Council adopts 2025 California Fire Code with county‑level consistency and administrative updates

Sunnyvale’s City Council on Sept. 30 unanimously approved local adoption of the 2025 California Fire Code and related local amendments, maintaining countywide clarifications and carrying forward most existing locally adopted edits.

Staff summary

Acting Fire Marshal Russell Chung and Chief Dan Pestor told council the 2025 California Fire Code was published in June 2025 and the city reviewed statewide provisions for local applicability. Most of Sunnyvale’s existing local amendments — which focus on access, water supply, hydrant spacing and occupancy‑specific requirements — were retained. Staff characterized the proposed changes as largely administrative (renumbering and corrected cross‑references) rather than substantive new local obligations. The city is not in a state‑designated Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) hazard zone, so WUI‑specific rules in the 2025 cycle do not apply in Sunnyvale.

Operational notes and hazards

Deputy Chief and fire staff said the city coordinates between building permit review and fire review for sites with hazardous processes; large semiconductor or other industrial occupancies continue to be reviewed for hazardous materials, sprinkler and alarm requirements during permitting.

Council action

Council Member Srinivasan moved to introduce the ordinance and Vice Mayor Sall seconded. The measure passed 5–0 (Council Members Mellinger and Lay absent). Staff said the new state code becomes effective Jan. 1, 2026, unless a city adopts local amendments beforehand; Sunnyvale adopted its local edits and will implement them in coordination with that state schedule.

Why it matters: The fire code adoption ensures local fire‑safety rules remain consistent with the state cycle and preserves locally tailored requirements for access, water supply and special occupancy review. It also folds updated model code references into Sunnyvale’s ordinances to avoid future confusion from renumbering.