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Eureka introduces ordinances to adopt 2025 California building and fire codes
Summary
Chief Building Official Riley recommended introduction of ordinances to adopt California's 2025 building-code updates and corresponding fire-code housekeeping amendments; the council introduced both bills (Bill 1052 and Bill 1053) and approved first-reading motions.
City staff told the Eureka City Council on Dec. 2 that statewide updates to California building standards will be adopted locally through an ordinance and that corresponding fire-code language needs housekeeping changes to align with the new code cycle.
Chief Building Official Riley asked the council to introduce Bill 1052, an ordinance amending Eureka Municipal Code Title 15 to adopt the updated California Title 24 building standards and related appendices (including CRC and CBC). Riley summarized the salient points: clarified width for detectable warnings at curb ramps (36 inches), mandatory privacy latches on accessible bathroom stalls, clarified maximum plumbing flow rates, new hydro-mechanical grease interceptor thresholds for food-service establishments, expanded surge-protection requirements in electrical code, and increased EV-ready infrastructure requirements for multifamily and nonresidential parking (including 25% of unassigned stalls requiring actual chargers rather than receptacles in some cases). Riley noted the residential code was largely unchanged from the previous cycle and that projects with complete applications submitted before the end of the year will be governed by the prior rules.
Councilmember Moulton moved to waive full reading and introduce Bill 1052; the motion carried with four ayes and one absence. Riley then presented Bill 1053 to align EMC 92.02 (fire-code amendments) with the new building-code adoption; the fire-code changes were described as largely housekeeping but included a new sprinkler requirement for parking garages under 12,000 square feet and ventilation guidance for micro-mobility charging areas. Councilmember Bauer moved to introduce Bill 1053; the motion carried with four ayes and one absence.
Council members asked practical questions about timelines, PG&E capacity for EV-charging upgrades and how the new standards would apply to projects that filed applications before the end of the year. Riley replied that projects already applied for will remain under the prior code; applications submitted after Jan. 1 will be subject to the new rules. The council did not adopt final ordinances at the Dec. 2 meeting but approved motions to introduce both bills for subsequent readings and consideration.
