City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: October 11, 2022
Agenda Item: 10.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director, Building & Safety
Subject: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Approving the 2022 Building Code Update and Adoption of Resolution Making Findings of Local Climatic, Geological and Topographical Conditions to Adopt Local Amendments to the CA Building Standards Code
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt the attached resolution making findings of local climatic, geological and topographical conditions, as required by California Health & Safety Code, to adopt local amendments to the California Building Standards Code.
2. Introduce for first reading the attached ordinance to adopt the 2022 California Building Standards Code, and Santa Monica local amendments to the 2022 California Building Standards Code, excluding the 2022 California Green Building Code.
3. Instruct staff to file the adopted resolution and ordinance with the California Building Standards Commission following the second reading of the ordinance, but at least 30 days before the effective date of the Codes.
Summary
The California Building Standards Commission publishes an amended California Buildings Standards Code every three years to apply throughout the State of California.
All cities and counties in the state must follow the published standards, unless locally amended through adoption of an ordinance, as allowed per State law. Local amendments must be more restrictive than the published State standards, and findings shall be made demonstrating that the amendments are reasonably necessary due to climatic, geological, or topographical conditions.
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The 2022 Edition of the California Building Standards Code was published July 1, 2022, and will become effective on January 1, 2023. This report sets forth the required documentation to adopt the State published 2022 California Building Standards Code, and the proposed local amendments, excluding the 2022 California Green Building Code, which will be presented to Council separately by the City’s Office of Sustainability. The Resolution (Attachment A) provided with this report includes the required findings to establish that the proposed local Santa Monica amendments are necessary and provide for higher orders of structural safety, fire safety, occupant safety, energy efficiencies and environmental conservation. The Ordinance (Attachment B) provided with this report details the formal adoption of the 2022 Edition of the California Building Standards Code and the Santa Monica local amendments, excluding the Green Building Standards Code which (at the time of preparation of this staff report) is scheduled to be considered by the Council at its September 27, 2022 meeting.
Discussion
Pursuant to the State’s Health and Safety Code, the California Building Standards Code (‘Title 24’) that applies throughout the State of California is published every three years.
The majority of local governments adopt the published Title 24 by reference in local ordinances; however, Title 24 is the applicable code by default regardless of whether it is locally adopted. State law prescribes that all cities and counties must follow the published standards 180 days after publication, unless an ordinance is adopted to locally amend the standards. The 2022 Edition of the California Building Standards Code was published July 1, 2022, and will become effective on January 1, 2023.
Local agencies may make amendments to Title 24 provided the amendments are more restrictive than the Title 24 building standards, and upon making findings that the amendments are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological and topographical conditions. Local amendments only become effective if the locally adopted ordinance and required findings are filed with the California Building Standards Commission. Additionally, local amendments are specific to each edition of Title 24. In other words, previously approved local amendments must be re-adopted with each new edition of Title 24.
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The 2022 California Building Standards Code (Title 24) includes the following:
▪ Title 24, Part 2: 2022 California Building Code
▪ Title 24, Part 2.5: 2022 California Residential Code
▪ Title 24, Part 3: 2022 California Electrical Code
▪ Title 24, Part 4: 2022 California Mechanical Code
▪ Title 24, Part 5: 2022 California Plumbing Code
▪ Title 24, Part 6: 2022 California Energy Code
▪ Title 24, Part 8: 2022 California Historical Building Code ▪ Title 24, Part 9: 2022 California Fire Code
▪ Title 24, Part 10: 2022 California Existing Building Code ▪ Title 24, Part 11: 2022 California Green Building Standards Code The attached resolution and ordinance under consideration by Council as part of this staff report set forth the adoption of the 2022 California Building Standards Code, excluding Title 24, Part 11 (2022 California Green Building Standards Code). The resolution and ordinance for Title 24, Part 11, along with the respective proposed local amendments, was presented to, and approved by, Council on September 27, 2022, by the Office of Sustainability and the Environment. The proposed local amendments to Part 11 relate to energy efficiency, and pursuant to State law require approval by the California Energy Commission prior to becoming effective. As a result, these local amendments pursued an earlier review and approval timeline to achieve a January 1, 2023, effective date.
Building and Fire Life Safety Commission Action
On August 17, 2022, the Building and Fire Life Safety Commission (‘Commission’) held a public meeting to review the proposed local amendments to Title 24 and the associated findings, as presented by staff. The Commission unanimously supported the adoption of Title 24 and the local amendments presented by staff. As such, the Commission recommends that Council adopt the 2022 California Building Standards Code, and Santa Monica local amendments to the 2022 California Building Standards Code, excluding the 2022 California Green Building Code. 4 of 9
City of Santa Monica Local Amendments
Staff recommends Council adopt the proposed local amendments to the 2022 Building Standards Code as they are more stringent than the State building codes, and because they are justified by local climatic, geological or topographical conditions. Recognizing the specific seismic conditions of Santa Monica with known earthquake faults in the City, and the special environmental conditions of the City’s beach community, all recommended amendments are presented with a higher order of seismic safety, structural safety, fire protective measures, occupant safety and energy efficiencies. The majority of the amendments, particularly for the Building Code and Residential Code, were discussed, conceived, and authored by the collaborative group of building officials in Los Angeles County. Building and Safety’s engineering staff participated in each of the committees of this collaborative group, and staff finds that the technical suggestions of the collaborative group are widely adopted across the region and are appropriate and applicable to Santa Monica.
