Richmond Municipal Code Ch. 6.02 Building Code of the City of Richmond

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 01-26 N.S., § II, adopted March 3, 2026, amended Ch. 6.02 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Ch. 6.02, §§ 6.02.010—6.02.030, pertained to similar subject matter, and derived from Ord. No. 20-86 N.S.; Ord. No. 11-94 N.S.; Ord. No. 4-06 N.S.; Ord. No. 9-06 N.S.; Ord. No. 18-06 N.S.; Ord. No. 14-10 N.S., § 1, adopted April 6, 2010; Ord. No. ; 06-20 N.S., § II, adopted March 3, 2020; Ord. No. 18-20 N.S., § II, adopted Aug. 5, 2020; and Ord. No. 14-22 N.S., § 2, adopted Nov. 22, 2022

(a) The Building Code of the City of Richmond is the 2025 California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24), adopted by reference and incorporated herein as follows:

PART 1—CALIFORNIA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE

PART 2—CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE—Volumes 1 & 2, as amended in Section 6.02.030 and including the following appendices:

• Appendix G Flood-Resistant Construction

• Appendix I Patio Covers

• Appendix J Grading

• Appendix N Replicable Buildings

• Appendix Q Emergency Housing

PART 2.5—CALIFORNIA RESIDENTIAL CODE, including the following appendices:

• Appendix CI Swimming Pool Safety Act

PART 3—CALIFORNIA ELECTRICAL CODE

PART 4—CALIFORNIA MECHANICAL CODE

PART 5—CALIFORNIA PLUMBING CODE

PART 6—CALIFORNIA ENERGY CODE

PART 7—CALIFORNIA WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE CODE

PART 8—CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL BUILDING CODE

PART 9—CALIFORNIA FIRE CODE, as adopted by RMC Section 8.16.010.

PART 10—CALIFORNIA EXISTING BUILDING CODE

PART 11—CALIFORNIA GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS CODE, CALGreen

PART 12—CALIFORNIA REFERENCED STANDARDS CODE

(Ord. No. 01-26 N.S., § II, 3-3-2026)

At least one copy of the Building Code of the City of Richmond shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Official for inspection by the public.

(Ord. No. 01-26 N.S., § II, 3-3-2026)

(a) Amendments, additions, and deletions to 2025 California Building Code Chapter 1 Division II Scope and Administration:

(1) Section 103.1 is amended as follows:

103.1 Creation of enforcement agency. The Building Division of the Community Development Department is hereby created, and the official in charge thereof shall be known as the Building Official. The function of the agency shall be the implementation, administration, and enforcement of the provisions of this code.

(2) New Section 105.3.2.1 is added as follows:

105.3.2.1 Expiration of Plan Review. Abandoned applications or applications for which no permit is issued within 180 days following the date of plan review approval notification will expire by limitation, and the Building Official may thereafter destroy plans and other data submitted for review.

(3) New Section 105.5.2 is added as follows:

105.5.2 Completion of work after permit expiration. Before work on an expired permit can be recommenced, a new permit shall first be obtained and the fee for such new permit shall be one-half the amount required for a new permit for such work, provided no changes have been made or will be made in the original plans and specifications for such work; and provided further that such suspension or abandonment has not exceeded one year. Any suspension or abandonment in excess of one year shall be treated as a new permit and subject to all the provisions thereof.

(4) New Section 109.4.1 is added as follows:

109.4.1 Investigation fee for work without permit. Whenever any work for which a permit is required has been commenced without first obtaining said permit, an investigation shall be made before a permit may be issued for such work. An investigation fee, in addition to the permit fee, shall be collected whether or not a permit is then or subsequently issued. The investigation fee shall be equal to three times the permit fee as set forth in the City's adopted fee schedule. The payment of such investigation fee shall not exempt any person from compliance with all other provisions of either this code nor from any penalty prescribed by law. The permit fee is defined as the total fee a permit applicant would pay to obtain a building permit for a similar scope of construction, alteration, or repair.

