Petaluma enforces 2025 CBC, T24 Pt 2 based on 2024 IBC with 2 local amendments on top (Ord. 2914 NCS). The amendments are the part that gets sets corrected. The state edition is only the floor. Petaluma sits in Sonoma County.
Current edition
2025 Title 24
Prior edition
2022 Title 24
Edition changeover: Projects with a complete application on or before 2025-12-31 may still be reviewed under the 2022 Title 24.
Adopted code and local amendments by discipline
Adopted code editions and local amendments by discipline
Discipline
Adopted code
Local amendment
Building
2025 CBC, T24 Pt 2 based on 2024 IBC
n/a
Residential
2025 CRC, T24 Pt 2.5 based on 2024 IRC
n/a
Existing buildings
2025 CEBC, T24 Pt 10 based on 2024 IEBC
n/a
Fire
2025 CFC, T24 Pt 9 based on 2024 IFC
Petaluma 2025 California Codes, Ord. 2914 NCS (adopted 2025-12-01, eff. 2025-12-31; PMC Title 17 Ch. 17.04; fire Ord. 2915 NCS; publisher municipal.codes)Stricter of state or local governs
Electrical
2025 CEC, T24 Pt 3 based on 2023 NEC
n/a
Mechanical
2025 CMC, T24 Pt 4 based on 2024 UMC
n/a
Plumbing
2025 CPC, T24 Pt 5 based on 2024 UPC
n/a
Energy
2025 Energy Code, T24 Pt 6
n/a
Green / sustainability
2025 CALGreen, T24 Pt 11
n/a
Accessibility
2025 CBC Ch 11A/11B, T24 Pt 2
n/a
Wildland-urban interface
2025 CA-WUIC, T24 Pt 7 based on 2024 IWUIC
n/a
Historical buildings
2025 CHBC, T24 Pt 8
n/a
Administrative
2025 CAC, T24 Pt 1
n/a
Zoning
No state-adopted code
Local zoning ordinance (city or county), subject to state preemptionLocal text supersedes the state code
What Petaluma actually amended
Quoted from the adopted ordinance. These are the provisions that differ from the state code, which is where most correction lists come from. Excerpts, not the whole ordinance. Follow the source link for the full text.
6.2.2
Where a well, pump, tank or combination thereof is the source of supply for a fire sprinkler system, the configuration for the system shall be one of the following:
(1) The water supply shall serve both domestic and fire sprinkler systems.
(a) A test connection shall be provided downstream of the pump that creates a flow of water equal
to the smallest sprinkler on the system. The connection shall return water to the tank.
(b) Any disconnecting means for the pump shall be approved.
(c) A method for refilling the tank shall be piped to the tank.
(d) A method of seeing the water level in the tank shall be provided without having to open the tank. […]
14.7.9
Marking and Labeling Systems, 4th edition, 1995, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
APPENDIX B—Fire-Flow Requirements For Buildings
Section B105.1 is amended to read as follows:
Table B105.1(1)
Appendix B Table B105.1(1) is amended to read as follows:
Ordinance No. N.C.S.
Page 31
Fire-Flow
Calculation Area
(square feet)
Automatic Sprinkler System
(Design Standard)
Minimum
Fire-Flow
(gallons per minute)
Flow Duration
(hours)
Table B105.1(1). […]
17.20.040 · Establishment of fire hazard severity zone(s) (FHSZs)
A. Limits Related to Chapter 3 of the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code as Amended and
Adopted by the City of Petaluma. Chapter 3 shall apply to all real property with newly constructed buildings
within the City of Petaluma located within the FHSZ as designated by the Chief and the map published by
Cal Fire and as amended by the Chief. The official map is also located electronically on the following
website: https://cityofpetaluma.org/documents/wildland-urban-interface-map/. A map of such areas is
maintained in the office of the Petaluma Fire Prevention Bureau.
Ordinance No. N.C.S.
