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Escondido council adopts 2025 California building standards, adds WUI and battery‑storage requirements
Summary
The Escondido City Council voted 5‑0 to adopt ordinances 2025‑09 and 2025‑10 to incorporate the 2025 California building standards (Title 24), including the new Wildland‑Urban Interface code and a technical‑report requirement for battery energy storage systems at or above 600 kilowatt‑hours.
The Escondido City Council voted unanimously to adopt two ordinances to incorporate the 2025 California building standards (Title 24) into the city’s municipal code, city staff said.
Bruce Cheney, the city’s assistant building official, told the council the statewide 2025 codes take effect Jan. 1, 2026, whether the city adopts them or not, and that the locally adopted ordinances give the council a chance to make the rules more restrictive if it wishes. Cheney summarized major changes including updated seismic design (ASCE 7‑22), reorganization of Wildland‑Urban Interface (WUI) requirements into a standalone WUI code, electrical safety expansions and new energy and plumbing compliance metrics. "These become effective 01/01/2026," Cheney said.
Deputy Fire Marshal Levana Korecki outlined fire‑safety and WUI changes and highlighted a new state requirement that battery energy storage systems proposed at "equal to or more than 600 kilowatt hours" provide a technical report demonstrating compliance with applicable standards. Korecki said the county’s interim best‑practices guidelines are expected in January 2026 and that staff will return with further direction after those guidelines are adopted. "Systems proposed at equal to or more than 600 kilowatt hours will be required to provide a technical report," Korecki said.
Council members asked staff to clarify which parts of the city would be subject to mandatory WUI provisions and what outreach would accompany the transition. Staff said the new WUI code is mandatory only for areas designated moderate, high or very high fire severity and that outreach will be part of the community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) and other education efforts.
Deputy Mayor Martinez moved to approve the ordinances to adopt the 2025 Title 24 codes; the motion passed 5‑0.
The council’s adoption follows state updates to Title 24; staff noted the last submission date under the 2022 codes is Dec. 31, 2025, after which projects must comply with the 2025 standards. The second reading of the local code adoption was scheduled for Dec. 17, per staff.
