Lemon Grove council introduces ordinance to adopt 2025 California building standards

The Lemon Grove City Council voted unanimously on March 3 to introduce an ordinance that updates the municipal code to adopt the 2025 California Building Standards (Title 24).

Community Development Manager Michael Fellows told the council the update is largely routine — principally updating the municipal code references from 2022 to 2025 — and staff circulated a revised staff report that included redline changes. Fellows said most changes are cleanup items required by state law and that one proposed local requirement for additional fire‑retardant roofing was recommended for removal because the requirement is already reflected in the state code.

Councilmembers asked whether the 2025 update included major code changes that would affect housing development. Fellows and the city attorney explained that state action (and Assembly Bill 306) limited significant residential changes in this cycle to reduce rebuilding burdens following recent wildfires and to maintain consistency for affected owners rebuilding after fires. The council moved to introduce the ordinance and approved the motion on a roll call vote.

Why it matters: Adoption of the state building code affects permitting, plan review and compliance costs for new construction and remodels; the council's action simply aligns the city with statewide baseline standards and removes a duplicate local roofing requirement recommended by the fire marshal.

The motion to introduce the ordinance passed unanimously; staff said the ordinance incorporates relevant strike‑through and redline edits available in the packet.