Page 3
B. […]
29.4.1
The installing contractor shall identify a hydraulically designed sprinkler system with permanently raised, stamped or etched marked weatherproof metal or ridged plastic sign secured with corrosion resistant
wire, chain, or other approved means. Such signs shall be placed at the alarm valve, dry pipe valve,
preaction valve, or deluge valve supplying the corresponding hydraulically designed area. Pipe schedule
systems shall be provided with a sign indicating that the system was designed and installed as a pipe
schedule system and the hazard classification(s) included in the design. […]
104.4 · Right of Entry
(a) The Fire Chief, or his/her authorized representative in the performance of duties herein prescribed,
shall have the right to enter upon and into any and all premises under his/her jurisdiction, at all
reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting the same to determine whether or not the provisions
of this code and all applicable laws or Ordinances pertaining to the protection of persons and
property from fire, explosion or exposure to hazardous materials are observed therein. Provided,
however, that an inspection warrant, issued pursuant to Title 13, Part 3 of the Code of Civil
Procedure be first secured where entry is refused, except in an emergency situation. […]
113.4 · Violation Penalties
(a) Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor. Notwithstanding the
preceding sentence, a violation of the provisions of this section may be charged and prosecuted as
an infraction at the discretion of the City Attorney’s Office or other enforcing authority.
(b) A person is guilty of a separate offense for each day during which he/she commits, or continues or
permits a violation of this chapter, or each time he/she disobeys a valid order of an enforcement
officer. […]
203.5.1
Moderate-hazard factory industrial, Group F- is amended to add to the list of Moderate-hazard factory industrial groups the following:
Agricultural crop production including cultivation, drying, processing and/or storage.
Substantial Remodel. Any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, alteration, addition or other improvement
of a building or structure that is any of the following:
(1) An existing building or structure not classified as Group R-3 occupancy that undergoes any addition
of floor area that is equal to or exceeds 10 percent of the existing gross floor area of the building or
structure. […]
903.6.5
Business District).
1. Geographic Boundary—Historic Downtown Business District: For the purposes of this section, the
Historic Downtown Business District shall include all buildings located inside the geographic area generally
formed by Kentucky Street to the west, Washington Street to the north, the Petaluma River to the east and
B Street to the south. Also included in this section is 201 Washington Street (Phoenix Theater) and 132
Keller Street, as more particularly described in Figure 1003.2.12.
2. […]
5608.2
Limitations. Possession, storage, offer or expose for sale, sale at retail, gift or give away, use, explosion, discharge, or in any manner disposal of fireworks is prohibited within the City of Petaluma.
Exception: Pyrotechnic displays authorized pursuant to section 5608.1 for which a permit has been issued.
Ordinance No. N.C.S.
Page 34
Exception: Pyrotechnic displays authorized pursuant to section 5608.1 for which a permit has been issued.
Ordinance No. N.C.S. […]
SECTION 5.
Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Section 15060(c)(2) of the CEQA Guidelines because
the activity has no potential for resulting in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in
the environment, and pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because the activity is not
a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines.
If the Ordinance was a “project” pursuant to CEQA it would be exempt pursuant to CEQA Section
15061(b)(3) (common sense exemption) since this action involves updates and revisions to existing
regulations consistent with State law and will not result in any direct or indirect physical changes to the
environment. […]
Mapped hazard and district overlays stack on top of the adopted code. These are the overlays recorded for Sonoma County. They apply by parcel, not jurisdiction-wide, so confirm the parcel before assuming one is in play. Check CAL FIRE's fire hazard severity viewer and FEMA's flood map service.
Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone
FEMA mapped flood hazard area
State law that overrides local zoning here
When one of these applies, the state statute governs over a conflicting local standard. This is the most common reason a local rule someone quotes you turns out not to be enforceable against a project.
Gov. Code 66310 et seq.
State ADU law preempts local zoning that would preclude a conforming ADU/JADU.
Applies when: project includes an ADU or JADU
Gov. Code 65915
State Density Bonus Law concessions/waivers override local development standards.
Applies when: project requests a density bonus
Gov. Code 65852.21 / 66411.7
SB 9 urban lot split / two-unit ministerial approval preempts conflicting local standards.
Applies when: project is an SB 9 lot split or two-unit development
Petaluma enforces 2025 CBC, T24 Pt 2 based on 2024 IBC, the edition adopted statewide in California, amended locally in 2 disciplines (Ord. 2914 NCS).
Does Petaluma amend the California code?
Yes: fire, zoning. For fire, the rule is: stricter of state or local governs.
Where do I confirm the code edition for a Petaluma permit?
With the city building department that will review the permit. Adoption ordinances are amended on a local schedule, and a set submitted days apart can fall under different editions during a changeover.
Knowing the adopted edition is the easy half. Architechtura reads your drawings, resolves which of these provisions actually apply to the project, and returns the corrections a plan checker would write up, each one cited to the section it came from.
Compiled from published state and municipal adoption ordinances. Local governments amend their codes on their own schedule, and a pending ordinance can change what applies to your permit. Confirm the governing edition with the building department before you submit. This page is reference information, not a code determination.