California Department of General Services sent this bulletin at 10/29/2021 09:23 AM PDT
Summer/Fall 2020
Welcome to the Summer/Fall edition of CALCode Quarterly, CBSC's electronic newsletter.
Included in this issue:
Executive Director's Message
Legislative Information
Staff Spotlight
CALCode Quiz
And more...
Mia Marvelli
Executive Director's Message All of us at CBSC hope this message finds you safe and healthy in light of the 2020 pandemic, civil unrest and catastrophic wildfires. CBSC staff are committed to serve the public and state agencies impacted by the California Building Standards Code, Title 24, California Code of Regulations. In July and August, CBSC successfully held two virtual commission meetings that allowed for full transparency and public participation in the commission’s review of 29 rulemaking packages. We hope that you had an opportunity to participate, if you were so inclined.
During the commission meetings, most proposals were approved and subsequently filed with the Secretary of State. We are now in the process of codifying the Express Terms with the publishers so Supplements (the blue pages) can be issued for the 2019 edition of Title 24. Publication is set for January 1, 2021, and the effective date will be July 1, 2021.
The 2019 Intervening Code Adoption Cycle was one of the largest intervening cycles ever conducted. Many of the code changes were early adoption of significant code changes contained in the 2021 International Code Council family of codes such as energy storage systems, mechanical-access garages, puzzle rooms, and increased area and height allowances for heavy timber buildings. The Office of the State Fire Marshal led the charge on most of these changes and several other state agencies co-adopted the heavy timber/tall wood code amendments to support Executive Order B-52-18. Other California amendments clarified minimum plumbing fixture calculations, elevator hoistway safety and exterior materials in Wildland-Urban Interface areas. The Division of the State Architect-Access Compliance proposed amendments included clarifying the application of public housing, bottle filling stations, detectable warnings, and electric vehicle charging stations. In addition to co-adopting the heavy timber regulations, the Department of Housing and Community Development added an accessory dwelling unit definition, requirements for backup batteries for automatic garage door openers and vehicular gates, and modified the minimum square footage for emergency housing. Later this year, CBSC will issue an information bulletin that further explains the 2019 Intervening Code Adoption Cycle changes.
We are happy to announce the addition of Veronica Turdean to our technical staff as an Architectural Associate. Read more about Veronica in our Staff Spotlight.
We are also celebrating the retirement of Associate Architect Gary Fabian, CBSC’s rulemaking guru, who stayed with us for an additional month to finish out the 2019 Intervening Code Adoption Cycle (and because he couldn’t travel due to COVID-19 restrictions). Read more about Gary below.
Please remember that if you want information for your group or association regarding Title 24, the rulemaking process, or nonresidential CALGreen updates, we are available to present to your group virtually via your webinar platform or ours. Request information about training using the email form on our Education and Outreach webpage or send an email directly to cbsctraining@dgs.ca.gov.
Finally, we like to have fun and provide useful information with our newsletter quizzes. This month’s quiz focuses on CALGreen, the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of Title 24. Be sure to test your knowledge!
As we continue to navigate these different times, the staff of CBSC is working diligently to maintain Title 24 code adoption cycle deadlines, engage with the state agencies and keep the public informed. Stay well.
Analysis of Public Comments During the 2019 Intervening Cycle As you probably know, California state agencies are mandated to only post documents on their websites that are accessible to persons with disabilities. Assembly Bill 434 (Baker, Chapter 780, Statutes of 2017), requires state agencies to certify their website content meets specific accessibility requirements. In addition to assessing and remediating many of the documents posted on CBSC's website, it was necessary for CBSC to develop a means for public comments to be submitted so they would meet the accessibility requirements. Therefore, prior to the start of the 2019 Intervening Code Adoption Cycle, CBSC worked with its information technology group to develop a Public Comment Form that would produce accessible documents acceptable for posting.
For the 2019 Intervening Cycle, we were able to post 50% of the comments received relative to rulemakings under consideration. The remaining comments are available for public review by specific request to CBSC’s office.
Going forward, CBSC is working to develop improved methods to submit comments that will be acceptable for posting to our website. The goal is for 100% of public comments to be posted along with the associated rulemaking documents for direct public access via CBSC’s website.
Definition of “Accessible Document” = A document created to be accessible to a wide range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity and combinations of these.
