Palm Desert, CA Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

Chapter 15.18 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code, adopted by Ordinance 1439 on January 8, 2026, is the city's green building standard. Section 15.18.010 adopts the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code, California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 11, including Chapter 1, by reference as the Palm Desert Green Building Code. The adopted document is on file for public examination in the office of the building official. The city does not print a separate list of local green standards in this section; the state code text is the standard that applies in the City of Palm Desert, Riverside County, California.

The code is enforced by the City of Palm Desert Building and Safety Division, headed by the Chief Building Official under Section 103.1 of the administrative provisions in § 15.02.020. A companion adoption, § 15.14.010, adopts the 2025 California Energy Code, Part 6 of Title 24, as the Palm Desert Energy Code.

CALGreen reaches the job site through Chapter 15.30. Section 15.30.010(D) says that, in accordance with Section 15.18.010, the owner, contractor or responsible party will meet diversion requirements specified in Chapters 4 and 5 of the California Green Building Code, 23 CCR, Part 11. Containers shall remain on the construction site until the building inspector has completed the final inspection or approved removal, and they shall be emptied on a regular schedule or as ordered by the building inspector. Section 15.30.020 requires applicants for new construction, building additions and alterations to comply with the adequate container space requirements of Section 8.12.030 and the applicable CALGreen components. If the CALGreen requirements are more stringent than the container enclosure requirements of Section 8.12.030, the CALGreen requirements shall apply.