Section 27-450
§ 27-450 Application. This section shall apply to the construction,
alteration, and use of buildings or spaces as public garages. Any areas
of such buildings in which gasoline, oil, and similar products are
dispensed shall meet the requirements of article eight of this
subchapter; any areas in which motor vehicles are repaired shall meet
the requirements of article nine of this subchapter; and any areas in
which any paint spraying is done shall meet the requirements of article
three of this subchapter.
Section 27-451
§ 27-451 Classification. Public garages shall be classified according
to their specific uses as follows:
(a) Group 1. Buildings or spaces used for the parking of vehicles
having fuel storage tanks in excess of twenty-six gallon capacity; or
used for the parking of vehicles of any size, and in which mechanical
repair, body work, or painting of vehicles is conducted, or in which
gasoline, oil, or similar products are dispensed. Group 1 public garages
shall be classified in storage occupancy group B-1.
(b) Group 2. Buildings or spaces used exclusively for the parking of
vehicles having fuel storage tanks of twenty-six gallon capacity or
less, and in which no repair, body work or painting of vehicles is
conducted, and in which no gasoline, oil, or similar products are
dispensed. Group 2 public garages shall be classified in storage
occupancy group B-2.
Section 27-452
§ 27-452 Construction. The street floor construction of group 1 public
garages shall have at least a two hour fire-resistance rating. Where
openings are provided in the floor of any public garage, they shall be
protected by railings complying with the requirements of subchapters
nine and ten of this chapter, with a curb or ramp at least six inches
high above the floor. All floors shall be concrete or equivalent
noncombustible material. Columns in parking areas shall comply with the
provisions of section 27-559 of article three of subchapter nine of this
chapter.
Section 27-453
§ 27-453 Group 1 public garages in buildings of other occupancy
classification. No group 1 public garage shall be located within, or
attached to, a building occupied for any other use, unless separated
from such other use by construction meeting the requirements of table
5-2 for fire divisions. Elevators, stairways, and exit passageways
connecting group 1 garages to other occupancies shall be accessible only
through vestibules constructed of materials having a two hour
fire-resistance rating. The floor area of such vestibules shall be at
least fifty square feet but not more than seventy-five square feet.
Ventilation shall be provided by a louver permanently-open to the
outdoor air having a net free area of one hundred forty-four square
inches, located near the floor. Vestibule doors shall be one and
one-half hour self-closing fire doors, with a six inch high sill
provided at the door between the vestibule and the garage. Both doors
shall swing in the direction of the elevators, stairways or exit
passageways.
Section 27-454
§ 27-454 Roof storage of motor vehicles. Roofs of buildings shall not
be used for the parking or storage of motor vehicles unless the building
is of class I-A, I-B, or I-C construction, or is an open parking
structure. When the roof of a building is used for parking of motor
vehicles, it shall be provided with a parapet wall or guard rail at
least three feet six inches high, and with curbs or wheel guards of
noncombustible materials of a least eight inches high. Such guards shall
be substantially anchored to prevent any vehicle from striking the
parapet wall or guard rail. Guard rails shall comply with the
requirements for railings in subchapter nine of this chapter.
Section 27-455
§ 27-455 Sprinklers. (a) Automatic sprinkler protection complying with
the construction provisions of article four of subchapter seventeen
shall be provided as required for occupancy group B-1 or B-2
respectively, except that in existing buildings lawfully occupied as
garages prior to December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, storage
of forty-five thousand gallons or less of product having a flash point
over one hundred degrees F (tag open cup) in the cargo space of tank
truck or other vehicles approved for such storage by the fire
commissioner, pending delivery, shall not be deemed to require sprinkler
protection.
(b) Smoke detection or thermostatic alarm with central office
connection. A thermostatic alarm system or smoke detection system
equipped with a central office connection complying with subchapter
seventeen of this code, and reference standard RS-17-3 of the appendix
to this code may be provided in lieu of the sprinkler system required
under the preceding subdivision in existing buildings lawfully occupied
as garages prior to December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, when
the storage of fuel oils or other products having a flash point over one
hundred degrees F (tag open cup) is twenty-two thousand five hundred
gallons or more but not exceeding forty-five thousand gallons in the
cargo space of tank trucks or other vehicles approved for such storage
by the fire commissioner, pending delivery.
