More than a dozen California cities and counties have been trying for months to get climate-forward building standards enacted. But they’ve been caught in regulatory purgatory thanks to legislation meant to address the state’s affordable housing crisis.
Last year, in an effort to ease development, California hit the brakes on updates to state and local building codes meant to make buildings safer and more efficient. But the law that established the six-year moratorium, Assembly Bill 130, left some exceptions for local governments — including a narrow legal pathway to adopt emissions-cutting rules to support their preexisting climate goals.
Since the pause went into effect Oct. 1, 2025, 21 cities and counties have passed such building ordinances. These “reach codes” go beyond the state’s energy-efficiency standards in encouraging building owners to ditch fossil fuels. For example, 14 localities have adopted rules to incentivize households to replace broken one-way air conditioners with two-way heat pumps, which provide both heating and cooling. The approach nudges homes toward electrified heating, since when the furnace dies, the installed heat pump is ready to take its place.
Reach codes have the potential to be among “the most impactful ordinances” that local agencies can adopt to tackle climate change, said Anthony Eulo, senior manager of public sector services for Silicon Valley Clean Energy, a public energy agency.
Localities must get the green light from the California Building Standards Commission, followed by a thumbs-up from the state energy commission, before they can implement those codes. But as of Friday, the Building Standards Commission has yet to approve 17 proposed reach codes from 15 jurisdictions, including Alameda, Glendale, Marin County, Palo Alto, and San Luis Obispo. Some have been waiting nearly a year.
In the past, the commission’s vetting process took days, not months, Eulo said.
The Building Standards Commission, which must ensure ordinances meet AB 130’s complex exemption requirements, said it has approved seven reach codes over the last year. But the 17 pending ordinances “contain more complex amendments and are still under review,” the agency said. “We hope to begin issuing response letters soon.” In the last year, the commission has processed 440 ordinances out of about 500 received.
At the commission’s last meeting on Aug. 25, city and county representatives and building decarbonization advocates expressed their frustration at the unusual delay, which is holding them back from reducing noxious pollution from gas appliances.
“Alameda cannot achieve its urgent climate goals and protect the health and safety of our residents without these foundational policies,” Danielle Mieler, the city’s sustainability and resilience manager, said at the meeting.