Part 1 — GENERAL

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. 31258, § 1, adopted Nov. 18, 2025, amended Part 1 of Ch. 17.12 in its entirety, in effect repealing and reenacting said Part 1 to read as set out herein. The former Part 1, §§ 17.12.010 - 17.12.120, pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ords. 25005, 25838, 26735, 28167, 28839, 29349, 29807, 30327, 30836.

The San José Fire Code shall consist of the 2025 California Fire Code (CFC) as copyrighted and published by the California Building Standards Commission which is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference into this Chapter, subject to the deletions, amendments, exceptions, and additions which are specified in this Chapter.

(Ord. 31258.)

It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert, demolish, equip, use, occupy or maintain any building, structure or equipment, or maintain any use, or cause or permit or suffer the same to be done, in a manner which does not conform to the requirements of this Chapter, any provision of the 2025 California Fire Code as adopted under this Chapter, or any permit issued under this Chapter.

(Ord. 31258.)

A.

A Bureau of Fire Prevention in the fire department of the city, heretofore established by Ordinance 3082, adopted June 11, 1945, shall continue and shall be operated under the supervision of the chief of the fire department.

B.

The chief of the fire department shall assign an officer of the fire department as chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, who shall hold office at the pleasure of the chief of the fire department. The chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall be known as the "fire marshal," and such title shall be synonymous with the term "chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention."

C.

The chief of the fire department shall assign other members of the fire department as inspectors as shall be necessary.

D.

The chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention and other members of such bureau shall enforce the provisions of this chapter and shall have and perform such other powers, duties and responsibilities as are given by law or as assigned by the chief of the fire department.

(Ord. 31258.)

The Bureau of Fire Prevention shall review all building plans for conformity with state and local statutes, ordinances, and regulations relating to the prevention of fire, the storage of hazardous materials, and the protection of life and property against fire, explosion, exposure to hazardous materials, and panic.

(Ord. 31258.)

Sections 104.2.3.2.1 and 104.2.3.2 of the 2025 California Fire Code are amended to include as follows:

104.2.3.2.1 Applications for such alternate means or methods shall be filed in the office of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, and the filing fee provided in the schedule of fees established by resolution of the city council shall be paid to the bureau at the time of filing the application.

104.2.3.2.2 Any such alternate means or method that involves matters regulated by the San José Building Code shall also be subject to the approval of the building official.

(Ord. 31258.)

A.

Both the owner and the user of any property shall be responsible for ensuring that such property is in compliance with all statutes, ordinances and regulations relating to fire safety and hazardous materials, except for those laws which relate directly and expressly to a use, in which case compliance shall only be the responsibility of the user.

B.

Nothing in this section shall preclude a rental, lease or management agreement from providing that a tenant has responsibility for such compliance unless such delegation is expressly prohibited by the regulating law; however, notwithstanding any such agreement the owner shall remain ultimately responsible and subject to any enforcement action by the city.

(Ord. 31258.)

Section 105.4 of the 2025 California Fire Code is amended to include as follows:

The permittee fails to pay fees established for approvals required under this chapter.

(Ord. 31258.)

Whenever the chief suspends or revokes a permit or denies the granting of a permit, or conditionally grants a permit, the applicant may appeal the decision to the appeals hearing board, in accordance with the provisions for appeal set forth in Section 6.02.230 of this Code.

(Ord. 31258.)

A.

The provisions of the 2025 California Fire Code related to construction, as adopted and amended herein, shall not apply to any building or structure for which application for a building permit was made prior to January 1, 2026, except as may be found by the Chief to constitute a distinct hazard to life or property. Such buildings or structure shall be erected, constructed, enlarged, altered or repaired in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter in effect at the date of the application.

B.

All other applications shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of the 2025 California Fire Code, as adopted and amended herein.

(Ord. 31258.)

The provisions of this Chapter contain cross-references to the provisions of the 2025 California Fire Code in order to facilitate reference and comparison to those provisions.

(Ord. 31258.)

The provisions of this Chapter shall constitute local amendments to the cross-referenced provisions of the 2025 California Fire Code and shall be deemed to replace the cross-referenced sections of the 2025 California Fire Code with the respective provisions set forth in this Chapter.

Findings

The amendments set forth in 17.12 are reasonably necessary because of the following local geological, topographical, and climatic conditions:

I.

The City of San José is located within a very active seismic area. Severe seismic action could disrupt communications, damage gas mains, cause extensive electrical hazards, and place extreme demands on

both private fire protection systems and equipment. The limited and widely dispersed resources of the Fire Department could result in failure to meet and provide the fire protection and life safety needs of the community.

II.

The local geographic, topographic, and climatic conditions pose an increased hazard in the acceleration, spread, magnitude, and severity of potential fires in the City of San José, and may cause disruptions in the operation of private fire protection systems and equipment and delayed fire response time, allowing for further fire growth and spread.

III.

This section adopts the latest standards currently listed by the State of California Fire Marshal's Office for automatic fire protection systems and includes references to the amendments to the standards made in the California Fire Code.

(Ord. 31258.)