(c) Portable fire fighting appliances, as the fire commissioner may
direct, shall be provided in existing buildings lawfully occupied as
garages prior to December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, when the
storage of fuel oils or other products, having a flash point over one
hundred degrees F (tag open cup), in the cargo space of tank trucks or
other vehicles approved for such storage by the fire commissioner,
pending delivery, is less than twenty-two thousand five hundred gallons.
Section 27-456
§ 27-456 Ventilation. Public garages shall be ventilated in accordance
with provisions of section 27-766 of article eight of subchapter twelve
of this chapter and the following:
(a) Garage spaces above or below grade except as provided in
subdivision (e) of this section shall be provided with mechanical
ventilation according to one of or a combination of the following
methods:
(1) Air exhaust at the rate of not less than one cfm per square foot
of total floor area with properly designed means for air inflow.
(2) Air supply at the rate of not less than one cfm per square foot of
total floor area with properly designed means for air outflow.
(3) Air exhaust or air supply at a rate sufficient to maintain an
average concentration of carbon monoxide not to exceed one hundred parts
per one million parts of air for periods longer than one hour and with a
maximum concentration at any time not to exceed four hundred parts of
carbon monoxide per one million parts of air. The concentration of
carbon monoxide shall be determined by periodic tests taken between
three and four feet from the floor by means of approved carbon monoxide
detector tubes or other equivalent means. This method of mechanical
ventilation may be used only if the overall design includes automatic
ventilating fan control by means of approved carbon monoxide monitoring
devices or by other approved means located so as to provide full
protection for the occupancy.
(b) The provisions of section 27-766 of article eight of subchapter
twelve of this chapter shall apply.
(c) Air supply shall be taken from an uncontaminated source. Exhaust
outlets shall be located in accordance with the requirements of
subchapter thirteen with one-half of them located six inches above floor
level. In public garages where motor vehicles are parked by mechanical
means, the ventilation requirements shall be one-half of those required
above.
(d) No automotive service pits shall be installed in floors below the
street floor. Pits shall have mechanical exhaust ventilation taken from
near the bottom.
(e) Garage spaces above grade provided with natural ventilation having
a free openable area of at least five per cent of the total floor area
of the space and having adjustable openings measuring at least six
inches by four inches located within six inches of the floor and at most
sixteen feet apart on all outside and court walls need not be provided
with mechanical ventilation.
Section 27-457
§ 27-457 Exits. Public garages shall be provided with at least two
exits from each tier of parking. One of the exits may be a ramp used by
motor vehicles, when serving not more than one level below grade. All
vertical exits shall have a minimum width of thirty-six inches and shall
be enclosed in two hour fire-resistive construction, except as permitted
by section 27-458 of article ten of subchapter seven of this chapter. No
exit in a group 1 public garage shall have a path of travel through a
fuel dispensing area. In group 2 public garages occuring in occupancy
group J-2 buildings, overhead doors shall be of the automatic
self-closing type.
(a) Travel distance. No point in any public garage shall be more than
one hundred feet from an exit, except that such distance may be
increased to one hundred fifty feet when the garage is fully
sprinklered.
(b) Repair and fuel spaces. Spaces in group 1 public garages used for
the repair of motor vehicles or the dispensing of fuel shall be provided
with at least two exits, within the travel distance limitations of
subdivision (a) of this section.
(c) Roof parking. When the roof of a building is used for parking,
interior vertical exits shall be enclosed in a bulkhead constructed as
required by subchapter five of this chapter.
Section 27-458
§ 27-458 Ramps. Vehicular ramps in public garages shall not exceed a
gradient of one in seven, and their surfaces shall be nonslip. A landing
having a minimum length of twenty feet shall be provided at the
discharge point at the street level, within the street line. Ramps
serving as required exits shall be enclosed in construction having a two
hour fire-resistance rating except that openings for motor vehicles at
each parking tier may be protected by a water curtain consisting of
deluge-type sprinkler heads supplying at least three gallons of water
per minute per linear foot of opening.
Section 27-459
§ 27-459 Heating equipment. Heat generating equipment for public
garages shall be enclosed in accordance with the requirements of section
27-419 of article five of subchapter seven of this chapter.
Section 27-459.1
§ 27-459.1 Parking spaces for people having physical
disabilities.--Parking spaces for people having physical disabillities
shall comply with the requirements of section 27-292.19 and reference
standard RS 4-6.