Nevada County leaders made their distaste for new state building regulations known Tuesday.

The county's Board of Supervisors slammed a California regulation which would require all new residential homes to include a sprinkler system, saying it could further cripple an already weak home-building market by adding a tremendous cost.

Cal Fire Unit Chief Brad Harris, who oversees Nevada County, estimated the cost of installation of a two-head sprinkler system at about $8,000 to a new homebuilder. Those costs escalate for homeowners in rural areas without access to Nevada Irrigation District, or city water lines, officials said. Building permits for new homes have dropped from 121 in 2008 to 66 last year and 51 so far this year.

“These measures may provide a degree of protection,” said District 5 Supervisor Ted Owens. “But the costs associated with them, however, are not a degree.”

The measure came before the board as a new addition to California's building standards, which local governments must adopt by state mandate. The measure was added ostensibly to give residents time to escape a burning home. It was developed by a task force convened by the California State Fire Marshal's office.

A report by the task force stated the cost of installing a system was “reasonable” given the potential of loss in a wildfire. Representatives from the Fire Marshal's office did not return messages for comment Tuesday.

Supervisors discussed appealing to the state for a change, or exemption to the regulations. Officials familiar with the regulation with the Regional Coalition of Rural Counties, which represents Nevada County as a lobbying group in Sacramento, were unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Board Chair Nate Beason called the regulation “unreasonable and unnecessary,” and questioned the costs.

“I'm not sure the return on those costs is significant enough to justify this,” and the savings on an insurance policy would be negligible, Beason said. “I think the real problem here is the lack of fuels control in the forests here.”

Residential sprinkler systems need more analysis before they are mandated, Owens said. He pointed to an Aug. 2009 explosion at a Truckee apartment complex which killed one person and injured three others. It was eventually traced back to a flaw in the building's sprinkler system.

“The state has done that without a whole lot of thought to residential properties without access to water,” said Keoni Allen, owner of Sierra Foothills construction. Homeowners without ready access to a water line could be forced to install a large storage tank and pump with enough power to supply a sprinkler system, Allen said.

“As with a lot of regulations, a lot of it is done with a broad brush and is well-intentioned,” Allen added. “But it's more appropriate in an area where everybody has a water hookup.”

At a time when the economy is so bad, “it just seems like it's in conflict with keeping housing at a reasonable level,” said Nevada County Contractors Association Executive Director Barbara Bashall.

Inspections for sprinklers on new homes would initially fall to Cal Fire before being taken over by the county's building department once its employees are trained on the equipment, said Nevada County Building Director Brian Washko.

The board held off on approving the regulations until a future meeting in order to have Supervisor Ed Scofield present for the vote, as he was absent Tuesday. The board has until Jan. 1 to adopt the regulations.

To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.