Certain projects will need to comply with the California Green Building Standards Code known as CALGreen. CALGreen was adopted in January of 2010. The 2019 amendments to the CALGreen Code became effective January 1, 2020. The 2019 CALGreen Code covers the following project types:
- Residential, including low-rise, high-rise, and hotel/motel buildings of R occupancy) and Non-Residential New Construction
- Residential additions and alterations where the changes increase the building's conditioned area, volume, or size. (NOTE: This requirement applies only to the specific area of the addition or alteration. However, applicants MUST replace any non-compliant plumbing fixture with water conserving plumbing fixtures even if this is outside the scope of work.)
- Non-Residential building additions of 1,000 square feet or greater (NOTE: This requirement applies only to the specific area of the addition or alteration.)
- Non-Residential building alterations with a permit valuation of $200,000 or above (NOTE: This requirement applies only to the specific area of the addition or alteration.)
CALGreen contains mandatory measures that must be implemented and voluntary measures known as Tiers. The City of Oakland has not adopted a Tier but would encourage the implementation of further green building measures.