The Arlington Heights Village Voard rejected the notion that sprinklers should be installed in all newly constructed residential homes this week.

Opponents point to the cost, but International Code Council recommends them in the model code, which the village will adopt next week.

The International Building Code creates building standards for building safety, fire prevention and energy efficiency.

Arlington Height’s building code and review board is proposing a complete overhaul — that took more than a year to complete — of the village’s building code, said Charles Kobus, permit inspection and licensing official.

The board approved of all other parts of the code, but Mayor Arlene Mulder said the sprinkler section was controversial.

“Some residents have followed this issue from day one and written letters to us with concerns that it was not a necessary thing and not cost-effective,” Mulder said. “With the quality of our fire department, they really questioned the use of it.”

Kobus believes that the sprinklers probably make a home safer. They are still required in all commercial and public buildings, as well as multi-family units like apartment and condominium complexes.

Residential homes would be the only buildings exempt from the sprinklers.

Trustees, who voted unanimously to remove the sprinkler requirement, also complained that because the village is landlocked and very few new homes are being built anyway, Mulder said.

All the other changes were more stringent than the model code, said James McCalister, acting director of the building department.

Nearby communities such as Mount Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Prospect Heights and Wheeling have adopted the mandatory sprinkler system.