Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert has sent a letter to Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable outlining recommendations for changes to the current code for multi-family housing, with the goal of improving fire safety.

The DCA is undertaking a review of New Jersey’s construction and fire codes, and has asked for input from municipalities across the state. Concerns have been especially high among local residents in recent weeks since a devastating fire at a Bergen County rental community owned by AvalonBay, the developer building a rental complex at the former site of Princeton Hospital.

The recommendations are focused on the use of lightweight wood construction in large, multi-family developments. If lightweight wood construction continues to be allowed in New Jersey, Princeton Council recommends several provisions be added to the state’s fire and building codes, according to the letter.

The provisions dictate that all new multiple family housing buildings meet NFPA 13 requirements, that they require masonry stairwells and elevator shafts, that they be build with masonry fire walls from foundation to roof line with rated roof assembly eight feet horizontally off the firewall, and require tighter intervals of draft stopping and fire stopping, and add to inspection requirements.

Also, if a loft or mezzanine meets the criteria for habitability it should meet the code definition and criteria for a floor level. Any penetration through a firewall must be permitted and inspected. The state should immediately create the same type of to-year permitting and certification process that would enable each municipality to inspect existing firewalls for backflow preventers, the letter reads. “Many contractors either are not required to take out permits for work done in attics or they are illegally performing the work in an unseen space. Firewalls are compromised and residents are unaware of the severity of the potential hazard,” the letter concludes.