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Page 2 of 4 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org <br />BACKGROUND <br />On September 8, 2025, the City Council adopted a resolution adopting findings of necessity and need for <br />amendments, deletions, and additions to the 2025 California Building and Fire Standards Codes, and <br />introduced ordinances adopting Fire and Building Codes (Ordinances) by reference and adopting <br />associated local amendments to the Codes. If adopted, the changes to the Building Codes will take effect <br />on January 1, 2026, or upon approval by the California Building Standards Commission, whichever is later. <br />Municipal Code changes will take effect on January 1, 2026 as well. <br />The City last adopted Building and Fire Codes, with local amendments, in November 2022. Those <br />ordinances went into effect on January 1, 2023. The new California Building and Fire Codes (without local <br />amendments) become effective on January 1, 2026, and are applicable to the City whether adopted by <br />the City or not. Therefore, it is important that the Ordinances, containing local amendments necessary for <br />the City, be adopted in a timely manner. The Ordinances and Resolution will be filed with the California <br />State Building Standards Commission by October 1, 2025. <br />Reach Codes were adopted in 2022 as local amendments to the Green Building Standards Code <br />(CALGreen), which aim to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by reducing reliance on natural gas <br />and emphasizing building electrification. Building electrification is a key strategy in the City’s Climate <br />Action Plan. In January 2024, (one year after the 2023 Reach Codes went into effect), the Building Division <br />provided an update to the City Council that identified a total of 45 projects that qualified as new structures <br />and required compliance with the Reach Codes. The majority (42) of these new structures were Accessory <br />Dwelling Units (ADUs), and only three were new commercial properties. The City suspended its <br />enforcement of Reach Codes in March 2024 based upon the ruling from the United States Court of Appeals <br />for the Ninth Circuit. <br />AB 130, which became effective on July 1, 2025, restricts local government ability to amend any provisions <br />of the 2025 Residential Building and Fire Codes between October 1, 2025, and June 1, 2031, unless such <br />amendments fall within narrow statutory exceptions. Therefore, to preserve the City’s ability to maintain <br />and update our local residential provisions, staff recommend that the City Council adopt the desired <br />amendments and findings before the October 1 deadline. After the ordinance is adopted, the resolution <br />and ordinance must be submitted to the California Building Standards Commission for review and <br />approval. <br />ANALYSIS <br />Local jurisdictions are allowed to modify the California State Building and Fire Codes to account for <br />regional conditions. Modifications to Building and Fire Codes were presented to the City Council on <br />September 8, 2025. More information can be found in the staff report from that meeting. Adoption of the <br />proposed ordinances allows the City to begin enforcing them on January 1, 2026, or upon approval by the <br />California Building Standards Commission, whichever is later. <br />9.A. - Page 2 of 58 <br />308