COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3308
CUPERTINO.GOV
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
April 21, 2026
Subject
Introduction and first reading of an Ordinance to amend Cupertino Municipal Code Chapter 16; amend Resolution No. 25-092 (2025 Building Code Ado ption) to conform to requirements from the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC).
Recommended Action
1. Adopt Resolution No. 26-___ Amending Resolution No. 25-092 Making Findings Relating to Local Climatic, Geographical, or Topographical C onditions Supporting Amendments and changes to the 2025 California Building Standards Code.
2. Introduce and conduct first reading of Ordinance No. 26-___: “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino amending Chapters 16.02, 16.04, 16.06, 16.10, 16.16, 16.20,
16.24, 16.40, 16.42, 16.54, 16.58, 16.62, 16.64, 16 .68 and 16.80 of Title 16 of the Cupertino Municipal Code Adopting the California Building, Re sidential, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, energy, Wildland-Urban Interface Code, Hi storical Building Code, Fire, Existing Building Code, Green Building Standards Co de, Referenced Standards Code, Uniform Housing Code, and Property Maintenance Code , With Certain Exceptions, Deletions, Modifications, Additions and Amendments.”
Background
On November 4, 2025, the Council adopted the first reading of an Ordinance and Resolution to amend Title 16, Buildings and Construction, of the Cupertino Municipal Code adopting the 2025 California Codes of Regulations and making local am endments as mandated by the State of California. Following the Second reading on Novembe r 18, 2025, copies of the Ordinance and Resolution were submitted to the California Buildin g Standards Commission (CBSC) on November 26, 2025, to satisfy Health and Safety Cod e requirements. On January 16, 2026, the CBSC issued a partial acceptance (Attachment E), re questing additional findings for three proposed appendices and two Residential Code amendm ents proposed by the Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD).
A preliminary response was submitted to the CBSC on February 10, 2026, after consultation with SCCFD. While the findings for the appendices were a ccepted, the CBSC only partially accepted the justifications for the Residential Code amendments. Specifically, the spacing requirements in Section R330.3.1 were found to be consistent with p revious 2022 amendments and may remain; however, the location requirements in Section R330. 4 did not align with the 2022 amendments.
Consequently, the proposed amendment to Section R33 0.4 must be removed, and the City will adopt the language as presented in the 2025 CRC. T hat language states: Outdoors or on the exterior side of exterior walls located not less th an 3 feet from doors and windows directly entering the dwelling unit, except where smaller se paration distances are permitted by the UL9540 listing and manufacturer’s installation instructions.
To support the final approval from the California B uilding Standards Commission (CBSC), the following modifications have been incorporated into the adopted Resolution and Ordinance.
Resolution 25-092 was updated to include a suppleme nt to the Exhibit A table, providing necessary findings and justifications for the adopt ion of Appendix BG in the 2025 California Residential Code (CRC) and Appendices D and P in th e 2025 California Fire Code (CFC).
Additionally, several corrections were made to Ordi nance 25-2278 to ensure consistency and compliance. In Section 16.04.360, a legacy table that was inadvertently retained was deleted, and the section was further updated to align with the 2 025 California Building Code (CBC) seismic design category requirements. Finally, the proposed amendment to Section 16.06.050 was eliminated. This change was necessitated by the discovery that the amendment did not match the Municipal Code in effect as of September 30, 2025, and under the provisions of AB 130, could not be modified; therefore, the City will adopt the verbatim language specified in the 2025 CRC Reasons for Recommendation and Available Options
Staff recommends the approval of these amendments t o ensure the City's building standards address specific local safety needs while remaining compliant with State mandates. The adoption of the proposed Appendices and Residential Code ame ndments is necessary to address unique local climatic, geological, and topographical condi tions that directly impact the health, welfare, and safety of residents. Furthermore, these actions promote regional consistency in code application and enforcement, particularly regarding Energy Storage Systems (ESS), which are critical for both fire safety and energy resilience.
If the recommended action is not adopted, the City may face continued partial acceptance from the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) , leading to regulatory uncertainty and potential conflicts between local enforcement and s tate requirements. To ensure a balanced approach, staff conducted a review of regional stan dards and collaborated with the Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD). The findings from these discussions and the subsequent CBSC preliminary review are summarized below:
Item Reviewed Detailed Finding/Regulatory
Status
Recommendation
Proposed Appendices . Finding: The City provided "e xpress findings" establishing that these
voluntary measures are reasonably
necessary due to local climatic (e.g.,
wildfire risk), geological (e.g., seismic
activity), or topographical conditions.
This satisfies the mandate of CRC
Section 1.1.8.1 and Health and Safety
Code Section 17958.7.
Adopt as proposed. Ensure
the final ordinance and
findings are filed with the
CBSC to remain effective.
Section R330.3.1 (ESS Spacing) Finding: This amend ment maintains the local 3-foot separation
requirement for Energy Storage
Systems (ESS). Because this language
is identical to the City's previously
approved 2022 CRC (Section R328.3.1)
amendments, the CBSC accepted it as
an "existing baseline" modification
with no new restrictive impact.
Retain amendment. No
further technical justification
is required as it preserves a
previously vetted safety
standard.
Section R330.4 (ESS Locations) Finding: This item w as identified as a "cleanup issue" because the proposed
text introduced new restrictive
language not found in the 2022
baseline. Under AB 130, new
amendments to ESS regulations are
subject to stricter scrutiny; the CBSC
rejected this section because it lacked
the required updated "express
findings" for a NEW local
modification.
. Revert to 2025 CRC. Remove
the local amendment and
default to the statewide
language in CRC Section
R330.4 to ensure code
compliance.
Based on the findings outlined above, staff recomme nds the adoption of the proposed amendments to provide clear regulations for stakeho lders and to obtain complete acceptance from the CBSC for the City’s adoption of the 2025 California Building Standards Code.
Sustainability Impact
No sustainability impact.
Fiscal Impact
No fiscal impact.
City Work Program (CWP) Item/Description
None
Council Goal:
Quality of Life, Environmental Sustainability
California Environmental Quality Act
No California Environmental Quality Act impact.
_____________________________________
Prepared by: Sean Hatch, Building Official
Reviewed by: Benjamin Fu, Director of Community Development Floy Andrews, Interim City Attorney
Approved for Submission by: Tina Kapoor, City Manager
Attachments:
A – Draft Ordinance to Clean-up Title 16 of the Cupertino Municipal Code – Redline B – Draft Ordinance to Clean-up Title 16 of the Cupertino Municipal Code - Clean C – Draft Resolution to Clean-up the Findings for Local Amendments - Redline D – Draft Resolution to Clean-up the Findings for Local Amendments – Clean E – California Building Standards Commission Partial Acceptance Letter