November 22, 2022
Community Development
DATE: November 22, 2022
TO: Mayor Butt and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Lina Velasco, Director of Community Development
Chris Castanchoa, Building Official
Subject:
Amendments to Richmond Municipal Code Article VI
Chapter 6.02
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no cost to the general fund associated with adopting this Ordinance.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
State law mandates that all local jurisdictions enforce the California Building Standards Code (California Code of
Regulations Title 24) in the construction and
maintenance of all buildings and structures. These
standards are updated on a tri-annual basis. The State
recently published the 2022 California Building Standards Code and per State law, local jurisdictions must enforce these codes with an effective date of January 1, 2023.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT an ordinance (second reading) with an effective
date of January 1, 2023, amending Richmond Municipal
Code (RMC) Article VI, Building Regulations, Chapter
6.02 by adopting the 2022 California Building Standards Code with noted local amendments – Community
Development Department (Lina Velasco/Chris
Castanchoa (510-620-6764).
DISCUSSION:
Under State law, various State agencies have statutory authority to develop building standards, also known as building codes. These standards are updated every three AGENDA
REPORT
November 22, 2022
years and are adopted into the California Code of Regulations Title 24 through the California Building Standards Commission. The 2022 California Building Standards Code is based primarily on model codes developed by national code development organizations known as the International Code Council (Building, Fire, and Residential Codes), the National Fire Protection Association (Electrical Code) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (Plumbing and Mechanical Codes).
The one exception to this is the Green Building Standards Code, which is developed in its entirety by the State.
As with the State Building standards, the model codes are also updated every three years. Both the model codes and state standards are developed with extensive local government input. The City of Richmond participates in these efforts via our memberships and involvement in organizations such as the California Building Officials (CALBO) and the East Bay Chapter of the International Code Council (ICC). These efforts contribute to a set of construction codes that remain current with evolving industry practice, ensuring broad stakeholder input, building safety, construction consistency, and economic vitality. The 2022 California Building Standards Code, as adopted by the State, has been updated to better reflect current technology and standards for construction.
Some of the key changes in the 2022 California Building Standards Codes include requirements for increased energy efficiency, including solar and battery storage systems for certain non-residential buildings; enhanced life safety and fire protection measures in both the building and residential codes; and clarification to ventilation, air, and duct systems in the mechanical code, and identifying additional energy efficiency requirements applicable to water heating systems in the plumbing code. A more detailed summary of the Code Changes is in Attachment 2 titled 2022 Title 24 California Code Changes published by the California Building Standards Commission.
The proposed ordinance (Attachment 1) amends Richmond Municipal Code (RMC) Article VI, Building Regulations, Chapter 6.02 by formally adopting the 2022 California Building Standards Code, some of the appendix chapters contained therein, including optional appendices, such as Appendix P (in CBC) and AZ (in CRC) for Emergency Housing, along with the noted local amendments. Several of the local amendments are administrative and the others establish minimum fire and life safety measures. All, but one, local amendments are being carried forward from the current City-adopted Building Code. The one new local amendment proposed is needed to align the adopted Residential Code with the Fire Code local amendments adopted by the City Council.
The California Health and Safety Code enables local communities to amend the California Building Standards Code provided that the local amendments are more restrictive requirements than the building standards published by the California Building Standards Code; and provided that the local jurisdiction makes express findings that such changes are reasonably necessary because of local geological, climatic, or topographic conditions. These findings are included in Attachment 1.
November 22, 2022
NEXT STEPS: Following City Council adoption of the Ordinance, City staff will file the ordinance with the California Building Standards Commission since it includes local amendments to Title 24. These local amendments are neither effective nor operative until filed with California Building Standards Commission, Housing and Community Development, State Fire Marshal, or the State Historical Building Safety Board (SHBSB), as appropriate.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per the State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. The proposed Ordinance will not have an impact on the environment because they do not directly facilitate new development, or changes in the type and intensity of land use.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Draft Ordinance
Attachment 2 – 2022 Title 24 California Code Changes