Monterey, CA Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

Section 13-0.2(t) rewrites CFC Section 903.2 to require an approved automatic sprinkler system in all new buildings and structures constructed, moved into, or relocated within the jurisdiction, subject only to three narrow exceptions: non-Group R structures of 500 square feet or less, detached agricultural buildings set at least 100 feet from any other structure with a 10,000 square-foot cap, and small accessory structures tied to existing non-sprinklered one- or two-family homes. Section 13-0.2(u) then lowers a dozen CFC group thresholds, some as high as 24,000 square feet under the unamended state code, down to 500 square feet across assembly, educational, factory, mercantile and storage occupancies, including repair garages and tire storage.

Section 13-0.2(v) replaces CFC Section 903.2.8's first paragraph outright, requiring sprinklers in all buildings with a Group R fire area, expressly including one- and two-family dwellings, townhomes, and manufactured or mobile homes outside licensed mobile home parks, and reaching additions to buildings already sprinklered, while preserving the state ADU sprinkler carve-outs at Government Code Section 65852.2(a)(1)(D)(xii) and (e)(3). For one- and two-family homes specifically, Section 13-0.2(bb) requires every NFPA 13D system to pass a hydrostatic leakage test at 200 psi for a two-hour duration, and Section 13-0.2(y) extends sprinkler coverage into individual dwelling-unit bathrooms.

The 2025 California Fire Code carrying these amendments was adopted under Section 13-0.1 (Ord. 3712 § 8, 2025), and Section 13-0.3 exempts any building permit application filed before January 1, 2026 from the new requirements.