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Fortuna moves to adopt 2025 California Building Code; second reading scheduled Aug. 3
Summary
Council introduced Ordinance 2026-787 to repeal and replace Fortuna's Title 15 with the 2025 California Building Code, citing stronger energy-efficiency, electrification measures and wildfire-resilient standards; the council scheduled the second reading and adoption for Aug. 3, 2026.
City staff presented a routine triannual update seeking to repeal Fortuna's existing 2022 building code and adopt the 2025 California Building Code as required by the State Building Standards Commission and Department of Housing and Community Development. Staff described the update as largely housekeeping but noted a greater emphasis in the 2025 code on energy efficiency and electrification (including heat pumps), higher wildfire-resilience standards for materials in wildland-urban interface areas, and measures promoting building sustainability and material recycling.
A council member asked how the change would affect projects with active permits. The city's building official explained that projects with active, issued permits remain under the code in effect when the permit was issued; work commencing after the code effective date will be subject to the 2025 standards. The council voted to introduce Ordinance 2026-787 by title only and continue the public hearing for second reading and adoption on Aug. 3, 2026.
