City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: October 27, 2026
Agenda Item: 10.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jing Yeo, Director, Building & Safety
Subject: Update to Adoption of 2025 California Building Standards Code and Amendments to the Municipal Code to Support Permitting Process Changes Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Introduce for first reading the attached ordinance to adopt the 2025 California Building, Residential, Electrical, Energy, Mechanical, Plumbing, Fire, Green Building, Wildland-Urban Interface, Historical and Existing Building Standards Codes and local amendments to the 2025 California Building Standards Code;
3. Adopt the attached resolution making findings of local climatic, geological and topographical conditions, as required;
4. Instruct staff to file the adopted resolution and ordinance with the California Building Standards Commission following the second reading of the ordinance.
5. Introduce for first reading the attached ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 8.100 to require notice to tenants of occupied residential buildings of anticipated construction before submission of an application for a building permit; and
6. Introduce for first reading the attached ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.12 to update the after-hours construction authorization process and eligible activities.
Summary
The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) publishes an amended California Building 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. 2 of 5
The current set of codes were published on July 1, 2025, and became effective January 1, 2026, after adoption by council on October 14, 2025.
On June 30, 2025, the Governor signed into law Assembly Bill (AB) 130, which implemented a freeze on certain state and local building code updates that apply to residential units for nearly six years, subject to limited exceptions, commencing October 1, 2025. Pursuant to AB 130, the State performed a review of the City’s locally adopted building codes and recommended several changes be made to ensure alignment between State and local codes. Staff recommends that Council adopt these proposed updates to the local ordinance.
This report also includes proposed amendments to the Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 8.100, Tenant Protection During Construction, and Chapter 4.12, Noise, to support process changes being configured for the City’s new permitting system, Clariti.
Discussion
With the passage of AB 130, the CBSC reviewed the filings of all local jurisdictions to ensure compliance with the new restrictions. During this review, the Commission recommended several changes regarding the City’s proposed local amendments, which were adopted on October 14, 2025, and gave the City a partial approval of the filing.
During the past several months, the Community Development and Fire Departments have been working with the State to address their recommended changes. The attached ordinance addresses these concerns from the State. The proposed changes do not remove or update any requirements, they simply provide clarification or update where in the code specific requirements are located.
The requested changes from the State included updating code sections in Santa Monica’s ordinance to match the current State code editions, relocating fire prevention amendments from the building code to the fire code, clarifying the differences between our mandatory seismic retrofit ordinances and the State’s voluntary seismic retrofit codes, and noting that the administrative section of Santa Monica’s ordinance does not conflict with any state building administrative codes. For clarity, a table providing an overview of the proposed changes is included with this report as Attachment A.
Municipal Code Amendments to Support Permitting Process Changes 3 of 5
The City’s new permitting system, Clariti, will go-live on December 7, 2026. Staff has been working over the past year to review permit processes and make adjustments where needed. Some of these permitting process changes require amendments to the municipal code and are presented for Council consideration.
Chapter 8.100 – Tenant Protections During Construction
One of the primary complaints that staff encounters from tenants when a property owner proposes construction is the lack of early notification of the scope of work to expect and information regarding potential impacts to building systems, such as water and electricity. The proposed amendments are an initial step to improve the permitting process related to tenant protections during construction. The proposed amendments would require landlords to provide notice to tenants on the scope of construction work, approximate duration and dates, and potential impacts of construction work. The notice must be on a form provided by the City and proof of delivery is required to be submitted with a permit application.
Chapter 4.12 – After Hours Construction Authorization
SMMC Section 4.12.110 regulates construction activity in the city. Construction hours are limited to 8:00am-6:00pm and after hours construction can be authorized outside of these hours so long as it serves the public interest. This process has proved problematic as “public interest” is not clearly defined, which has resulted in uneven implementation over time. Applicants also may make any request and also must inform neighbors within 500 feet of the project site before any consultation with City staff. This process has created confusion and frustration as residents routinely contact Building and Safety staff regarding notification of requests that staff is not aware of and likely would not consider authorizing. These amendments create more objectivity in the process to ensure there is transparency for the community and applicants by limiting after hours requests only to activities that cannot otherwise be reasonably accomplished within normal construction hours or that have minimal impact on surrounding neighbors.
These construction activities include work that necessarily must occur during off-peak hours due to public right-of-way impacts (e.g. crane setup and removal) and also 4 of 5
reasonable requests such as interior work. These amendments would replace the early noticing with noticing after the permit is approved.
Environmental Review
The updates to the Building Code and Municipal Code are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply “where 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 updates to the Building Code and Municipal Code help maintain general public safety and welfare of the community.
Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the building code and municipal code updates would not result in a significant effect on the environment, and therefore, are exempt from CEQA.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
09/30/2025
(Attachment A)
Council approves Resolution #11701 (CCS) making findings of climatic, geological and topographical conditions.
10/14/2025
(attachment B)
Council approves Ordinance #2831 (CCS) , adopting the
2025 California Building Standards code and local
amendments.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future.
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Prepared By: Jeff Nespor, Assistant Building Official
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. 2026.10.27 - Attachment A_Building Code Amendment Summary B. 2026.10.27 - Building Code Local Amendments Ordinance Updates C. 2026.10.27 - Building Code Amendment Resolution
D. 2026.10.27 - ORD-Means and Methods Plan Process Amendment E. 2026.10.27 - ORD_After Hours Permit Updates