Lynwood, CA Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

The City of Lynwood's Community Development Department enforces the Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Management chapter, which implements the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) locally. A covered project, defined in § 9-6.2 as a nonresidential new-construction or demolition permit, an addition of 1,000 square feet or more, or an alteration valued at $200,000 or above, must divert at least 65 percent of its nonhazardous construction, demolition, concrete, and asphalt waste from landfills, per § 9-6.3. Applicants must submit a waste management plan (WMP) to the director of public works for written approval before a building permit issues, identifying diversion facilities, sorting methods, and construction methods used to cut waste.

Low-rise residential projects meet the standard automatically if landfilled debris does not exceed 3.4 pounds per square foot of building area; high-rise and nonresidential projects qualify at 2 pounds per square foot, per § 9-6.4. As a condition of permit approval, applicants must post a recycling fee deposit of 2.0 percent of job value for jobs between $100,000 and $499,999, or 1.0 percent for jobs of $500,000 or more, plus a separate C&D fee under the city's master fee schedule. The deposit is refunded in proportion to the diversion percentage actually achieved and can be forfeited for noncompliance.

Covered projects with five or more multifamily units must also provide accessible recycling areas for paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, organic waste, and metals under § 9-6.3(c). A denied or incomplete WMP can be appealed to the city council within 30 days by filing a written statement with the city clerk under § 9-6.6.