EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: October 18, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: Hansom Hom, Deputy Manager, Special Projects
Romeo Herrera, Chief Building Official
SUBJECT: Introduction of an Ordinance Adopting Updated Building Codes Recommendation
Introduce an ordinance amending East Palo Alto Municipal Code Chapters 15.08,
15.10, 15.11, 15.12, 15.15, 15.16, 15.20, 15.25, 15.30, 15.58 to adopt by reference the 2022 California Building Standards Code, including the following 2022 California Codes and specified appendices: Administrative Code; Building Code volumes 1 and 11; Residential Code; Electrical Code; Mechanical Code; Plumbing Code; Energy Code; Historical Building Code; Existing Building Code; Green Building Standards Code; and Fire Code, including ratification of the local amendments set forth in Menlo Park Fire Protection District Ordinance No. 49- 2022; and amending section 15.32.010 pertaining to dangerous buildings.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 3: Increase Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
Adoption of 2022 California Building Standards Code
Each local government is required by law to adopt new changes proposed by the State to the California Building Standards Code every three years (known as code cycles). The new code cycle will take effect January 1, 2023.
The adoption process for the Building Code differs from adoption of other ordinances in terms of the timing for the public hearing. The first Council action is the introduction or first reading of the draft ordinance adopting the code revisions. Following the introduction of the ordinance, staff will notice a public hearing for December 6, 2022, when the City Council will consider the second reading of the ordinance for adoption of the draft ordinance.
Prior to the December 6th City Council meeting, staff will conduct a community meeting to educate the community, contractors, and other stakeholders on the Building Code modifications that would likely impact construction projects during the upcoming three-year cycle. The community meeting has been scheduled for October 20, 2022 at 1960 Tate Street at 10:00 a.m. The meeting also will be available by Zoom.
During this code cycle, the Chief Building Official is not recommending any new local amendments to the codes. As a result, the Council is not required to make any specific local findings to justify local amendments.
Staff recommends local adoption of 2022 California Building Standards Code. The new standards will be effective 30 days after adoption of the l implementing ordinance included as Attachment 1.
As part of this code adoption process, staff also proposes revision of the previously adopted Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings to reflect the correct year of the most recent adoption of that code.
Highlighted Significant Changes to the Building Standards Code Notable amendments to the Building Code required due to State mandates (therefore, not Reach Codes) include:
• Building Code Update. The 2022 Building Code triennial update includes minor language restatements and refinements in addition to requiring more energy-efficient installation for new residential construction and additional safety measures such as expanding Wildland Urban Interface requirements, and other energy-efficient installation for new commercial construction.
• Fire Code Update. The 2022 Fire Code update includes the requirement that any mobile food preparation vehicle have an operating permit, authorizes the code official to allow the removal of existing occupant use hose lines, and address all configurations of energy systems, including emergency power, standby power, fuel cell power, and stationary battery storage system requirements and to require 24/7 Fire Watch.
The City is required to enforce the newly adopted codes effective January 1, 2023. It is recommended that the City Council introduce the attached ordinance to include the 2022 California Building Standards Code. The ordinance will be brought back to the City Council for a public hearing and adoption at the regular meeting on December 6, 2022. 2022 REACH Code Updates
The City of East Palo Alto has always been a Global Thinking Community that has noticed and responsively acted upon the opportunity to help the environment clean its air, help with climate solutions, and embrace renewable energy solutions across many governmental sectors. One of these many ambitious initiatives was championed within the Building and Safety Division of the City of East Palo Alto when the city adopted REACH Codes in 2020 at a higher level as compared to neighboring jurisdictions. REACH Codes are stricter requirements extracted from the Energy Codes.
Because the City of East Palo Alto already has adopted strict REACH Codes, City staff does not propose any additional steps to expand its current REACH Code requirements. Some cities are just now adopting minimum REACH Codes, while other cities are now adopting the stricter REACH Codes that EPA already has in place.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact with the items described in this staff report.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City's official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City's website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The items described in this staff report are not considered a project under the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations, this ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in that it is not a Project which has the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
Attachments
A. Ordinance