DATE: September 22, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Amendment to County Ordinance Code, Title 15, Building and Construction
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Conduct second hearing and adopt the proposed Ordinance amending the Fresno County Ordinance Code, Title 15, regulating building and construction within Fresno County; adopt the proposed Statement of Local Findings; and waive the reading of the Ordinance in its entirety.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action amends Title 15 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code to align with the 2025 State Building Standards Code (State Code), which took effect on January 1, 2025. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action. The 2025 amendments to the State Code took effect on January 1, 2025. Not approving or taking no action would still require the County to enforce the State Code as adopted by the State of California.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Preparation of this agenda item and activities associated with implementation of the revised standards are funded by permit revenue. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in Org 4360 FY 2026-27 Adopted Budget to support these activities.
DISCUSSION:
On September 8, 2026, your Board conduct the first hearing to amend Title 15 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code relating to building and construction regulations.
Sections 17960 and 17961 of the Health and Safety Code (HSC) require that the County enforce the State Code. The HSC also states that the County may make changes to the State Code to amend or add provisions, where local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions justify stricter standards. Each time the State Code is amended, the County formally adopts the revised amended State Code into Title 15 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code. As discussed above, the 2025 amended State Code became effective January 1, 2025.
The fundamental purpose of the building code is to ensure that structures are constructed to an appropriate minimum standard and are safe for the uses intended. Building codes exist in order to protect the life, health and safety of the public who will inhabit the buildings. The major objectives of the proposed amendments to Title 15 are to: 1) formally adopt the 2025 version of the State Code; 2) identify and update local amendments as needed which adapt the State Code to local needs; and 3) provide procedures for uniform enforcement of the State Code and public safety. Title 15 was last amended in its entirety on February 28, 2023, to bring it into compliance with the 2022 edition of the California Building, Residential, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fire and Electrical Codes, as amended and adopted by the State. As noted, the State has since adopted the 2025 State Code. Approval of the recommended actions will bring Title 15 into compliance with the 2025 State Code.
The Department of Public Works and Planning, Development Services and Capital Projects Division, administers and enforces all provisions of Title 15. While reviewing the new State Code update, staff have identified provisions in the existing County ordinance that need to be revised/edited in order to align with the State Code. In this current update cycle, there are no proposed local changes that have more restrictive buildings standards than the State Code. Most changes being updated are year references, and website addresses. A new chapter for Wildland-Urban Interface Code, assigned Chapter 15.23 has been added which specifically references this new code section in the State Code. Also, Chapter 15.48 - Flood Hazard Areas includes a greater number of changes with text additions and deletions to bring the County ordinance in compliance with the State Code.
Recent changes to the State Code, particularly AB 130, freezes local residential building code updates from late 2025 until at least June 2031. Local deviations are only allowed if they are substantially equivalent to existing local files, necessary for emergencies, or tied to an approved General Plan. As stated above, the changes proposed do not introduce local changes that have more restrictive building standards than the State Code, instead focusing only on updating dates, website addresses, or incorporating adopted State Code by reference.
Statement of Local Findings is required to be adopted by the Board per State law. These Findings are required as part of the Title 15 update and therefore, the Board’s action to adopt Title 15 will include adoption of the Findings.
Notices of the upcoming changes to the State Code have been posted at the Development Services Division’s permit counter since June 26, 2026. Notice of the code change has been provided to the Building Industry Association (BIA), Fresno County Farm Bureau, Cal Fire, and to the building permit counter customers.
With your Board’s approval, the recommended changes to the Ordinance Code will become effective thirty days after passage.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #6, September 8, 2026
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Ordinance
Statement of Local Findings
CAO ANALYST:
Maria Valencia