This is a City of Piedmont press release from Friday, Nov. 14, 2025
The City Council will consider proposed updates to the Piedmont’s energy efficiency “Reach Codes” and fire-resistant construction, or “home hardening,” requirements at their regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 17.
City Council meeting: Building and Fire code updates
Monday, November 17, 2025, 6:00pm
Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue
Zoom: https://piedmont-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/82500567382
Agenda | Staff Report 1 | Staff Report 2
The proposed changes are part of a larger update to Building and Fire Codes, driven by the State of California, which updates statewide building standards every three years. Cities are required to adopt the new codes and may include local amendments that address community priorities and local conditions.
Expanded fire-resistant construction (“home hardening”) requirements
In 2020, the City Council voluntarily designated all of Piedmont as a Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) based on topography, geography, and built environment – steep terrain, mature vegetation, and homes built close together – that make the city susceptible to wildfires. The proposed updates would re-affirm that commitment and ensure that consistent, research-based standards apply across the entire city.
Proposed updates would adopt a newly developed State “Wildland-Urban Interface” code, replacing previous Piedmont-specific rules with a comprehensive statewide standard that:
• Maintains strict home-hardening requirements for new construction
• Expands fire-resistant construction requirements for major renovation projects
The choice to continue incorporating these measures into City code – though Piedmont is not required to do so – reflects a clear community value: wildfire resilience matters here. Over the past nine months, extensive community outreach on home hardening found that residents broadly supported keeping Piedmont’s existing protections and expanding them to major renovations.
The long-term aim is to make Piedmont’s overall housing stock more wildfire resistant through steady progress over time as new homes are built and existing homes are renovated.
Proposed updates make energy-efficiency Reach Codes easier to meet
Piedmont’s “Reach Codes”, first adopted in 2021, are local energy efficiency requirements that go beyond state minimums for certain types of home renovation projects. Proposed updates aim to make these requirements more flexible, easier to meet, and better aligned with current construction costs, while encouraging high-impact measures that advance the City’s climate goals.
Proposed updates would:
• Add four new compliance options, giving homeowners more ways to meet Reach Code requirements. New items on a “menu” of energy efficiency measures residents can choose from include installing an induction cooktop, a heat pump dryer, or solar panels.
• Increase the project value thresholds that trigger Reach Code requirements, reflecting updated construction pricing and reducing impacts on smaller projects.
• Strengthen incentives for higher-impact energy upgrades, encouraging actions that will deliver the greatest long-term benefits.
Together, these updates preserve the existing Reach Code framework while making rules more flexible for residents
Code updates effective January 1, 2026
If adopted, code updates would take effect on January 1, 2026, in alignment with the statewide Building Standards Code cycle.
Community members can watch and participate in Monday’s meeting in-person or via Zoom.