Associate Architect Gary Fabian Retires At the end of August, CBSC celebrated with Associate Architect Gary Fabian as he began a new phase of life – retirement! Gary has provided incalculable service to the state of California during his time with CBSC by sharing a wealth of knowledge and expertise with fellow staffers and stakeholders alike. Deputy Executive Director Mike Nearman put it this way: “Gary was heaven sent! When he arrived at CBSC, he saw how inaccuracies in the code were impacting the built community. He worked with various state agencies, publishers and the design community to investigate the standards and coordinated everyone’s input. With a keen eye and an architect’s tenacity, he helped to improve the standards for all of California’s citizens.” Gary confirms that this was one of his goals, saying that he wanted “to make the codes easier to comprehend and more easily navigated. That was an uphill battle, but I feel I made headway.”
Gary joined CBSC as an associate architect in June 2016. In this position, Gary used his architectural knowledge to design and construct the building codes that are used by design professionals, builders and inspectors for all types of occupancies throughout the state. Gary came to CBSC with 40 years of industry experience including architectural design, contract administration, building commissioning and facilities bond programs, with a focus on public works. His pragmatism and willingness to share his knowledge with staff and stakeholders made him an invaluable asset to the CBSC team. If CBSC was the Enterprise, Gary would be Spock. His absence will be greatly felt. Gary says he’ll miss the atmosphere of “problem-solving, especially in a team setting. I have always enjoyed tackling large-scale puzzles, and when you’re doing that with other energized people, the end results are synergistic.”
Gary’s plans for future fun include building she-sheds for his sweetie, cycling and woodworking. When he’s not doing any of those, he will be found sittin’ by the pool as he awaits the opening of the world for travel adventures. As he says farewell to CBSC staff and stakeholders, Gary reminds us… “Always appreciate the sunrise and the sunset!”
Welcome Veronica Turdean
CBSC is pleased to announce the addition of Architectural Associate Veronica Turdean to our technical staff. Veronica comes to us from the Department of General Services’ Real Estate Division, Leasing and Planning Section, where she was an associate space planner. Prior to working for the state, she was a design regional manager for a retail clothing chain and a designer for a correctional facility planning and design company. She holds several degrees: an Associate of Arts in Space Planning, a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture and a teaching degree in Early Childhood Education/Child Psychology.
In her new role with CBSC, she will be working on the development of building standards for Title 24, including adoption and amendment of model codes during the upcoming 2021 Triennial Code Adoption Cycle and beyond.
Veronica says she was drawn to CBSC because of how she has researched and used building codes in her design work in the past. “I realized how important [codes] are in making our buildings accessible to people with disabilities,” she says.
Born in Transylvania, Romania, Veronica now lives in Granite Bay with her family and puppy. Her hobbies include painting, drawing, designing and reading. She is also working to obtain an architect’s license.
Please join in welcoming Veronica to CBSC’s technical staff.
CBSC staff are available for training and education sessions that focus on non-residential CALGreen (Title 24, Part 11) building code changes, how to use matrix adoption tables and California building code rulemaking fundamentals. We routinely speak to stakeholder groups and associations at their monthly, quarterly or annual meetings, or at specially arranged trainings for designers, architects and others interested in Title 24. Currently, we are offering web-based training and educational sessions only. Please contact us atcbsctraining@dgs.ca.govif interested.
The California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA) is a commission within the Department of General Services that promotes disability access in California. The 17 members of the commission are appointed by the governor and the Legislature, and include statutory members such as the State Architect and the Attorney General (or their designees). In this capacity, the commission collects complaints of alleged physical access violations, provides resources and tools to stakeholders in the business and built environment communities, provides uniform information and makes recommendations about access requirements, among other activities. Recent educational tools—Open-air Dining and Curbside Pickup Disability Access Considerationsand an updated Accessibility Construction Inspection Checklist 2020 Edition—may be of interest to CBSC stakeholders. To view and download these tools, please visit CCDA’s Resources webpage.
Redwood Empire Association of Code Officials (REACO) - May 5 In one hour, Associate Architect Gary Fabian briefed code officials on how Title 24 is structured and designed for ease-of-use, including state agency banners such as DSA-AC, DSA-CC/SS, SFM and HCD 1, Matrix Adoption Tables and local adoption of appendix chapters.
International Code Council (ICC) Tri-chapters Virtual Meeting - June 5 Executive Director Mia Marvelli provided a brief CBSC update for the East Bay, Monterey Bay and Peninsula ICC Chapter building department representatives. The discussion included errata status and 2019 Intervening Code Adoption Cycle milestone dates. It was great to see familiar faces on the virtual meeting platform, but we all acknowledged we missed seeing each other and visiting in person.
