Chico Municipal Code Ch. 16.06 Building Regulations - Building Standards

No person shall erect, construct, install, alter, add to, repair, replace, move, relocate, demolish, occupy, maintain, or use any building or structure, building service equipment, or sign in the city unless such building or structure, building service equipment, or sign complies with the standards adopted by this chapter.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

The regulations now or hereafter adopted in Chapter 16R.02 of this code shall constitute the basic building standards of the city and shall apply to and govern the construction, alteration, moving, demolition, repair, occupancy, and use of any building or structure within the city; except that such standards shall not apply to nor govern any of the following:

A. Structures located primarily within a public right of way;

B. Public utility power poles; and

C. Mechanical equipment not specifically regulated by such standards.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

A. Electrical Standards. The regulations now or hereafter adopted in Chapter 16R.04 of this code shall constitute the electrical standards of the city and shall apply to and govern the construction, alteration, moving, demolition, repair, and use of all electrical equipment within or on any building, structure, or premises in the city; except that such standards shall not apply to nor govern the following:

1. Electrical equipment installed in ships, water craft other than floating dwelling units, railroad rolling stock, aircraft, automotive vehicles, commercial coaches, mobile homes, and recreational vehicles;

2. Electrical equipment installed in underground mines, mine shafts, and tunnels;

3. Electrical equipment installed by railroads for the generation, transformation, transmission, or distribution of power and used exclusively for the operation of rolling stock or for signaling and communication purposes;

4. Electrical equipment under the exclusive control of communication utilities and used exclusively for communication purposes;

5. Electrical equipment under the exclusive control of electrical utilities and used for the purpose of communication or metering, or for the purpose of the generation, control, transformation, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy when located in buildings used exclusively by utilities for the foregoing purposes or located outdoors on property owned or leased by the utility or on public highways, streets, roads, etc., or outdoors by established rights on private property;

6. Electrical equipment installed on highways or bridges.

B. Mechanical Standards. The regulations now or hereafter adopted in Chapter 16R.06 of this code shall constitute the mechanical standards of the city and shall apply to and govern the erection, installation, alteration, repair, relocation, replacement, addition to, use, and maintenance of any mechanical equipment within or on any building, structure, or premises in the city.

C. Plumbing Equipment. The regulations now or hereafter adopted in Chapter 16R.08 of this code shall constitute the plumbing standards of the city and shall apply to and govern the construction, alteration, moving, demolition, repair, and use of all plumbing equipment within or on any building, structure, or premises in the city; except that such standards shall not apply to nor govern the following:

1. Plumbing equipment installed in ships, water craft other than floating dwelling units, railroad rolling stock, aircraft, automotive vehicles, commercial coaches, mobile homes, and recreational vehicles;

2. Plumbing equipment installed in underground mines, mine shafts, and tunnels;

3. Plumbing equipment installed on highways and bridges;

4. Plumbing equipment that is owned, operated, maintained, and under the exclusive control of a flood control, fuel gas, sanitation, or water utility, of or for a state or local agency, in the exercise of its functions as a utility for the purpose of generation, control, transformation, transmission, and distribution of fuel gas, water, sewage, and storm waters used by utilities for such purposes, or located outdoors or underground on property owned or leased by the utility, or on public highways, streets, roads, etc., or outdoors or underground by established rights on private property.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

The regulations now or hereafter adopted in Chapter 16R.10 of this code shall constitute the sign standards of the city and shall apply to and govern the construction, alteration, moving, repair, maintenance, and use of any sign or sign structure in the city except signs or sign structures which are located entirely within a building. Provided, however, that the standards adopted in Chapter 16R.10 of this code shall supplement and be in addition to the land use regulations adopted in Title 19 of this code which also govern the construction, alteration, moving, repair and maintenance of signs and sign structures.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

Except when otherwise specifically provided in the standards adopted by this chapter, the occupancy and/or use of any existing building or structure, building service equipment, or sign may be continued without compliance with such standards if:

A. Such occupancy and/or use was legally established prior to the enactment or amendment of such standards;

B. Such occupancy and/or use is maintained in accordance with the standards, if any, in effect at the time the occupancy or use was established; and

C. Such occupancy and/or use is not dangerous to life, health, or safety.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

A. Additions, alterations, or repairs may be made to any existing building or structure, building service equipment, or sign without requiring that portion of such existing building or structure, building service equipment, or sign unchanged by such addition or alteration or unaffected by such repair to comply with the standards adopted by this chapter if such additions, alterations, or repairs do comply with such standards and cause no danger to life, health, or safety. Provided, however, that where a new addition is made to an existing building or structure, such existing building or structure plus the new addition shall not exceed the height, number of stories, or area permitted by the building standards adopted by this chapter. Provided further, that where an alteration is made to an existing building or structure incident to a change in occupancy or use, such building or structure shall not exceed the height, number of stories, or area permitted by the building standards adopted by this chapter and applicable to such changed occupancy or use.

B. Alterations or repairs to an existing building, structure, or sign which are non-structural, do not adversely affect any structural member or any part of the building, structure, or sign meeting required fire resistance standards, and do not involve the installation or replacement of glass may be made with the same material of which the building, structure, or sign was constructed, subject to approval by the building official.

