MORRISVILLE - Changes to the town's fire code ordinance and fees will disallow the use of pine straw as mulch within 10 feet of apartments, townhomes or condominiums, but not single-family homes.

The amendments, approved by the Town Council on Oct. 27, also will impose new expenses on businesses that require annual inspections.

These and other changes will take effect Jan. 1, said Todd Wright, Morrisville's fire chief.

"One of the primary reasons for some of the changes had to do with life safety," Wright said. "It had to do with the safety of our citizens and the safety of our firefighters."

That's especially true of the new rules about combustible landscaping, he said.

Wright said Morrisville has been fortunate in that the town hasn't experienced massive fires such as the blaze that displaced dozens of people from a north Raleigh townhome complex in February 2007. But he said the cause of that fire -- a cigarette tossed into a bed of pine straw -- also started a conversation among fire officials that hasn't burned out.

"We have a history of large fires in our county in recent years where pine straw has been a contributing factor," Wright said. "The Raleigh fire happened two and a half years ago. But every time there's been a major event since, we talk about it."

The new rules, which Wright said were made in an effort to be proactive, won't immediately affect property managers even after the law takes effect early next year. Apartment or townhome complexes won't be responsible for removing and replacing pine straw from areas closest to residential buildings until "the next time they're scheduled to change the material anyway," Wright noted.

Breaking the new rules, however, will come at a cost: $500 per violation.

"We're not doing anything that other people haven't already done," Wright said. "None of these changes really reinvents the wheel."

Apex passed a similar law limiting the use of pine straw on June 16 -- exactly two weeks after a fire that ripped through six townhomes on Anterbury Drive in the Bradley Terrace subdivision.

Other changes to Morrisville's fire codes and fee structure include:

Starting Jan. 1, the town will charge a first-time fee for all fire code inspections based on the square footage of a business. The fee will include the cost of a permit, according to the town. For example, a smaller business with up to 2,500 square feet of space would pay a $35 annual fee. A larger business exceeding 500,000 square feet would pay $250 annually.

New buildings constructed after Jan. 1 will be required to install an 800 megahertz bi-directional radio antenna. The antenna will allow fire officials to use their individual radios inside the buildings during a fire or other emergency. Existing buildings will not be required to make upgrades.

Drivers will be towed or face a $75 citation if parked in a designated fire lane or in front of a fire hydrant. A previous law prohibited parking in such zones but didn't define penalties.

Fines will be levied against anyone who resets a building's fire alarm panel without obtaining permission from the fire department. A first offense will cost $100. Second and third offenses will cost $250 and $500, respectively.