To: Board of Supervisors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Adopting Ordinance No. 2025-15
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting in its capacity as the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and as the Board of Directors of the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District:
1. ADOPT Ordinance No. 2025-15, adopting the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, with local amendments, as the Wildland-Urban Interface Code within Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, and the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District.
2. ADOPT the attached findings in support of the amendments to the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code.
3. DIRECT the Fire Chief, or designee, pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 17958.7, to send a certified copy of Ordinance No. 2025-15, the attached findings, and this Board Order to the California Department of Housing and Community Development and to the California Building Standards Commission.
4. FIND that adoption of the ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA guidelines section 15061(b) (3), because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this activity may have an effect on the environment.
5. DIRECT the Fire Chief, or designee, to file a CEQA Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk and the State Clearinghouse.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact is neutral. The adoption of this ordinance will provide the administrative authority to enforce the provisions of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, as amended.
BACKGROUND:
The California Building Standards Commission has adopted and published the 2025 Building Standards Code, which includes the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code prepared and adopted by the State Fire Marshal. The statewide code becomes effective January 1, 2026.
Although the code applies statewide, Health and Safety Code sections 13869.7, 17958.5, and 18941.5 authorize a local jurisdiction to modify or change the statewide code and establish more restrictive standards if the jurisdiction finds that the modifications and changes are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions. Ordinance No. 2025-15 adopts the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code and amends it to address local conditions.
The attached ordinance amends the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code by adoption of the 2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code <https://codes.iccsafe.org/lookup/IWUIC2024P1/4311> of the International Code Council (ICC) with necessary California amendments including Chapters 1 - 7 and Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, Appendix F, Appendix G, and Appendix H as amended by the changes, additions, and deletions set forth in this ordinance.
Notice of the November 18, 2025 public hearing was published in accordance with Government Code section 6066. The Board of Supervisors held a hearing on the proposed ordinance on that date and considered all comments received before the close of the public hearing. The adoption of this ordinance and related findings will ensure that the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Ordinance, with local amendments, will be enforceable within the County’s jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of each of the two fire protection districts governed by the Board.
Attachments: Ordinance No. 2025-15 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code
Findings in support of Ordinance No. 2025-15
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Failure to adopt the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (CWUI) with the proposed local amendments could potentially increase the risk of wildfire spread into neighborhoods, heighten the potential for loss of life and property, and slow community recovery following major fire events. It could also result in higher property damage and insurance costs and reduced eligibility for state and federal wildfire mitigation funding.