Summary of Changes and Recommended Amendments
The proposed changes to Article VIII, Building Regulations, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) are detailed below. The changes include updated section references that have changed from prior building code editions, new Santa Monica local amendments to the State codes, re-adoption of previously adopted local amendments, and text edits to achieve/maintain internal consistency and eliminate redundancies. It is important to note that some of the changes labeled as ‘retention of previously approved local amendments’ may include updates to incorporate updated practices and standards; however, the general intent of the prior amendment remains the same. The overall extent of proposed changes is carrying over local amendments from the previous code cycle. There are no significant new local amendments proposed as part of this code cycle.
SMMC Chapter 8.08 - Administrative Code
Changes to Chapter 8.08 of the Municipal Code include:
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• Retention of previously approved local amendments, pursuant to the findings required by California Health & Safety Code, as described in the attached Resolution (Attachment A).
• Editorial change to remove internal inconsistency with regards to one-year timeframe in which applicant is allowed to start construction after issuance of a building permit, pursuant to Assembly Bill 2913.
SMMC Chapter 8.12 - Building Code
Changes to Chapter 8.12 of the Municipal Code include:
• Retention of previously approved local amendments, pursuant to the findings required by California Health & Safety Code, as described in the attached Resolution (Attachment A).
• Revise and update applicable references.
• Retention of standards regionally adopted by the Los Angeles Basin Chapter of the International Code Council (ICC). These standards include a collection of recommended changes from the various committees of the ICC Chapter.
Inclusion of these endorsed regulations update applicable local standards and help achieve consistency across agencies within the region. • Expand fire retardant roofing standards for greater passive fire protection of buildings (SMMC 8.12.070).
• Increased standards for seismic resiliency.
• Updated standards for intermodal shipping containers. Replacing current standards previously taken from standards regionally adopted by the Los Angeles Basin Chapter of the ICC with updated standards from the State of California.
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SMMC Chapter 8.18 - Existing Building Code
Changes to Chapter 8.18 of the Municipal Code include:
• Revise and update applicable references.
SMMC Chapter 8.20 - Historical Building Code
Changes to Chapter 8.20 of the Municipal Code include:
• Revise and update applicable references.
SMMC Chapter 8.22 - Residential Code
Changes to Chapter 8.22 of the Municipal Code include:
• Retention of previously approved local amendments, pursuant to the findings required by California Health & Safety Code, as described in the attached Resolution (Attachment A).
• Revise and update applicable references.
• Retention of requirement that construction documents for all dwellings of woodframe construction more than one story in height be stamped and approved by a California licensed architect or engineer (SMMC 8.22.030(a)).
SMMC Chapter 8.24 - Electrical Code
Changes to Chapter 8.24 of the Municipal Code include:
• Retention of previously approved local amendments, pursuant to the findings required by California Health & Safety Code, as described in the attached Resolution (Attachment A).
• Revise and update applicable references.
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SMMC Chapter 8.28 - Mechanical Code
Changes to Chapter 8.28 of the Municipal Code include:
• Revise and update applicable references.
SMMC Chapter 8.32 - Plumbing Code
Changes to Chapter 8.32 of the Municipal Code include:
• Retention of previously approved local amendments, pursuant to the findings required by California Health & Safety Code, as described in the attached Resolution (Attachment A).
• Revise and update applicable references.
SMMC Chapter 8.36 - Energy Code
Changes to Chapter 8.36 of the Municipal Code include:
• Removal of previously approved local amendments, as they are no longer necessary due to newly adopted Zero Emissions Building Ordinance.
SMMC Chapter 8.40 - Fire Code
Changes to Chapter 8.40 of the Municipal Code include:
• Retention of previously approved local amendments, pursuant to the findings required by California Health & Safety Code, as described in the attached Resolution (Attachment A).
• Revise and update applicable references.
SMMC Chapter 8.44 - Fire and Life Safety Prevention Requirements Changes to Chapter 8.44 of the Municipal Code include:
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• Retention of previously approved local amendments, pursuant to the findings required by California Health & Safety Code, as described in the attached Resolution (Attachment A).
• Revise and update applicable references.
• Retention of standards for when sprinklers are required for accessory dwelling unit projects (SMMC 8.44.050(a)(12-15).
SMMC Chapters 8.60, 8.64, 8.68, 8,76, and 8.80 - Seismic Retrofit Changes to Chapters aforementioned chapters of the Municipal Code include:
• Revise and update applicable references.
Next Steps
Following Council’s adoption of the Resolution (Attachment A) and Ordinance (Attachment B), staff will file the amendment documents to the California Building Standards Commission; thereby, making the adopted local amendments of the Ordinance (Attachment B) legally enforceable on January 1, 2023.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action.
Prepared By: Ariel Socarras, Building and Safety Manager Approved Forwarded to Council
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Attachments:
A. 2022 Building Code Update Resolution
B. 2022 Building Code Update Ordinance
C. Written Comments
D. PowerPoint Presentation