City of Minnetonka v. Mark Z. Jones Assoc., 44930

• Decision Date: 21 November 1975
• Docket Number: No. 44930,44930
• Citation: 236 N.W.2d 163,306 Minn. 217
• Parties: CITY OF MINNETONKA, Respondent, v. MARK Z. JONES ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 163

236 N.W.2d 163

306 Minn. 217

CITY OF MINNETONKA, Respondent, v. MARK Z. JONES ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant.

No. 44930.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Nov. 21, 1975.

Carlsen, Greiner & Law, Peter F. Greiner and John E. Rode, Minneapolis, for appellant.

Carl F. Dever, City Atty., Minnetonka, for respondent.

Heard before OTIS, KELLY, TODD, YETKA and KNUTSON, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.

OTIS, Justice.

These proceedings have been brought by the city of Minnetonka to require appellant Mark Z. Jones Associates, Inc., to comply with provisions of the city's Fire Prevention Code in the construction of an apartment building in that municipality. Jones appealed to the commissioner of administration who held that the city was without authority to enforce the code because it had been superseded by the State Building Code. On appeal to the district court by Minnetonka, the decision of the commissioner was reversed. The court held that the State Building Code does not preempt, conflict with, nor supersede the Minnetonka fire prevention ordinance, and directed Jones to comply. Jones has appealed that judgment and we reverse.

The parties have stipulated to the facts. Jones is an owner, developer, and general contractor who has constructed an apartment complex in Minnetonka known as Stratford Wood. It consists of two buildings, two stories in height, and a basement garage 800 feet in length which will accommodate 119 automobiles. One apartment contains 120 dwelling units and the other 135.

Pursuant to Minn.St. 471.62, Minnetonka has adopted by reference a fire prevention code promulgated by the American Insurance Association. L.1971, c. 561, §§ 1 to 15, codified as Minn.St.1971, §§ 16.83 to 16.866, authorized the commissioner of administration to promulgate and administer a State Building Code. The section here to be construed is § 16.851, which provides as follows 'Effective July 1, 1972, the state building code shall apply state-wide and supersede and take the place of the building code of any municipality. Specifically, the code shall apply to any municipality which as of the effective date of this act has a building code and shall further apply to any municipality which chooses to adopt a building code thereafter. Said building code shall not apply to farm dwellings and buildings, except with respect to other state inspections required or other rulemaking authorized by Minnesota Statutes 1971, Section 104.05 as of the effective date of this act.'

The issue is whether, construing the statute and the ordinance together, Jones may be required by Minnetonka to install an emergency electrical lighting system in hallways and exits independent of public utility power, and to install a sprinkler system in the basement garage. That issue is to be resolved by determination of whether fire prevention devices which are an integral part of the construction of the building are governed by the State Building Code or may be dealt with by municipalities independent of the provisions of the State Building Code. We hold that insofar as local ordinances purport to adopt fire prevention measures which affect the design and construction of buildings, they are in conflict with the State Building Code which has preempted that field.

At the outset, we note that although the parties have stipulated that the Minnetonka ordinance requires the Stratford Wood project to provide a sprinkler system and emergency lighting, there is nothing in the Minnetonka code explicitly dealing with those subjects. Section 11.3 provides that hallways shall be kept adequately lighted at all times, and § 14.2 requires appropriate extinguishing appliances in multifamily houses which contain places of a generally hazardous nature. The fire marshal of Minnetonka has construed these provisions to require emergency lighting and a sprinkler system in the garages, and for the purposes of our decision we will accept his interpretation of the ordinance.

In reaching his decision, the commissioner of administration emphasized the fact that the requirements in the Minnetonka fire code directly affect building construction and have as their same purpose the health, safety, and welfare of the people referred to in the statute governing the State Building Code, and consequently by the terms of the statute are superseded.

The decision of the trial court hinged on the right of a municipality in the exercise of its police power to protect against the extreme hazards created by the storage of automobiles in an apartment complex. ¹ In its memorandum the court pointed out that the state does not have firefighting equipment and that firefighting is a function of local government in discharging its duty to protect its residents. The court concluded that it was not the intention of the legislature to permit such hazards to remain unattended. We are of the opinion, however, that the State Building Code has dealt with fire prevention in a comprehensive manner insofar as it affects the construction and design of buildings, and that it was the legislature's intent that the state code preempt the requirements for fire prevention except as they dealt with matters other than construction. It would, undoubtedly, be within the province of local government to provide, by ordinance, fire prevention measures dealing with the use and storage of combustible materials, the number and location of portable fire extinguishers, limitations on occupancy of dwellings or commercial buildings, and similar regulations not directly related to the design or construction.

Although we decide the issues on a broader application of the doctrine of preemption, with respect to the sprinkler requirement in the basement garage appellant has made a persuasive argument that the State Building Code expressly exempts the garage area from a sprinkler requirement. Section 3802 of the Uniform Building Code as adopted by reference in State of Minnesota, Dept. of Administration, Minnesota Building Code, Reg. 201, contains the following provision:

'(b) WHERE REQUIRED. Standard automatic fire-extinguishing systems shall be installed and maintained in operable condition as specified in this Chapter in the following locations:

'1. In every story, basement or cellar of all buildings except Group I Occupancies when floor area exceeds 1500 square feet and there is not provided at least 20 square feet of opening entirely above the adjoining ground level in each 50 lineal feet or fraction thereof of exterior wall in the story, basement or...