Exemption: Dwellings legalized under section 109.4.2

(5) New Section 109.4.2 with subsections is added as follows:

109.4.2 Legalization Program for Accessory Dwelling Units and residential additions and remodels

109.4.2.1 Purpose and intent. Pursuant to Government Code Section 66332, Section 17980.12 of the Health and Safety Code, and the Shelter Crisis Declaration under Resolution 79-18, the City enacts the following dwelling unit legalization amnesty program, aiming to eliminate substandard living conditions of the existing built environment within the City to the maximum extent possible.

109.4.2.2 Scope. The legalization procedure applies to residential projects constructed without a finalized building permit and built before the enactment of this program.

109.4.2.3 Compliance procedure:

109.4.2.3.1 Code Compliance Permit The applicant must first obtain a Code Compliance Permit for legalization from the Building Division, allowing a contractor and designer to investigate and map the existing conditions. As part of the investigation, the applicant may request the available building records for the property from the City Clerk's office and may request an inspection from a Building Inspector.

109.4.2.3.2 Planning Application. Before submitting a building permit application, the applicant must discuss the project's feasibility with the Planning Division, and if changes are necessary for planning approval, those must be included with the permit application drawings.

109.4.2.3.3 Building Permit Application. The project applicant must apply for a building permit and present construction drawings and documents identifying the existing legally constructed portion and presenting the illegally constructed items as proposed for approval.

109.4.2.3.4 Licensed engineer required. Construction drawings for the building permit application must be prepared by a licensed engineer and demonstrate that the project, upon completion, will comply with the life and safety provisions of the California Building Standards. The permit drawings must indicate which edition of the California Building Standards Code was used in the preparation of the construction documents and demonstrate coherent compliance.

109.4.2.3.4.1 Drawings Format. Drawings must be prepared in substantially the same format as for new construction, graphically distinguishing the existing legally constructed items and the illegally constructed items proposed for legalization. Drawings must include a Title Sheet presenting the permit scope, an Index of Sheets, Floor Plans, Elevations, and Sections, as well as Energy Code Compliance Forms.

109.4.2.3.4.2 Structural analysis and drawings. Structural drawings and analysis must be included. Structural drawings must include a graphical representation of the following items:

• Structural components observed and verified by the engineer.

• Questionable structural members and components that need to be verified. If questionable items exist, the construction documents must outline the verification and acceptance procedures prescribed by the engineer.

• If the analysis identifies structural deficiencies, the construction drawings must specify the new members, components, and connections that must be installed and inspected under this permit.

109.4.2.3.4.3 Structural Observation. Compliance with the minimum structural safety provisions of the code and conformance to the structural alterations (if any) must be ascertained in writing by the engineer of record and uploaded to the permit prior to scheduling final inspection. A note in that regard must be present on the drawings.

109.4.2.4 Effective date. This chapter shall become effective on the day adopted by the City Council. The program is not retroactive and does not allow the Building Official to refund the investigation fee collected under Section 109.4.1.

109.4.2.5 Program expiration. The program will expire on December 31 st , 2031.

(6) Section 109.6 is amended to read as follows:

109.6 Refunds. The Building Official shall not authorize the refunding of any fee paid except upon written application filed by the original permittee not later than 180 days after the date of fee payment.

The Building Official may authorize the refunding of any fee paid hereunder that was erroneously paid or collected.

The Building Official may authorize the refunding of not more than 80 percent of the permit fee paid when no work has been done under a permit issued in accordance with this chapter.

The Building Official may authorize the refunding of not more than 80 percent of the plan review fee paid when an application for a permit for which a plan review fee has been paid is withdrawn or canceled before any plan checking is done.

(7) New Section 109.7 is added as follows:

109.7 Reinspection fee. A reinspection fee may be assessed for each inspection or reinspection when such portion of work for which inspection is called is not complete or when corrections called for are not made.

This section does not require reinspection fees the first time a job is rejected for failure to comply with the requirements of the codes. Subsequent inspections or the practice of calling for inspections before the job is ready for such inspection or reinspection may be subject to reinspection fees.

To obtain a reinspection, the applicant shall file an application therefor in writing upon a form furnished for that purpose and pay the reinspection fee in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by the City.

In instances where reinspection fees have been assessed, no additional inspection of the work will be performed until the required fees have been paid.

