DATE: September 2, 2025
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City Manager
Marlene Subhashini, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Sofia Mangalam, Community Development Director
Chuck Venook, Chief Building Official
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON LOCAL REACH CODES
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council by Minute Order, receive an update on local Reach Codes and provide direction on staff’s recommendation to adopt Reach Codes for commercial construction only.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Every three (3) years, the State of California adopts and publishes a set of new construction codes referred to as the California Building Standards Code (CBSC) or California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 24. Through the code adoption process, the California Building Standards Commission selects and approves a set of model codes, including the California Building Code (CBC), Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, Electrical Code, Existing Buildings Code, Fire Code, Energy Code, Residential Building Code, Historical Building Code, and Green Building Code.
Participating State agencies, such as the State Fire Marshal (SFM), Division of the State Architect (DSA), Housing and Community Development (HCD), and Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), have an opportunity to amend the code for the occupancy groups under their respective authorities. Without taking any action, the State Model Building Codes become the default codes of the city. Local jurisdictions may
choose to adopt local building codes that “reach” above and beyond the State minimums; these are referred to as “Reach Codes”.
The most recent code cycle was in 2022 with an effective date of January 1, 2023. The next code cycle is up for adoption in 2025 with an effective date of January 1, 2026.
Below, staff has noted four (4) key considerations related to Reach Codes. • Assembly Bill (AB) 130: On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill (AB) 130, as part of California's budget package, which makes significant changes to the way cities adopt or amend the CBSC (see former AB 306) and restricts local jurisdictions from adopting local amendments to the residential building code between Oct. 1, 2025 and June 1, 2031. •Berkeley Case Law Related to Electrification: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the Berkeley ordinance that prohibited natural gas infrastructure in new buildings (California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, 89 F.4th 1094 (9th Cir. 2024) (“CRA”). The Ninth Circuit found that the City of Berkeley’s Ordinance No. 7672-NS created a ban on natural gas infrastructure in newly constructed buildings, which is preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (“EPCA”), which authorizes the Department of Energy to set energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances. • Electrical Capacity Study: The Electrical Capacity Study, undertaken exclusively for Foster City, concluded that the existing electric distribution system will not fully support the future development and electrification of Foster City. • Climate Action Plan (2024) Update: On November 18, 2024, the City of Foster City adopted the CAP 2024 Update. The CAP 2024 Update provides a set of implementation measures and programs to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with vehicle trips, energy consumption, and solid waste. The program E-W.2.4 includes “Adopt a single margin source energy score for new residential and commercial construction that exceeds the State's minimum standards by 2026.”
BACKGROUND
Senate Bill (SB) 32 requires the California State Air Resources Board (CARB) to ensure the State’s GHG emissions are reduced to 40 percent below the 1990 levels by 2030.
Residential and commercial buildings are responsible for roughly 25% of California’s GHG emissions (CARB, 2019, California GHG Emission Inventory: 2000 – 2017, 2019 Edition). Building electrification is a strategy to decarbonize buildings and achieve GHG emission reduction goals.
The CBSC (Title 24 of the CCR) is updated and published on a three-year cycle. The California Building Standards Commission publishes the triennial codes, and State law mandates that these codes become effective throughout California 180 days after the publication date. The current (2022) cycle of State building codes became effective on January 1, 2023.
Local jurisdictions may amend the published codes to address local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions. These amendments are called Reach Codes because they exceed or “reach” beyond the requirements of the State’s base code. Local Reach Codes must be readopted every three (3) years when the CBSC is updated.
In 2024, staff presented two (2) informational reports to the City Council on the topic of Reach Codes, as follows:
1. March 18, 2024, City Council Meeting
On March 18, 2024, staff provided an informational report on the Electrical Capacity Study prepared to consider the potential adoption of local Energy Reach Codes and sought policy direction from the City Council regarding Reach Codes adoption.
In the staff report, staff outlined three (3) key points for Council’s consideration as noted below:
•The Electrical Capacity Study concluded that the existing electric distribution system will not fully support the future development and electrification of Foster City.
•The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the Berkeley ordinance that prohibited natural gas infrastructure in new buildings, and due to this ruling, several cities and counties were pausing their Reach Code electrification implementation.
•The next code cycle, 2025 Title 24, Part 6 Standards, will be released in June 2024 and will include a new set of State minimum regulations.
