ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council is working to preserve local control of building regulations by moving forward with a plan to re-adopt its existing “reach codes” before new state restrictions take effect.
Cities are required to adopt California’s building codes every three years, but may also enact stricter local amendments, known as reach codes, to address issues such as fire safety and energy efficiency.
On June 30 — just before the City Council recess — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 130, which he said will help “to build more housing, faster and create strong affordable pathways for every Californian.”
The law prohibits cities and counties from changing building standards between Oct. 1, 2025, and June 1, 2031, unless certain conditions are met. These include implementing changes already in effect as of Sept. 30, enacting emergency standards to protect health and safety, addressing wildfire vulnerability, or aligning with previously adopted local general plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
At the council’s Aug. 27 meeting, the city’s sustainability analyst Ryan Lamkin warned that “all of these conditions face legal uncertainty.”
“There hasn’t been any precedent from any legal rulings and until there is, we don’t have definitive interpretations of the conditions,” Lamkin said. “And therefore, the safest approach to protect local control over the building code is to re-adopt what we can before October 1st, 2025.”
The council unanimously agreed at meetings on Aug. 27 and Sept. 10 to move forward with re-adopting its reach codes before the deadline. The proposed amendments include updates on fire prevention, graywater plumbing, and electric vehicle readiness for new single-family homes, as well as requiring certain remodels to install at least one energy efficiency measure.
Crystal Najera, a sustainability manager for the City of Encinitas, said the actions would limit the city’s legal exposure.
The measures must still be discussed and adopted at a future meeting before Oct. 1. They were not listed on the Sept. 17 council agenda.
Councilmember Jim O’Hara said on Sept. 10 that “unfortunately, we have to rush something through” to meet the state deadline.
Najera confirmed that the council could later choose to remove a reach code without violating AB 130, though such a move would require a new amendment to align local standards with the state’s.
Council Member Luke Shaffer said he supported re-adopting the codes “predominantly because…we can scratch anything that comes along” in the future.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers, who initially expressed frustration at the rushed process, said staff had worked quickly to address concerns.
“I don’t want to be up here making decisions based on ambiguity,” Ehlers said. “I want to get as much logic into it as we can.”
Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes said that failing to act would mean relinquishing local control.
Encinitas has faced similar challenges in the past related to local reach codes. In 2021, it became the first city in San Diego County to adopt a “green building” reach code requiring new developments to install electric appliances. But the city suspended that policy in 2023 after a federal appeals court struck down a comparable natural gas ban in Berkeley, citing federal preemption.
Despite the legal uncertainty, Encinitas officials say adopting reach codes before the state deadline is the best way to preserve the city’s authority over building standards.
