The City Council has unanimously advanced a package of building code updates and permitting changes that would require landlords to notify tenants about construction before applying for a permit and would narrow when builders can work outside normal hours.
The 6-0 vote, with Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick absent, introduced for first reading an ordinance re-adopting the 2025 California Building Standards Code with revised local amendments, along with two municipal code changes tied to the city's new online permitting system, Clariti, which is scheduled to go live Dec. 7. The council also adopted a resolution of local climatic, geological and topographical findings and directed staff to file the package with the California Building Standards Commission after second reading. The ordinances take effect 30 days after second reading.
The building code portion is largely a cleanup. Under Assembly Bill 130, signed in June 2025, the state froze most new state and local building code changes affecting residential units for nearly six years and reviewed local amendments more closely. Santa Monica, which adopted its local amendments Oct. 14, 2025, received only partial approval of its filing.
Building Official Jeff Nespor told the council the state's requests were mostly clerical and that "the nuts and bolts of our ordinance are staying the same." The revisions renumber sections to match state code, move fire sprinkler and alarm rules into the fire code and clarify how the city's mandatory seismic retrofit program differs from the state's voluntary standards. Nespor said the timelines and accountability provisions of the seismic retrofit ordinance are not changing.
The tenant notice ordinance amends the city's Tenant Protections During Construction chapter. Landlords of occupied residential buildings would have to give tenants a city form describing the scope of work, approximate dates and duration and likely impacts on water, electricity and other building systems. Proof of delivery would be required before a permit application could move forward.
Community Development Director Jing Yeo said nearly every problem staff sees in construction-related tenant disputes traces back to poor early communication.
“We spent a lot of time together as staff thinking through, how to create a more functional system,” she said. “And you know, this initial step is really just about requiring early communication between tenants and landlords. We can pinpoint just about every single issue that we find. It's like if we could just get people to talk to each other a little earlier…”
Yeo described the change as a first step. She said building inspectors will become involved earlier in pre-construction meetings to check whether a landlord's "means and methods" plan is realistic, so a water shutoff described as lasting two days doesn't stretch to two months. She said the city attorney's office is also working on future amendments with milestones and fines for landlords who drag out work.
Mayor Caroline Torosis said construction notices are sometimes used as a form of harassment in rent-controlled buildings and asked whether the new system could flag means-and-methods requirements the same way. Yeo said it could, as a procedural step that does not require a code amendment. Torosis also asked that the data be used to help the city attorney track where construction overlaps with tenant harassment cases.
The after-hours ordinance drew the most debate. Construction is currently limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with exceptions allowed when work "serves the public interest," a standard the staff report said is not clearly defined and has been applied unevenly. Applicants can currently request almost anything and must notify neighbors within 500 feet before talking to city staff.
Yeo said that sequence routinely leaves residents upset about requests the city has never seen and "would never even consider." The new rules would limit after-hours permits to a defined list of activities, such as crane setup and concrete pours that must happen off-peak because of right-of-way impacts, and to work with minimal neighborhood impact, such as interior work. Nespor said the permits would apply only in commercial zones. Neighbor notice would come after a permit is approved rather than before. Yeo said the city handles only about 20 such requests a year, but each one creates significant staff work.
Councilmember Ellis Raskin asked what happens if a builder needs after-hours work that isn't on the list. Yeo said there would be no pathway under the new rules, but that the code could be amended if problems arise.
The ordinances return for second reading at a future meeting.