At the meeting, staff sought policy direction from the City Council on the following items:
1. Should staff continue to study options for Energy Reach Codes?
2. If staff should engage with PG&E to discuss the study's outcome, distribution capacities, and necessary resources to meet load growth.
After deliberation, the City Council, by Minute Order No. 1968, directed staff to:
1. Engage with PG&E to discuss the outcome of the Electrical Capacity Study, distribution capacities and necessary resources to meet load growth;
2. Explore Zero Emission/Zero NOx Reach Codes option, its validity, and any legal challenges associated with it; and
3. Explore other Reach Code options.
2. October 7, 2024, City Council Meeting
Per Council’s direction from March 18, 2024, meeting, staff engaged with PG&E and researched Zero Emission/Zero NOx and other Reach Codes options. •Meeting with PG&E
On April 22, 2024, staff met with PG&E and discussed the highlights of the Electrical Capacity Study. PG&E noted that, as per California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) guidelines, PG&E needs to have development applications submitted to plan for any capacity upgrades to transformers and/or feeders. In other words, PG&E cannot make upgrades based on an Electrical Capacity Study or other studies for future electrification efforts.
•Zero Emission/Zero NOx Reach Code
Staff presented a brief overview of Zero NOx Reach Codes and discussed the examples of three (3) cities that adopted it, including the Town of Los Altos Hills, City of Berkeley, and City of Campbell.
•Other Reach Code Options
Staff also included a discussion regarding alternative local energy reach code adopted by other local jurisdictions, including San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Santa Cruz, and Palo Alto, East Palo Alto.
At the meeting, staff presented three (3) options for Council’s consideration:
1. Option 1: Draft an ordinance for Energy Reach Codes based on the Zero NOx approach for the 2022 or 2025 Building Code cycle.
2. Option 2: Draft an ordinance for Energy Reach Codes based on a One-Margin approach for the 2022 or 2025 Building Code cycle.
3. Option 3: Draft Other Reach Codes - EV Charging for 2022 or 2025 Building Code cycle.
After deliberation, the City Council, by Minute Order No. 1997, directed staff to bring this item back at a future meeting for City Council’s consideration once the 2025 Building Codes have been approved by the State of California.
ANALYSIS
This section provides an overview of four (4) key items related to Reach Code Updates.
1. AB 130
AB 130, recently signed into law, makes a number of changes to existing law, including, among other changes, amendments to California Health and Safety Code Sections 17958 and 17958.5 to prohibit state and local building code updates applying to residential units from June 1, 2025, through June 1, 2031, except in certain narrow circumstances. The stated goal of the bill is to reduce construction costs and increase housing supply following the devastating fires in Los Angeles earlier this year. The bill offers the following limited exceptions to this prohibition on changes or modifications to the California building standards:
•The changes or modifications are substantially equivalent to changes or modifications that were previously filed by the governing body of the city or county and were in effect as of January 1, 2025.
•The California Building Standards Commission deems those changes or modifications necessary as emergency standards to protect health and safety. •The changes or modifications relate to home hardening and are proposed for adoption by a local fire prevention district pursuant to Section 13869.7. •The changes or modifications are necessary to implement a local code amendment that is adopted to align with a general plan approved on or before June 10, 2025, and that permits mixed-fuel residential construction consistent with federal law while also incentivizing all-electric construction as part of an adopted greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy.
•The changes or modifications are related to administrative practices, are proposed for adoption during the intervening period pursuant to Section 18942, and exclusively result in any of the following:
oReductions in time for a local agency to issue a post entitlement permit. oAlterations to a local agency’s post-entitlement fee schedule. oModernization of, or adoption of, new permitting platforms and software utilized by the local agency.
oReductions in cost of internal operation for a local agency. oEstablishment, alteration, or removal of local programs related to enforcement of building code violations or complaints alleging building code violations.
Staff Comments: This bill prohibits local jurisdictions from adopting any building code updates for residential units, unless the updates are related to health and safety and/or home hardening.
2. Berkeley Case Law Related to Electrification
Due to CRA vs Berkeley ruling, may jurisdictions either paused or suspended enforcement of their existing all-electric building requirements, including San Mateo County, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Cruz and so on.
