municipality and the county to be passed and forwarded to the state delegation.

Fogarty said Pagano had made multiple trips to Jefferson City to campaign the legislators.

Pagano affirmed he’d spent a great deal of time conveying the need to leave it up to the homeowner to decide if he or she wants a sprinkler system.

“I have support of both the (Mo.) House (of Representatives) and the (Mo.) Senate amongst the (St. Charles County) delegation,” Pagano said. “They say they’re for allowing it to be a choice and not a mandate for sprinkler systems to be put in new housing.”

For more on this story, see the May 20 edition of Mid Rivers Newsmagazine.