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Chapter 3 — BUILDING PLANNING

Section R337.2

California Residential Code (Title 24, Part 2.5) · 2019 edition · updated 2026-09-12 · California

Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.

DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms are defined below:

CDF DIRECTOR means the Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

EXTERIOR COVERING. The exposed siding or cladding material applied to the exterior side of an exterior wall, roof eave soffit, floor projection or exposed underfloor framing.

FIRE PROTECTION PLAN is a document prepared for a specific project or development proposed for a Wildland- Urban Interface Fire Area. It describes ways to minimize and mitigate potential for loss from wildfire exposure. The fire protection plan shall be in accordance with this chapter and the California Fire Code, Chapter 49. When required by the enforcing agency for the purposes of granting modifications, a fire protection plan shall be submitted. Only locally adopted ordinances that have been filed with the California Building Standards Commission or the Department of Hous- ing and Community Development in accordance with Section 1.1.8 shall apply.

FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES are geographical areas designated pursuant to California Public Resources Codes Sections 4201 through 4204 and classified as Very- High, High, or Moderate in State Responsibility Areas or as Local Agency Very-High Fire Hazard Severity Zones desig- nated pursuant to California Government Code Sections 51175 through 51189. See California Fire Code Article 86.

The California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 1280 entitles the maps of these geographical areas as “Maps of the Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the State Responsibility Area of California.”

IGNITION-RESISTANT MATERIAL. A type of building material that resists ignition or sustained flaming combustion sufficiently so as to reduce losses from wildland-urban inter- face conflagrations under worst-case weather and fuel condi- tions with wildfire exposure of burning embers and small flames, as prescribed in Section R337.3 and SFM Standard 12-7A-5, Ignition-Resistant Material.

LOCAL AGENCY VERY-HIGH FIRE HAZARD SEVER- ITY ZONE means an area designated by a local agency upon the recommendation of the CDF Director pursuant to Gov- ernment Code Sections 51177(c), 51178 and 5118 that is not a state responsibility area and where a local agency, city, county, city and county, or district is responsible for fire pro- tection.

LOG WALL CONSTRUCTION. A type of construction in which exterior walls are constructed of solid wood members and where the smallest horizontal dimension of each solid wood member is at least 6 inches (152 mm).

RAFTER TAIL. The portion of roof rafter framing in a slop- ing roof assembly that projects beyond and overhangs an exterior wall.

ROOF EAVE. The lower portion of a sloping roof assem- bly that projects beyond and overhangs an exterior wall at

Copyright © 2019 ICC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Accessed by Kevin Day (kevin.day@dgs.ca.gov), (California Building Standards Commission) Order Number #100735044 on Jul 24, 2019 03:54 PM (PDT) pursuant to License Agreement with ICC. No further reproduction or distribution authorized. Single user only, copying and networking prohibited. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION IS A VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL COPYRIGHT ACT AND THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, AND SUBJECT TO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES THEREUNDER.

100735044

BUILDING PLANNING

the lower end of the rafter tails. Roof eaves may be either “open” or “enclosed.” Open roof eaves have exposed raf- ter tails and an unenclosed space on the underside of the roof deck. Enclosed roof eaves have a boxed-in roof eave soffit with a horizontal underside or sloping rafter tails with an exterior covering applied to the underside of the rafter tails.

ROOF EAVE SOFFIT. An enclosed boxed-in soffit under a roof eave with exterior covering material applied to the soffit framing creating a horizontal surface on the exposed under- side.

STATE RESPONSIBILITY AREA means lands that are classified by the Board of Forestry pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 4125 where the financial responsi- bility of preventing and suppressing forest fires is primarily the responsibility of the state.

WILDFIRE is any uncontrolled fire spreading through vege- tative fuels that threatens to destroy life, property or resources as defined in Public Resources Code Sections 4103 and 4104.

WILDFIRE EXPOSURE is one or a combination of radiant heat, convective heat, direct flame contact and burning embers being projected by vegetation fire to a structure and its immediate environment.

WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE FIRE AREA is a geographical area identified by the state as a “Fire Hazard Severity Zone” in accordance with the Public Resources Code Sections 4201 through 4204 and Government Code Sections 51175 through 51189, or other areas designated by the enforcing agency to be at a significant risk from wild- fires.

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▸Contents — California Residential Code (Title 24, Part 2.5)
California Residential Code (Title 24, Part 2.5)
  1. Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
  2. Chapter 1 — SCOPE AND APPLICATION
  3. ▸Chapter 3 — BUILDING PLANNING
    Overview
    1. Section R300
    2. Section R301
    3. Section R302
    4. Section R303
    5. Section R304
    6. Section R305
    7. Section R306
    8. Section R307
    9. Section R308
    10. Section R309
    11. Section R310
    12. Section R311
    13. Section R312
    14. Section R313
    15. Section R314
    16. Section R315
    17. Section R316
    18. Section R317
    19. Section R318
    20. Section R319
    21. Section R320
    22. Section R321
    23. Section R322
    24. Section R323
    25. Section 324
    26. Section R325
    27. Section R334
    28. Section R335
    29. Section R326
    30. Section R327
    31. Section R336
    32. Section R337
    33. Section R337.1
    34. Section R337.2
    35. Section R337.3
    36. Section R337.4
    37. Section R337.5
    38. Section R337.6
    39. Section R337.7
    40. Section R337.8
    41. Section R337.9
    42. Section R337.10
    43. Section R340
    44. Section R338
  4. Chapter 4 — FOUNDATIONS
  5. Chapter 5 — FLOORS
  6. Chapter 6 — WALL CONSTRUCTION
  7. Chapter 7 — WALL COVERING
  8. Chapter 8 — ROOF-CEILING CONSTRUCTION
  9. Chapter 9 — ROOF ASSEMBLIES
  10. Chapter 10 — CHIMNEYS AND FIREPLACES
  11. Chapter 44 — REFERENCED STANDARDS
  12. Appendix F — RADON CONTROL METHODS
  13. Appendix H — PATIO COVERS
  14. Appendix I — PRIVATE SEWAGE DISPOSAL
  15. Appendix J — EXISTING BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES
  16. Appendix K — SOUND TRANSMISSION
  17. Appendix L — PERMIT FEES
  18. Appendix O — AUTOMATIC VEHICULAR GATES
  19. Appendix Q — TINY HOUSES
  20. Appendix R — LIGHT STRAW-CLAY CONSTRUCTION
  21. Appendix S — STRAWBALE CONSTRUCTION
  22. Appendix T — SOLAR-READY PROVISIONS—DETACHED ONE- AND
  23. Appendix V — SWIMMING POOL SAFETY ACT
  24. Appendix W — AREAS PROTECTED BY THE FACILITIES
  25. Appendix X — EMERGENCY HOUSING

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