Wednesday, January 24, 2001
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Wednesday, January 24, 2001 |
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Ordinance may target access to gated communities By DAVE
HAMRICK Getting emergency vehicles into Fayette's numerous gated neighborhoods could be a problem, according to county Fire Marshal David Scarbrough. That's why Scarbrough is working on a possible new ordinance that would address emergency access to gated communities. "It's been being discussed for over a year," Scarbrough said. Problems sometimes occur, he said, because neighborhoods with two gated entrances often have one gate manned by a security officer for at least part of the day, but leave the second gate locked at all times. If a fire truck, police car or ambulance trying to get into the neighborhood encounters the locked gate, precious moments are lost in driving to the other entrance or trying to find someone to grant access, he said. "If you've got to turn all the way around, that could add four or five minutes to the response time," he said, adding that could spell life or death for someone having a heart attack. "I think it presents some unique problems," he said, adding that before another new gated community is built here, he would like to have some standards in place for construction and maintenance to allow for total access to emergency vehicles. Another problem, he said, is that in gated neighborhoods where the streets are owned by the homeowners, the Sheriff's Department has reported problems in giving out tickets for such violations as not stopping for school buses. "You can't enforce it on private property," he said. Scarbrough has talked to county staff people involved in the Technical Review Committee for input, and last week presented a draft ordinance to the county Planning Commission for additional ideas. Residents of gated communities "are going to have a certain expectation as a taxpayer to have the same public services as everybody else," he said. He will return to the Planning Commission with new revisions to the proposed ordinance during a work session next month, or possibly the next, he said, with plans to eventually present the proposal to the public during a commission business meeting. When the document is in its final form, it will go to the Board of Commissioners for approval or rejection, he added. Among proposed rules, the ordinance would require that all gates be manned 24 hours a day or locked in an open position.
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