PG&E Electric Vehicle (EV) Fleet Readiness Program - July 23 Associate Construction Analyst Enrique Rodriguez joined PG&E representatives and an electric vehicle (EV) installer to talk about preparing to meet future electric vehicle goals. Knowledge of the codes is foundational for building up the infrastructure to support expansion of electric vehicles for fleets, so Enrique shared details about current and upcoming EV readiness regulations in the California Green Building Standard Code, aka CALGreen, which is Part 11 of Title 24.
CBSC Webinars We can present our content to your group wherever you are...whether you're all in a room together, or as is more likely today, gathering virtually from various locations. If you would like CBSC to virtually attend a meeting with your organization, please reach out to us at cbsctraining@dgs.ca.gov.
2020 Legislation of Interest to CBSC Stakeholders
The California Building Standards Commission actively follows legislation in the Assembly and Senate that could affect regulations in the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations. Below is a list of Assembly Bills (ABs) and Senate Bills (SBs) that were enrolled (presented to the governor for signing into law) during the 2020 legislative session, and one that is still being considered by the Legislature.
Enrolled Bills AB 841 (Ting-D) Energy: transportation electrification: energy efficiency programs: School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program. Current law requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the State Air Resources Board, to direct electrical corporations to file applications for programs and investments to accelerate widespread transportation electrification to reduce dependence on petroleum, meet air quality standards, achieve the goals set forth in the Charge Ahead California Initiative, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. That law requires that the programs proposed by electrical corporations seek to minimize overall costs and maximize overall benefits. The CPUC is required to approve, or modify and approve, programs and investments in transportation electrification, including those that deploy charging infrastructure, through a reasonable cost recovery mechanism, if they are consistent with the above-described purposes, do not unfairly compete with non-utility enterprises, include performance accountability measures, and are in the interests of ratepayers. This bill would require not less than 35% of the investments pursuant to these provisions to be in underserved communities, as defined.
AB 1851 (Wicks-D) Religious institution-affiliated housing development projects: parking requirements. Would prohibit a local agency from requiring the replacement of religious-use parking spaces that a developer of a religious institution-affiliated housing development project proposes to eliminate as part of that housing development project. The bill would prohibit the number of religious-use parking spaces requested to be eliminated from exceeding 50% of the number that are available at the time the request is made. The bill would prohibit a local agency from requiring the curing of any preexisting deficit of the number of religious-use parking spaces as a condition of approval of a religious institution-affiliated housing development project.
AB 2553 (Ting-D) Shelter crisis declarations. Current law, upon a declaration of a shelter crisis by specified local jurisdictions, specifies additional provisions applicable to a shelter crisis declared by one of those jurisdictions. Existing law, among other things, exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act specified actions by a state agency or a city, county, or city and county relating to land owned by a local government to be used for, or to provide financial assistance to, a homeless shelter constructed pursuant to these provisions, and provides that homeless shelters constructed or allowed pursuant to these shelter crisis declarations are not subject to specified laws, including the Special Occupancy Parks Act. Current law also defines a “homeless shelter” as a facility with overnight sleeping accommodations, the primary purpose of which is to provide temporary shelter for the homeless that is not in existence after the declared shelter crisis. Current law requires a city, county, or city and county that declares a shelter crisis pursuant to these provisions to develop a plan to address the shelter crisis on or before July 1, 2019, or July 1, 2020, as applicable, and to annually report particular information, as indicated, to specified committees of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2019, or on or before January 1 of the year following the declaration of the shelter crisis, as applicable, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2023. Current law repeals these additional provisions as of January 1, 2023. This bill would instead apply those additional provisions to a shelter crisis declared by any county or city.
AB 2960 (Gipson-D) Shelter crises: fire and life safety standards. Would authorize a city with a population of more than 3,500,000 to permit the operation of an emergency housing facility year-round when the facility does not comply with state building standards for local fire and life safety standards if they submit reasonable standards to the State Fire Marshal that include specified minimum requirements, including 24-hour active fire watch, emergency evacuation signage and emergency egress lighting, among other things. The State Fire Marshal would be required to review the standards within 30 days and either approve them or respond as to why they do not meet the threshold requirements. The bill would authorize permits for a period of 90 days and would authorize 90-day extensions, not to exceed 730 days of operation, and would prohibit the authorization of new permits on and after January 1, 2023.
