The Glendale Building and Fire Board of Appeals voted unanimously Oct. 15 to recommend that the City Council adopt the updated Glendale Building and Safety Code, a largely carryover update to the 2023 local code with targeted revisions to fire standards.

The recommendation follows a second public hearing and a staff presentation that the code package makes few substantive changes to local building standards but does move certain fire provisions into a new wildland-urban interface volume. Chairperson Badmaguirian said the presentation was “very thorough and great.”

City building official Chris August and fire staff member Gabe Reza presented the draft to the three-member board. August told the board the California Building Standards Code "established the minimum standards, by which building and building systems shall be designed, constructed, and utilized to ensure public safety," and described how local jurisdictions may file justifications with the California Building Standards Commission for local amendments. He said the local amendments must be "at least as protective as the statewide statutes" and that energy-related amendments require certification by the California Energy Commission before enforcement.

August said most volumes are carryovers from the 2023 Glendale code and that "there are no significant changes to the building standards." He described one substantive local change in the fire standards: Chapter 49 of the fire code was removed and folded into a newly created volume 1d, the Wildland-Urban Interface Code, intended to reduce wildfire risk through fire-resistant materials, defensible space, and access and water-supply requirements where urban development meets wildlands.

Staff outlined the adoption schedule before the board: a draft was presented to the board on Sept. 17; staff presented the final draft to the board on Oct. 15; the ordinance is scheduled to be introduced to City Council on Oct. 28; and staff will seek Council adoption on Nov. 4. August said the new code will become effective Jan. 1, 2026, and that building permit applications submitted on or after that date will need to comply with the new code.

Board members asked clarifying questions about why many pages show underlined and struck language. August explained that the state updates the model code every three years; when local jurisdictions previously adopted older versions with local amendments, the three-year update requires comparing and re-adopting language so local amendments remain aligned with relocated or renumbered state code sections.

By motion, the board recommended the draft ordinance be presented to City Council. A roll-call vote recorded three affirmative votes and no dissent; the board had no amendments to the draft. The recommendation is advisory: final adoption remains with the Glendale City Council on the Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 schedule.

Staff closed the meeting by inviting board members to attend the Nov. 4 City Council meeting at 6 p.m. for the adoption hearing. August and Reza told commissioners that training and the adopted code text will be available through the International Code Council and other providers staff referenced during the presentation.