Marin County moves to update large gate safety standards after child crushed last year

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. - Marin County is proposing updating safety codes for large gates installed on public and private property, the county said Friday.     

The county's Community Development Agency (CDA) will be presenting the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday an amendment to the building code that would require the installation of a safety device on gates more than 4 feet wide or 84 inches tall in unincorporated areas to prevent them from falling flat and causing injuries, the county said.   

The update is in response to the death of a 7-year-old boy last December in Greenbrae after a fence at his school fell over and crushed him, the county said. The gate was 30 feet long and weighed over 400 pounds.     

All gates of the specified dimensions, either existing or new, would need to include a wire restraint or vertical post that assures only "intended movement," the county said.     

Gates installed on rural, agricultural properties would not be affected.   

Bill Kelley, deputy director of the CDA, said in a news release Friday that gates tend to be strong when it comes to moving in the direction they're designed to move, but are vulnerable in the perpendicular direction.     

"The cost of safeguard devices capable of preventing gates from unexpectedly falling over during routine and normal operation is modest," said Kelley, "especially when compared to the magnitude of potential damage and/or injury that could result in the absence of such safeguard devices."   

The gates in question tend to be at found at businesses, schools, gated communities and driveway entrances to larger, single-family homes. They often roll on wheels and open or close on tracks.     

If the new ordinance is approved, building inspectors would check for gate compliance when they make routine final inspections associated with permits in unincorporated Marin County, the county said.     

The Board of Supervisors meet on Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Board Chambers, located at the Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael. To view the meeting remotely, visit here.