(a) Districts Included: For the purpose of guarding against the calamities of fire, commercial and manufacturing districts are hereby declared to be within the fire limits, and the fire limits are hereby established to include all of such area and, except as hereinafter provided, no wooden buildings hereafter shall be erected, placed, added to or enlarged within such fire limits; provided, that within areas where more than fifty percent (50%) of the available lot area has been used for the erection of wooden buildings, wooden buildings may be erected, placed, added to or enlarged but only when and after permission so to do has been obtained from the village board of trustees upon application made to it therefor and then only upon such reasonable terms and conditions as the village board of trustees may prescribe with due regard to the protection of life and property from the calamities of fire.
(b) Ordinary Repairs Allowed: Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent the making of ordinary repairs for the purpose of maintenance of any existing wooden building.
(c) Fire Resistance: The provisions of this section shall apply to all multi-family structures containing three (3) or more living units and structures containing any type of use such as business or industrial and also one or more living units. The fire resistance rating of all structural elements (including walls, floors, and roof) and tenant separation or party walls shall be a minimum of two (2) hours and shall be constructed of noncombustible materials. Exterior and load bearing wall construction shall be of masonry. All floors shall be of precast concrete, poured concrete or other type having a minimum of two (2) hour fire resistance rating1.
(Ord., 8-5-1965; Code 1972, § 4-1-10; Ord. 85-1, 2-7-1985; Ord. 2016-20, § 1, 5-23-2016)
1 See chapter 4 of this code.