Calaveras County Municipal Code Ch. 15.04 Uniform Codes

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 3185, adopted December 13, 2022, amended Chapter 15.04 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Chapter 15.04, §§ 15.04.010, 15.04.040—15.04.070 and 15.04.100—15.04.130, pertained to similar subject matter, and derived from Ord. No. 2934, 2008; Ord. No. 2968, aopdted August 11, 2009; Ord. No. 2984, adopted December 7, 2010; Ord. No. 2986, adopted December 7, 2010; Ord. No. 3026, adopted December 10, 2013; Ord. No. 3080, adopted February 28, 2017 and Ord. No. 3130, adopted January 14, 2020.

This chapter shall be known as the Calaveras County Building Code, and may be cited as such, and will be referred to herein as "this Code."

(Ord. No. 3185, 12-13-2022; Ord. No. 3223, 11-4-2025)

The following publications are adopted by reference and incorporated in this code, except as expressly amended or superseded by the provisions of this chapter.

A. California Administrative Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council as adopted by the Building Standards Commission, California Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 1.

B. California Building Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission, California Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 2, Volumes 1 and 2, including the following appendices:

1. Appendix B: Board of Appeals.

2. Appendix C: Group U-Agricultural Buildings.

3. Appendix F: Rodent Proofing.

4. Appendix G: Flood Resistant Construction.

5. Appendix H: Signs.

6. Appendix I: Patio Covers.

7. Appendix J: Grading.

8. Appendix N: Replicable Design.

9. Appendix P: Sleeping Lofts.

10. Appendix Q: Emergency Housing.

C. California Residential Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 2.5, including the following appendices:

1. Appendix BB: Tiny Houses.

2. Appendix BF: Patio Covers.

3. Appendix BJ: Strawbale Construction.

4. Appendix BK: Cob Construction.

D. California Electrical Code, 2025 edition, as published by the National Fire Protection Association, and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 3.

E. California Mechanical Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical officials, and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 4.

F. California Plumbing Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 5.

G. California Energy Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 6.

H. California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 7.

I. California Historic Building Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 8.

J. California Fire Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 9.

K. California Existing Building Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 6.

L. California Green Standards Building Code, 2025, published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 11.

M. California Referenced Standards Code, 2025 edition, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the California Building Standards Commission in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 12.

N. International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 edition, as published by the International Code Council.

(Ord. No. 3185, 12-13-2022; Ord. No. 3223, 11-4-2025)

The following sections of the California Building Code, Part 2 of the California Code of Regulations Title 24, 2025 edition of the California Building Standards Code are hereby adopted:

(Ord. No. 3185, 12-13-2022; Ord. No. 3223, 11-4-2025)

The board of supervisors of the county of Calaveras finds and declares that the additions, modifications, and changes made to these codes are necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare due to climatic, geological, or topographical conditions. These amendments are authorized under Health and Safety Code Sections 18941.5 and 17958 and are identified as follows:

A. Express Finding Number 1: Climatic.

1. Calaveras County's climate lies in a transitional zone between the Sierra Nevada and the San Joaquin Valley. Climate varies significantly due to great differences in elevation. Temperatures in the higher country range from the low 20's to the middle 80's. The lower foothills range in temperature from the low 30's the high 90's exceeding one hundred degrees at times during the summer months. Rainfall and snow fall generally increases with altitude, with snow accounting for much of the precipitation in the elevations above three thousand feet.

2. Calaveras County lies primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada where the main weather influence comes from the Pacific Ocean in what is known as the "Belt of the Westerlies." The accumulation of snow in the winter months is perpetuated by the weather patterns and as the storms hit the state of California the Sierra Nevada Mountain range blocks the movement of the storm fronts and the heaver snow accumulations build up on the west slope. As is typical in the northern zones of the state the moisture content of the snow that accumulates in Calaveras County is moderate to high in moisture content. The variations in the temperatures along the western slope cause a degree of alternate thaw and freezing of the snow therefore producing concentrations of ice in the snow mass increasing the weight of the snow. This heavy mixture known as "Sierra Cement" imposes a load factor that is necessary to take into account for structural building design.