(8) New Section 113.3.1 is added as follows:

113.3.1 Appointment and Number of Members Appointed. The City Manager or their designee is authorized by the governing body to appoint the Board of Appeals. The Board shall consist of 5 members with a quorum of 3 to conduct business.

(9) New Section 103.4.1 is added to Appendix Q, Emergency Housing as follows:

Q103.4.1 Fire & Life Safety Systems. Whenever any existing buildings have any existing fire protection and life safety systems, i.e. fire sprinkler and/or fire alarm system, these systems are required to be maintained in operation or made to conform to the provisions of these regulations to the extent that reasonable and adequate life safety against the hazards of fire, panic, and explosion is substantially provided. Additional means of egress may be required to provide reasonable and adequate safety.

(10) New Section 103.4.2 is added to Appendix Q, Emergency Housing as follows:

Q103.4.2 Emergency Responder Radio Coverage in Existing Buildings. Existing Buildings that do not have approved radio coverage for emergency responders, as required for new buildings under Section 510.1 of the Fire Code, shall be equipped with such coverage before permitting the facility as emergency housing.

Exception: When the fire code official determines that the building satisfies one or more of the exempt provisions of Section 510.1 of the Fire Code.

(11) New Section 104.10 is added to Appendix Q as follows:

Q104.10 Portable Fire Extinguishers. Portable Fire extinguisher shall be selected, installed and maintained in accordance with California Fire Code Section 906.2 (General requirements) and California Code of Regulations, title 19, Division 1, Chapter 3 in any emergency housing and emergency housing facility.

(12) New Section 109.3 is added to Appendix Q as follows:

Q109.3 Emergency Vehicle Access. Emergency vehicle access shall be maintained for any emergency housing facilities. The fire code official shall approve any temporary emergency vehicle access routes for any emergency housing facility.

(13) New Section 111 with subsections is added to Appendix Q as follows:

Q111 Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation Plan.

Q111.1 Evacuation Diagram. A diagram depicting two evacuation routes shall be posted on or immediately adjacent to every required egress door from each of the emergency housing facility.

Q111.2 Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation Plan. Where the fire code official determines that an emergency housing facility has an adverse impact on public safety through diminished access to buildings, structures, fire hydrants and fire apparatus access roads or where such facility adversely affect public safety services of any kind, the fire code official shall have the authority to order the development of or prescribe fire safety and emergency evacuation plan that provides an approved level of public safety and addresses the following items:

Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation Plan shall include the following:

1. Emergency egress or escape routes and whether evacuation of the building is to be completed by selected floors or areas only or with a defend-in-place response.

2. Procedures for the use of elevators to evacuate the building where occupant evacuation elevators complying with Section 3008 of the California Building Code are provided.

3. Procedures for assisted rescue for persons unable to use the general means of egress unassisted.

4. Procedures for accounting for employees and occupants after evacuation have been completed.

5. The preferred and any alternative means of reporting fires and other emergencies to the fire department or designated emergency response organization.

6. Identification and assignment of personnel who can be contacted for further information or explanation of duties under the plan.

7. A description of the emergency voice/alarm communication system alert tone and preprogrammed voice messages, where provided.

8. Procedures for notifying occupants, including areas with a private mode alarm system.

9. Procedures for evacuating occupants, including those who need evacuation assistance.

10. The occupant assembly point(s).

11. The location of fire hydrants.

12. The normal routes of fire department vehicle access.

(14) New Section 111.3 is added to Appendix Q as follows:

Q111.3 Emergency Housing Facility Floor Plan. Floor plans shall identify the locations of the following:

1. Exits.

2. Primary evacuation routes.

3. Secondary evacuation routes.

4. Accessible egress routes.

5. Areas of refuge.

6. Exterior areas for assisted rescue.

7. Refuge areas associated with smoke barriers and horizontal exits.

8. Manual fire alarm boxes.

9. Portable fire extinguishers.

10. Fire alarm annunciators and control(s), if applicable.

11. Fire department connections and sprinkler riser location(s), if applicable.

(Ord. No. 01-26 N.S., § II, 3-3-2026)