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Board of Housing Appeals January 13 , 1986 <br /> RE: 2467 E . French Camp Road Gage Two <br /> Response to Appeal Issues <br /> The appellant incorrectly states that the County Building <br /> Inspector (County Building Official ) contends that the <br /> operation causes concentrations of airborne dust that are <br /> hazardous . <br /> Section 901 (a) of the Uniform Building Code contains the <br /> following definition for an 11-3 occupancy: <br /> "Woodworking establishments , planing mills , box <br /> factories, buffing rooms for tire-rebuilding plants and <br /> picking rooms; shops, factories or warehouses where <br /> loose combustible fibers or dust are manufactured, <br /> processed, generated or stored; and pin-refinishing <br /> rooms . " Emphasis AddedT— <br /> By this definition, any use which generates combustible dust <br /> qualifies a building as an H-3 occupancy. The code does <br /> not specify the amount or the degree of hazard, only that <br /> combustible dust or fibers are generated. It should also be <br /> noted that the Group H, Division 3 occupancy is the only <br /> classification which allows for uses which generate <br /> combustible dust. <br /> The key to the classification of this building is two-fold : <br /> 1 . Does the process generate dust? <br /> 2 . Is wood dust combustible? <br /> The operation has been inspected on various occasions by the <br /> Director of the Department of Planning and Building <br /> Inspection, the County Building Official and the Deputy <br /> County Fire Warden. During all of these inspections , it was <br /> observed that the process was generating wood dust . During <br /> some inspections , the dust handling equipment was <br /> inoperative . It has also been observed that dust has been <br /> continually collecting on flat surfaces throughout the <br /> processing area . <br /> The Deputy County Fire Warden has stated that wood dust is <br /> combustible . <br /> Under the provisions of the Uniform Building Code, the <br /> amount or concentration of dust has absolutely no bearing on <br /> how this building should be classified . <br /> JH/t.p <br />