1 Erica Inderlied
From:Clare Malone Prichard
Sent:Tuesday, November 1, 2022 3:07 PM
To:City Council
Subject:Building Code adoption
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Honorable members of the City Council,
I am writing to you today as a private individual.
I see that tonight you will be considering the adoption of the 2022 editions of the California Building Standards Codes along with some amendments. While reviewing the staff report, I noticed that the recommendation for adoption of the CalGreen Code does not include either of the appendices.
CalGreen is a unique code first introduced in 2009, and includes separate requirements for residential and commercial construction. It is unique among the codes in that it offers a baseline of mandatory measures (which is what the ordinance recommended to you tonight includes), plus two appendices that represent two additional “voluntary” tiers of more stringent requirements. Unless a City adopts one of the two appendices, either as is or with amendments, only the mandatory measures apply. In other words, if Tier 1 or Tier 2 are not specifically adopted, they are not enforceable.
I bring this to your attention because I believe that you have an interest in increasing water conservation in our City.
The CalGreen tiers include plumbing fixture and appliance water efficiency, along with storm water control measures, construction waste recycling and indoor air quality standards ,among other measures.
I recognize that imposing stricter standards can increase the cost of building in our city, so I don’t necessarily advocate adopting every measure available in the appendices. Perhaps because of this, some cities only require Tier 1 measures for new construction or major renovations, and I have not yet encountered a city that has adopted Tier 2 requirements.
I just wanted you to be aware of your options as you consider adopting the codes that will be in force for the next three years.
Best Regards,
Clare Malone Prichard