DATE: 11/19/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
2025-438
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
ORDINANCE AMENDING VARIOUS CHAPTERS WITHIN TITLE 15 OF THE CORONA MUNICIPAL CODE AND ADOPTING BY REFERENCE THE 2025 CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS CODE (CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 24) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to adopt Ordinance No. 3421, which amends various chapters within Title 15 of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC) and adopt by reference the 2025 California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24). Title 15 of the CMC encompasses the California Building Standards Code, along with local amendments pertaining to building construction.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 3421, amending various chapters within Title 15 of the Corona Municipal Code and approve by reference the 2025 California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24).
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City Council, at its meeting on November 5, 2025, approved the first reading of Ordinance 3421. The City Council is now required to hold a public hearing to adopt Ordinance 3421, which would amend the various chapters within Title 15 of the Corona Municipal Code and approve by reference the 2025 California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24).
The California Building Standards Code, Title 24, establishes the minimum regulations for the design and construction of buildings and structures in California. The California Building Standards Code is published in its entirety every three years by order of the California Legislature. The California Building Standards Commission has recently adopted new model codes with amendments, and the 2025 California Building Standards Code will take effect throughout the State on January 1, 2026.
State law mandates that local governments enforce the regulations of the California Building Standards Code and amend local ordinances for conformity. The City of Corona adopts by reference the Building Standards Code within Title 15 of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC), covering the Building Code, Residential Code, Fire Code, Plumbing Code, California Wildland Urban Interface Code, Mechanical Code, Electrical Code, Historical Building Code, Existing Building Code, Energy Code, and Green Building Standards Code. The ordinance also contains certain local amendments that are considered reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions.
ANALYSIS:
The California Building Standards Code (CBSC) is based on the latest model codes published by the International Code Council (ICC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO).
These nationally recognized model codes go through a lengthy code development process, and when new versions are published, the California Building Standards Commission uses these updated codes to amend the CBSC.
The 2025 CBSC contains changes such as errata to correct errors or typos, revised wording clarification, and more significant changes to reflect increases in building system performance, California's renewable energy goals, and the latest building technology and innovation. The most noteworthy of these changes in the new CBSC include:
• A new California Wildland-Urban Interface Code has been added to the CBSC to establish minimum requirements for land use and the built environment in `designated wildland-urban interface areas into a single code. • Electric heat pump water heaters and central space heaters are now required for most new construction instead of fuel-burning heaters. • Increased minimum sizing of solar and battery energy storage systems for new construction.
• Where fuel-burning water heaters are allowed to be installed in new residential structures, the residential structure must be “heat pump ready”. This means the residential structure is equipped to easily convert appliances from fuel-burning to electric.
• Increased electric vehicle charging requirements for multifamily buildings.
The amendments to Title 15 of the CMC are based on the 2025 CBSC update and include updates to existing ordinances for uniformity with the new codes, modern construction methods. Noteworthy changes to the Fire Code and the new Wildland Urban Interface Code in Title 15 of CMC include the following.
Chapter 15.12, Fire Code
Section 15.12.330 is added to CMC Chapter 15.12 to require a fallout radius for firework displays to be 100 ft/in (22 m/25 mm) of the internal mortar diameter of the largest aerial shell to be fired, unless otherwise approved by the Fire Chief. An exception to this requirement can include having a fully staffed fire engine present at the location of the fireworks display.
Chapter 15.25, Wildland Urban Interface Code
Chapter 15.25 is a new chapter added to the CMC, covering fire flow requirements for properties located in Very High Fire Severity (VHFS) Zones. Section 15.25.130 of this chapter will require subdivisions consisting of five or more lots for one- and two-family dwellings located in the VHFS Zones to have a fire flow of 2,000 gallons per minute (GPM) compared to the 1,500 gpm required in non-VHFS Zones. Additionally, the fire flow will increase to 2,500 gpm for a dwelling unit exceeding 3,600 square feet of floor area. The fire flow requirement of this section can be reduced to 1,500 gpm if the entire subdivision is constructed in compliance with the most current version of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood Technical Standard.
The public hearing on the proposed amendments to Title 15 of the CMC and the adoption of the ordinance is scheduled for the City Council meeting on November 19, 2025, which is required after the first reading of the ordinance.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The adoption of this ordinance will have no financial impact.
PUBLIC NOTICE:
Per Government Code Section 6066 the public notice for the public hearing on the adoption of the ordinance shall be published once a week for two successive weeks, and at least 14 days before the public hearing, with at least five days intervening between the two publication dates. The first notice was published on October 31, 2025, in the Sentinel, with the second notice published on November 7, 2025, before the public hearing date on November 19, 2025.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The Ordinance does not qualify as a project under State CEQA Guidelines, Section 15378(a) because it has no potential to result in either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment. It can also be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment because the Ordinance simply updates existing building codes in compliance with the California Building Standards Code, and the adoption of the Ordinance will not result in any development or any new activity with the potential to impact the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: CHRIS MILOSEVIC, BUILDING OFFICIAL
REVIEWED BY: COLBY CATALDI, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Ordinance No. 3421 Clean version
2. Exhibit 2 – Ordinance No. 3421 Redline version