Neighborhood gate ordinance proposed
by Kellen Moore
Watauga County commissioners will hold a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed community gate ordinance designed to ensure easy access for fire and medical responders.
Joe Furman, planning and inspections director, said there are about 50 to 60 gated communities in Watauga County that would be affected by the ordinance.
Currently, each of the communities provides its gate code to the county, which then distributes the code to fire departments, first responders, medics and others who need them.
The ordinance would change the requirements for any new gate installations or any modifications to existing gates but would not be retroactive.
“We're not going to go in and force anybody to change their gate,” Furman said.
If approved, the ordinance would require that community entryways be at least 20 feet wide, or at least 12 feet wide on each side if obstructed by a center median or post.
It also would require that all electrical gates be operable via radio signals from public safety officials, and that the gates would open and remain open during power failures unless the gate has a backup power source.
The draft ordinance also states that the gates must hold open during the entire length of an emergency event until reset.
If the ordinance is approved, community entrance gates must be inspected at least once a year by the local fire department and at least every three years by the Watauga County Fire Marshal's Office.
A community that violates the ordinance shall receive civil penalties of $200 per day until the violation is fixed, the ordinance states.
The entire ordinance is available online at bit.ly/GateOrdinance.
Commissioner Vince Gable, the former deputy chief of Deep Gap Volunteer Fire Department, said the departments have occasionally had trouble before when a community changed its gate code, but the new code wasn't immediately passed to the departments.
In other cases, firefighters and medical responders have to wait for the gate to open between each vehicle because they do not have a “hold open” function.
Gable said he has been told that upgrades such as those proposed in the ordinance would have a nominal effect on the overall costs of the gates.
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners' regularly scheduled meeting begins at 5:30 p.m., and the public hearing begins at 6 p.m.
The board meets on the lower level of the Watauga County Administration Building at 814 W. King St.
Joe Furman, planning and inspections director, said there are about 50 to 60 gated communities in Watauga County that would be affected by the ordinance.
Currently, each of the communities provides its gate code to the county, which then distributes the code to fire departments, first responders, medics and others who need them.
The ordinance would change the requirements for any new gate installations or any modifications to existing gates but would not be retroactive.
“We're not going to go in and force anybody to change their gate,” Furman said.
If approved, the ordinance would require that community entryways be at least 20 feet wide, or at least 12 feet wide on each side if obstructed by a center median or post.
It also would require that all electrical gates be operable via radio signals from public safety officials, and that the gates would open and remain open during power failures unless the gate has a backup power source.
The draft ordinance also states that the gates must hold open during the entire length of an emergency event until reset.
If the ordinance is approved, community entrance gates must be inspected at least once a year by the local fire department and at least every three years by the Watauga County Fire Marshal's Office.
A community that violates the ordinance shall receive civil penalties of $200 per day until the violation is fixed, the ordinance states.
The entire ordinance is available online at bit.ly/GateOrdinance.
Commissioner Vince Gable, the former deputy chief of Deep Gap Volunteer Fire Department, said the departments have occasionally had trouble before when a community changed its gate code, but the new code wasn't immediately passed to the departments.
In other cases, firefighters and medical responders have to wait for the gate to open between each vehicle because they do not have a “hold open” function.
Gable said he has been told that upgrades such as those proposed in the ordinance would have a nominal effect on the overall costs of the gates.
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners' regularly scheduled meeting begins at 5:30 p.m., and the public hearing begins at 6 p.m.
The board meets on the lower level of the Watauga County Administration Building at 814 W. King St.