Concerns prompt committee to draft revised version
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
An ordinance requiring commercial, industrial and multi-family property owners install a lock box for firefighters and emergency medical professionals could soon be re-added to Whitewater’s municipal code.
Late last year, the Common Council had adopted its so-called lock box ordinance, but suspended enforcement in May after receiving an earful from concerned property owners of the merits behind the ordinance.
“Many public questions and concerns regarding the ordinance have surfaced,” City Manager Cameron Clapper said of the ordinance’s brief enforcement period early this year.
Some property owners have criticized the emerging requirement, asserting the service is not needed and is an added expense.
At its core, lock boxes are designed to give first-responders access to a building without damaging the structure. Property owners and the fire department each would have a matching key.
A committee, led by council member Lynn Binnie, was formed at the time to comb through the four-page document and make recommended changes.
Binnie said the committee has completed its review, and he presented the draft changes to the full council for consideration and deliberation on Aug. 2.
One of the key criticisms surrounding the lock box ordinance was ambiguous language, and Binnie said steps have been taken to try and remedy the issue. The goal, he said, is to place as specific of language as possible around which types of buildings would need a lock box.
The revised ordinance contains 17 bullet points, outlining which developments would need a lock box if the changes were enacted. The previous iteration of the ordinance contained stock language and was considered by many officials to have poor wording.
The committee’s revisions insert a number of Whitewater-centric references, including a call to have all downtown buildings included in the requirement since they are contiguous to one another and have a heightened risk of allowing fires to spread rapidly.
The ordinance in its refined state also addresses the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus, all buildings with locked gates and new construction.
While the full council was amenable to the changes, concerns were raised about communication. Several members asserted the council’s review was not widely publicized throughout the community, prompting the elected body to ultimately hold off on making a firm decision.
Hoping to have a larger turnout and more feedback from impacted property owners, the council has laid the issue over to its next meeting this coming Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Whitewater is not alone in its lock box ordinance review. A number of Southeastern Wisconsin communities have undertaken similar steps in recent years.
The boxes typically cost around $250, and are generally funded at the property owner’s expense. A company known as Knox has been supplying the boxes and keys.
If the ordinance is re-established, the city likely will not begin enforcing it until early 2017.