AB 3164 (Friedman-D) Fire prevention: wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model: model use guidelines. Would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, by July 1, 2022, to develop a wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model to determine the risk for a community or parcel within a local responsibility area or state responsibility area, and guidelines for the proper use of the model, as provided. The bill would require the department to establish and consult with an advisory workgroup, with specified members, to develop the model. The bill would require the department to update the model and guidelines when fire hazard severity zones are revised.
SB 1030 (Senate Committee on Housing) 2020 Housing Omnibus Bill. Current law requires each county and each city to make a central inventory of all surplus land, as defined, and certain lands in excess of its foreseeable needs, identified as provided, on or before December 31 of each year and to make a description of each parcel and its present use a matter of public record. Current law requires each county and each city to provide a list of its surplus land and excess land to, among other entities, a citizen upon request and without charge. This bill would revise this provision to instead require a county or city to provide a list of surplus land and excess land to an individual upon request and without charge.
Ordered to Third Reading SB 758 (Portantino-D) Hospitals: seismic safety. The Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983 requires an owner of a general acute care inpatient hospital, no later than January 1, 2030, to either demolish, replace, or change to non-acute care use all hospital buildings not in substantial compliance with the standards established pursuant to the act or seismically retrofit all acute care inpatient hospital buildings so that they are in substantial compliance with those standards. This bill would extend the deadline to January 1, 2032 and require the office to revise its regulations to reflect the revision of the deadline as emergency regulations.
Test your knowledge of CBSC's functions and scope. Check your answers below.
1. What does CALGreen stand for? a. Californians Always Love Green b. California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR)
2. How often can CALGreen be updated? a. Every 18 months b. Every three years
3. What are the five divisions in CALGreen? a. Site Selection, Energy Use, Water Recycling, Facilities, Checklists b. Planning and design, Energy efficiency, Water efficiency and conservation, Material conservation and resource efficiency, and Environmental quality
4. What is contained in the Appendix Chapters of CALGreen? a. Voluntary green building regulations that can be adopted by a jurisdiction or used by property owners, designers and builders b. Directions for how to build a green building
5. What are the voluntary levels of CALGreen called? a. Grade A and Grade B b. Tier 1 and Tier 2
6. To achieve compliance with voluntary CALGreen regulations, you must first comply with the mandatory measures. a. True – the tiers enhance or build upon the mandatory measures b. False
7. CALGreen applies to new buildings only. a. True b. False – the regulations may also apply to additions and alterations
8. CALGreen contains regulations pertaining to: a. Bicycle parking, showerhead flow rates, resilient flooring systems and building commissioning b. The type of car charger to use, what water faucet to install, how to recycle water, how many watts in a lightbulb
9. All CALGreen regulations are the responsibility of CBSC. a. True b. False – the Department of Housing and Community Development is responsible for residential occupancies, the Division of the State Architect is responsible for schools K-12 and community colleges, and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development is responsible for acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities
10. Building commissioning regulations in CALGreen apply to both energy- and non-energy- related systems. a. True b. False – regulations for commissioning of energy-related systems can be found in the California Energy Code, Part 6, Title 24, CCR
11. What do the banners [A] and [N] refer to in CALGreen? a. Accessory Dwelling Units, and Non-State-Owned Buildings b. Additions and Alterations, and Newly Constructed Buildings
12. Clean air vehicle (CAV) parking spaces include Electric Vehicle (EV) charging spaces. a. Yes, an electric vehicle is considered a clean air vehicle b. No, electric vehicle parking is counted separately from CAVs
13. All light pollution reduction measures can be found in CALGreen. a. True b. False – the California Energy Code contains regulations for additions and alterations (referenced in CALGreen)
14. The verification guideline checklists provided in CALGreen are considered to be regulatory. a. True b. False – the checklists are provided as a courtesy to code users to assist with CALGreen compliance
15. Solar requirements are not contained in CALGreen and are under the purview of the California Energy Commission. a. True – solar requirements are contained in the California Energy Code, Part 6, Title 24, CCR b. False – solar is green, so it must be in CALGreen
16. CALGreen requires the installation of EV charging stations. a. True b. False – only the EV infrastructure is required
17. The best place to find explanations for the intent of CALGreen regulations, compliance methods and suggestions is: a. Somewhere on the internet b. The California Building Standards Commission and Department of Housing and Community Development CALGreen guidebooks
