Pasadena’s Building Codes to be Updated to Align With State’s New Standards

The City Council on Monday will conduct a first reading of a proposed ordinance that would amend Title 14 of the Pasadena Municipal Code to align with the California Building Standards Commission’s new set of building codes, which are updated every three years.

Local jurisdictions are required to adopt and enforce these codes and to apply the minimum requirements to all construction projects that file a building permit application after January 1, 2023. They may amend the state regulation to address issues of local or regional importance, but these changes cannot be less restrictive than what the state mandates.

The City Council approved the adoption and amendment of the state codes during its meeting on Oct. 3, and instructed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance to put the amendments into effect.

In summary, the ordinance that will be under consideration Monday will effectively adopt these dozen codes:

• the 2022 California Building Code, 
• 2022 California Administrative Code, 
• 2022 California Residential Code, 
• 2022 California Electrical Code, 
• 2022 California Mechanical Code, 
• 2022 California Plumbing Code, 
• 2022 California Energy Code, 
• 2022 California Historical Building Code, 
• 2022 California Fire Code, 
• 2022 California Existing Building Code, 
• 2022 California Green Buildings Standards Code, and 
• 2022 California Referenced Standards Code, as required by state law.

The ordinance also provides for amendments to these codes to accommodate special topographic, geological, and climactic conditions found in Pasadena.

To access the City Council meeting on Monday, members of the Pasadena community may visit www.pasadenamedia.org. The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m.