3. Considerations to elevation, snow load, load duration factor, roof live load and seismic snow load reduction are important elements in the design for safe building design. Design criteria for structures in the Calaveras County is required to take into account the snow and seismic components for review and approval of submitted building projects. The provisions of the 2022 California Building Code Section 1608A.1 general snow load designs shall be determined in accordance with Chapter 7 of ASCE 7, but the design roof load shall not be less than that determined by Section 1607A.

4. 2022 CBC Section 1608A.3 Determination of Snow Loads. (DSA-SS) the ground snow load or the design snow load for roofs shall conform with the adopted ordinance of the city, county or city and county in which the project site is located and shall be approved by DSA.

5. Ground snow loads to be used in the determining the design snow loads for roofs shall be determined in accordance with ASCE 7 or figure 1608A.2. Ground snow loads for sites at elevations above the limits indicated in figure 1608A.2 and for sites within the CS areas shall be approved.

6. A ground snow load chart is available for Calaveras County. Elevation for areas Calaveras County is available through various map programs.

B. Express Finding Number 2: Geological.

1. Seismic Concerns. Calaveras County lies within the Sierra Block, an area of historically low siesmicity. Although the county has felt ground shaking from earthquakes with epicenters located elsewhere, no major earthquakes have been recorded within the county. The closet known source for large earthquakes is the Sierra Frontal Fault System along the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada, which includes the Carson Valley Fault. This fault is located within a few miles of the eastern portions of the county, and has been evaluated as capable of generating earthquakes of up to the magnitude 7.0 range on the Mercalli Scale.

2. Other fault systems that could affect Calaveras County are the San Andreas Fault, the Hayward Fault, the Calaveras Fault and the Greenville Fault. Because of their distance from Calaveras County, however, events on these systems are expected to have relatively minor effects in Calaveras County (magnitude 4.0 to 5.0). The potential for seismically induced ground shaking is lower in Calaveras County than in most of California. The eastern portions of the county may be subject to somewhat stronger shaking (6.0 to 7.0) if a rupture occurs on the Carson Valley Fault. Similar intensities could occur in the western portion of the county if a magnitude 6.0 earthquake were to occur on a nearby branch of the Melones-Bear Valley Fault System. Such an event is considered very unlikely.

3. Liquefaction Hazards. Sites in Calaveras County with liquefaction potential would be those in alluvial deposits having groundwater and sand and silt layers of uniform grain sizes within about thirty feet of the surface. Such conditions are generally not present in the county. The areas of alluvial soils have some amounts of clay which minimize the liquefaction potential.

4. Slope Instability. The formation of landslides under natural conditions depends on several factors including steepness of slope, type of materials such as unconsolidated, soft sediments or surface deposits, structural properties of the materials and its orientation, rainfall influence, vegetation type, erosion influences, and seismic activity. There are several areas in Calaveras County with steep slopes of fifty percent or greater and therefore have landslide potential. Areas of particular landslide concerns are those that include high elevations and steep ravines and gulches associated with river and stream channels. Artificial slopes associated with the existing mill tailings could also be unstable. Most likely the tailings will progressively slump and gradually flatten out over time. Slope failures have the potential to impact local drainage courses and/or downstream water quality. These conditions exist to some degree within Calaveras County.

5. Expansive Soils. Soils with high clay content are considered to be expansive. Minerals in certain clays swell with increased moisture content and then contract during dry periods. The volume changes associated with seasonal variations in moisture content (called shrink-swell characteristics) can damage shallow building foundations and pavement. On slopes the continuous shrinking and swelling of expansive soils can cause the soil to migrate down slope, which can also disrupt foundations and bury utility lines.

