Reach Codes

On September 3, 2019, the City Council adopted mandatory local green building and energy code amendments otherwise known as reach codes. These reach codes went into effect on January 1, 2020, concurrent with the 2019 Edition of the California Building Standards Code. The City also adopted reach codes for the 2016 Code Cycle that were in effect January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2019.

Building Electrification

All-electric buildings or "building electrification" refers to buildings that have no natural gas service. All-electric buildings have electric appliances for space and water heating, clothes drying, cooking, and more. By avoiding the use of natural gas, a fossil fuel, an all-electric building has a smaller carbon footprint. This local amendment encourages building electrification by allowing for two options for the construction of new buildings, either constructing an all-electric building or constructing a mixed-fuel building that meets higher efficiency standards that exceed the State’s requirements.

Effective January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020

Building Type	Reach Code
New Single Family and Duplex buildings	Two compliance pathways: 1) Mixed fuel: Proposed Design Building shall be 2.5 EDR points less than the Efficiency EDR (roughly 15% above State Code) 2) All-electric: 0% above State Code
New Buildings with Office Use (including mixed-use buildings)	Two compliance pathways: 1) Mixed fuel: 10% above State Energy Code 2) All-electric: 0% above State Energy Code
All other building types including Accessory Dwelling Units	No local amendment

Effective January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2022

On October 5, 2020 the City Council adopted new reach codes requiring residential buildings and office buildings be constructed all-electric.

Building Type	Reach Code
New Residential Buildings (including single family and duplex homes, multifamily buildings and Accessory Dwelling Units)	Required to be constructed all-electric
New Buildings with Office Use (including mixed-use buildings	Required to be constructed all-electric
New Residential Buildings with 100% affordable units	Two compliance pathways: 1) Mixed fuel: must exceed State Energy Code 2) All-electric: 0% above State Energy Code See ordinance for details

Solar Installation

The 2019 Edition of the Building Standards Code will require solar installation on new construction of low-rise residential projects. The City’s reach code mandates minimum size solar photovoltaic installations on all other types of new construction. As an alternative, all projects may provide a solar hot water (solar thermal) system with a minimum collector area of 40 square feet.

Building Type	Reach Code
New Multifamily Buildings	Minimum 3 kilowatt photovoltaic system
New non-residential buildings of less than 10,000 square feet	Minimum 3 kilowatt photovoltaic system
New non-residential buildings 10,000 square feet or larger	Minimum 5 kilowatt photovoltaic system

Electric Vehicle Readiness

The City’s amendment will require a higher number of electric vehicle (EV) Capable parking spaces than what is required by the State for new construction projects. An EV Capable space contains electrical capacity and raceway; however it is not required to contain the actual electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) installed. In addition, the City’s amendment requires new non-residential projects to install EVSE in a portion of their parking spaces.

Building Type	Reach Code
New One- and Two-family dwellings and Town-houses	Require complete circuit and receptacle (outlet)
New Multifamily Buildings	15% EV Capable spaces
New Non-residential Buildings	10% EV Capable spaces and 5% EVSE installed spaces