C. Minor additions, alterations, or repairs to existing building service equipment which do not cause such existing building service equipment to become unsafe, unsanitary, and overloaded may be made in accordance with the standards in effect at the time the original installation was made, subject to approval of the building official.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

Any building or structure, building service equipment, or sign which is moved within or into the city shall comply with the standards adopted by this chapter.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

Where a building or structure is constructed on a lot or parcel which is located in a subdivision for which a soils investigation report was required at the time of approval of a tentative and final map for the subdivision, such building or structure shall comply with all standards and/or corrective actions recommended in such soils investigation report in addition to the standards adopted by this title.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

Where a building or structure is constructed as part of an approved project which required the preparation of an environmental impact report, such building or structure shall comply with all mitigation measures which were required at the time of approval of the project in order to avoid or lessen a significant environmental effect identified in the environmental impact report for the project in addition to the standards adopted by this chapter.

(Ord. 1651)

A. Additions, alterations, and repairs necessary for the preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, moving, or continued use of a qualified historic building, structure, or sign may be made in accordance with the alternative standards adopted pursuant to Section 18959.5 of the California Health and Safety Code and such alternative standards shall be applied to and govern such additions, alterations, and repairs in lieu of any of the standards adopted by this chapter. Provided that, any alternative standard related to access of the physically handicapped or exemptions from such access requirements shall be applied on a case-by- case, item-by-item basis, and shall not be applied to an entire building or structure without individual consideration of each item, and shall not be applied to related sites or areas except on an item-by-item basis.

B. For purposes of this section, the phrase “qualified historic building, structure, or sign” shall mean any building, structure, or sign included on existing or future national or state historical registers or official inventories, such as the National Register of Historic Places, State Historical Landmarks, and State Points of Historical Interest, and shall also mean any building, structure, or sign designated as being historically significant in accordance with the provisions of Title 19 of this code.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))

A. The standards adopted by this chapter are not intended to prevent the use of any material, appliance, installation, device, arrangement, or method of construction in any building or structure, building service equipment, or sign other than those specifically prescribed by such standards, and the building official may approve any alternative material or method of construction in a building or structure, building service equipment, or sign upon finding that: (1) the design of the building or structure, building service equipment, or sign complies with the standards adopted by this chapter; and (2) the alternative material, appliance, installation, device, arrangement, or method of construction to be used in the building or structure, building service equipment, or sign is at least equivalent to that required by the standards adopted by this title in suitability, strength, effectiveness, fire resistivity, durability, safety, and sanitation. However, the building official shall not approve the use of an alternative material, appliance, installation, device, Chico Municipal Code arrangement, or method of construction which will affect the fire resistivity of such building or structure, building service equipment, or sign without having first consulted with the fire marshal about such alternative material, appliance, installation, device, arrangement, or method of construction and considered the fire marshal’s recommendations thereon.

B. The details of any action or approval of an alternative material or method of construction approved by the building official for any building or structure, building service equipment, or sign shall be recorded and entered in the files of the building division relating to such building or structure, building service equipment, or sign.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part), Ord. 1752 §1 (part), Ord. 2268)

A. When there are practical difficulties in carrying out any provision of the standards adopted by this chapter, the building official may approve a variance from such standards for a particular building or structure, installation of building service equipment, or sign, upon finding that: (1) the application of the standards adopted by this chapter to a particular building or structure, installation of building service equipment or sign is impossible or impracticable; (2) a variance from such standards is in conformity with the intent and purpose of the standards; and (3) a variance from such standards does not lessen health, life, or fire safety requirements, or any degree of structural integrity. However, the building official shall not approve a variance which will affect the fire safety requirements pertaining to such building or structure, or installation of building service equipment or sign without having first consulted with the fire marshal about such variance and considered the fire marshal’s recommendations thereon.

B. The details of any variance approved by the building official for any building or structure, building service equipment, or sign shall be entered in the files of the building division relating to such building or structure, building service equipment, or sign.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part), Ord. 1752 §l (part), Ord. 2268)

Temporary buildings or structures constructed on public property for or in connection with a public event approved by the city shall be exempt from the building standards adopted by this chapter if the building official, after consulting with the fire chief, determines that such temporary buildings or structures can be safely occupied or used by members of the public attending such events. In granting such exemption and as a condition thereto, the building official may place such restrictions on the occupancy or use of such building or structure that the building official determines are necessary in the interest of both public health and safety. For purposes of this section the term “temporary buildings or structures” means any building or structure which remains on public property for a period not exceeding two weeks from the date construction of the building or structure was commenced.

(Ord. 1777 §1)

Where there is a conflict between the standards adopted by this chapter and the standards in a federal or state law or regulation applicable to buildings or structures, building service equipment, or signs, that standard which provides the most protection for life, health, and safety as determined by the building official shall govern. Provided that, where there is a conflict between the standards adopted by this chapter and the standards in any federal or state law or regulation applicable to buildings or structures, building service equipment, or signs and the federal or state standards expressly preempt local standards which apply to or govern the same subject matter, then the standards in the federal or state law or regulation shall govern to the exclusion of the standards adopted by this chapter.

(Ord. 1646 §3 (part))