6. Some of the soil groups with moderate to high shrink-swell potential include:

a. Group 1-Very deep alluvial soils moderate to good drainage;

b. Group 2-Shallow well drained gravelly soil with finer sub soils;

c. Group 5-Deep to shallow, well drained, slightly acidic and rocky soils good drain;

d. Group 6-Acid, rocky, stony soil over slate moderate erosion potential.

7. Flood Hazards. This section addresses three basic types of flood hazards: stream-side over bank flows; areas of flat terrain with slow surface drainage; and inundation due to structural dam failure.

8. Flooding may occur in Calaveras County from heavy rain fall with saturated soils, and unusually rapid snow melt, or a combination of those factors. Over bank flow along the main channel of the Mokelumne and Stanislaus Rivers usually results from heavy snow melt coupled with heavy rainfall. This is also true of the mid-elevation tributaries of the Mokelumne River and the upper reaches of the Calaveras River system. Farther west, the source of flood flow waters are heavy rainfall associated with repeat winter storms and a saturated soil mantle. Summer thunderstorms are also occasionally a source of flood flows.

9. Flood potential can also be affected by land development and associated alternation of natural vegetative cover. Areas of concentrated development can contribute significantly to the increased runoff as a result of roof and other impervious surface areas. Removal of vegetation without new ground cover planting can have similar effects. Large scale alteration of vegetation as a result of wildland fires can also increase flood potential.

10. Indigenous Hazardous Materials. Hazardous materials indigenous to Calaveras County are those derived from the extraction and processing of toxic metals. Mining has been the back bone of the county's economy since the Gold Rush. Copper and asbestos are two minerals having toxic qualities that have been mined in Calaveras County. Currently, there are no copper or asbestos mines operating in the county. The asbestos mine located near the Stanislaus River between New Melones and Lake Tulloch originated in the early 1900's. In 1990 the open pit mine was converted into an asbestos-containing waste landfill.

11. Imported hazardous materials are produced elsewhere and brought into the county either for the specific purposes or as airborne pollution. Minerals used for specific purposes include: pesticides and herbicides used by agriculture; liquefied gas used for energy; and chemicals and explosives used in mineral extraction and processing. The use of these materials is regulated by either federal state or local government.

12. Airborne Hazardous Materials Drift into the County by Wind. The most common form of air pollution is from valley and city agricultural enterprises. Calaveras County is a member of the regional air district, currently in the Mountain Counties Air District.

C. Express Finding Number 3: Topographical.

1. Calaveras County is located in Central California along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The counties boundaries are the Mokelumne River on the north and the Stanislaus River on the south. The county's eastern boundary abuts Alpine County and the western boundary adjoins San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties. The total land area of the county is six hundred fifty seven thousand nine hundred twenty acres. The county has one incorporated city, Angels Camp. The city of Angels Camp has a building department that handles the construction activities within the city limits. The county of Calaveras has jurisdiction in the remaining geographic areas of the county regulated by the building department.

2. The county is approximately fifty-three miles long from the west to the east and twenty miles wide from the north to south. The western part of Calaveras County is characterized by rolling foothills beginning at an elevation of approximately three hundred feet. The terrain rises to the east, reaching peak height of eight thousand one hundred seventy feet near the Alpine County boundary. Deep ravines and steep ridges are found between the foothills and the higher mountains. Snow accumulations can occur at all levels with a short duration at the lower elevations to a long duration at and above the three thousand foot elevation. Generally speaking a storm event usually will deposit the highest yield of snow accumulation between the elevations of six thousand and seven thousand foot elevations. In as much as the county has a diverse range of snow load profiles, the design criteria for buildings related to their construction requires special consideration.

(Ord. No. 3185, 12-13-2022)

The county clerk is directed to file a copy of this chapter with the California Building Standards Commission of the state of California.

(Ord. No. 3185, 12-13-2022)