Jon Fugitt, Deputy Chief and Fire Marshal for Fullerton Fire Department, gave a presentation on the California building and fire code adoption for 2022.

California fire code Title 24 is composed of twelve parts and covers the regulations for all occupancies throughout the state of California. The health and safety codes give us the authority to adopt and also amend Title 24 through local ordinances. Amendments are made to address geological, topographical, and climatic conditions within Fullerton. They are required to be more stringent than the code, not less stringent.

These amendments are adopted every three years. From 2019 to 2022, significant changes with the energy storage system (ESS) were added to the code, increasing the number of electrical vehicle charging stations and the mandatory requirement for designated parking for clean air vehicles.

The amended codes will be: the California building code, California residential code, and the California fire code. All these amendments are very similar to what has been adopted in the past for all departments.

The administrative-only changes are for electrical, plumbing, mechanical, existing building code, and also green building standards. The administrative amendments refer to the fee schedule that was adopted by the City Council and also establish a uniform appeals process within the code.

Technical amendments, some of which were already established code adoption, include the sprinkler requirements for major and substantial remodels to single family dwellings, safety feature requirements for swimming pools for single family residences, and also specific requirements for grading permits.

The code originated from the International Code Council (ICC) and then through local chapters in Orange County. They hold regular meetings, discuss the code, and send recommendations on to the State. The State then goes through an18-month process to adopt the code before it is presented to the municipalities. The Orange County fire marshal group also discusses code adoption.

The current recommendation is to introduce only one ordinance amending titles 13 and 14 of the Fullerton municipal code and to waive further readings of the ordinance to adopt the 2022 edition of the California codes for building, residential, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, energy, historical building, existing building, green building, and fire.

The fire department also recommended adopting one resolution of findings for all local amendments for the California building, residential, and fire code. There were no public comments on this item. Ordinance 3316 was passed unanimously.