A few cities amended or adopted revised ordinances in response to this ruling. For example, the Town of Los Altos Hills, City of Berkeley and City of Campbell adopted Zero NOx Reach Codes (Zero-NOx means they do not emit harmful NOx pollutants).
A few other jurisdictions adopted, including San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, high-performance energy efficiency requirements based on the "One Hourly Source Energy" model code.
Staff Comments: In 2024, due to this ruling, several cities and counties either paused Reach Code electrification implementation or amended their Reach Codes (all- electric provisions) to either Zero NOx Reach Codes or High-Performance Efficiency Reach Codes. Staff also presented a report on Reach Codes to the City Council on October 7, 2024 (see details above under the Background section). Thus, staff will explore Reach Codes for commercial projects that will be consistent with the ruling of the CRA case.
3. Electrical Capacity Study
An Electrical Capacity Study was completed in January 2024 and concluded that electrification of existing buildings, new building development, and vehicles will add an estimated 228.5 GWh of annual electricity consumption in addition to the existing 204.7 GWh electricity use in 2022, more than doubling current electricity use. For more details, please refer to the link for the Electrical Capacity Study.
It is important to understand that full electrification of buildings and transportation comes with practical challenges, and the report notes substantial challenges for Foster City. Pages 36 through 38 of the Electrical Capacity Study include a list of conclusions, recommendations, and mitigation strategies.
Some of the highlights of the report are as follows:
•The existing electric distribution system will not fully support the future development and electrification of Foster City.
•Even when service upgrades are necessary, it is still cost-effective to electrify single-family homes based on the CEC’s societal based long-term system cost (LSC) metric. However, service upgrades present a high first cost to owners and can be a deterrent to equitable decarbonization.
•Bay Meadows Feeder, which is one of the seven PG&E feeders, currently serving portions of neighborhoods 1, 2, 3, PT (Pilgrim Triton), and C (Chess Hatch), as well as portions of San Mateo, will not be able to support electrification with its remaining capacity of 0.6 MW.
Staff Comments: The Electrical Capacity Study concluded that the existing electric distribution system will not fully support the future development and electrification of Foster City.
4. CAP 2024 Update.
The CAP 2024 Update sets forth an objective of slashing GHG emissions by almost 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, marking a pivotal step toward the overarching aim of an 88% reduction by 2045. The CAP 2024 Update provides a set of implementation measures and programs to address climate change by reducing GHG emissions associated with vehicle trips, energy consumption, and solid waste. The program E- W.2.4 includes the following language:
Adopt a single margin source energy score for new residential and commercial construction that exceeds the State's minimum standards by 2026.
In the staff report to the City Council on October 7, 2024, staff detailed other Reach Code Options, including “Single Hourly Source Margin” model code, also known as the “Single Margin” or “One Margin” code (see staff report). The One Margin approach allows for the installation of both mixed fuel and all-electric construction while imposing requirements that consider the emissions of both types of construction. Mixed-fuel construction would generally require significant investments in energy efficiency, solar, and storage to offset the emissions of natural gas appliances in order to meet these requirements.
Staff Comments: To implement the CAP Update 2024 program, E-W.2.4, staff will initiate work on Reach Codes for commercial construction projects. Whatever option is identified, it will need to be reviewed to confirm that the requirements will be consistent with the ruling of the CRA case.
Staff Recommendations for Reach Codes:
•Residential Construction:
Considering the moratorium imposed by AB 130 on the adoption or modification of new state and local residential building standards, which will be in effect from October 1, 2025, to June 1, 2031, along with the CRA case and the conclusions from the Electrical Capacity Study indicating that the current electric distribution system cannot adequately support the future development and electrification of Foster City, staff recommends that no Reach Codes for Residential construction be adopted for this code cycle.
•Commercial Construction:
To implement the CAP Update 2024 program, E-W.2.4, staff will initiate work on Reach Codes for commercial construction only. If directed by the Council, Staff will begin working on the draft Ordinance and conduct public outreach before presenting to the City Council for adoption (tentatively in the next 4-6 months).
California Environmental Quality Act
This item is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21000, et seq. and the CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 15000 et. seq.), including without limitation, Public Resources Code section 21065 and California Code of Regulations 15378 as no action is being taken and this is not a “project” that may cause a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Smart Planning, Development, and the Local Economy
ATTACHMENTS:
None