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

Chapter 16.43 adopts the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code by reference under Section 16.43.020, and Section 16.43.030 amends 2025 California Green Building Code Section 4.503 for wood-burning appliances generally and Section 5.503.1 specifically for fireplaces. Under 4.503.1, any installed wood stove or pellet stove in Sunnyvale must comply with U.S. EPA New Source Performance Standards emission limits and carry a permanent label certifying that it meets them; the rule does not apply to repairing, reconstructing, or replacing a lawful, existing wood-burning appliance already in place.

Section 5.503.1 goes further for fireplaces: new installations are limited to a direct-vent sealed unit or a pellet stove, and any installed pellet stove must likewise meet the EPA NSPS emission limits and carry a certification label. The same repair-and-replacement exemption for existing lawful appliances applies. The section also lists specific fuels that may never be burned in any fireplace or wood-burning appliance in the city: coal, garbage, glossy or colored paper, paint, paint solvent, particle board, plastic or plastic items, rubber or rubber items, salt water driftwood, treated wood, and waste petroleum products. Section 16.43.025 separately sets the chapter's scope, applying it to grading and to the construction, alteration, and maintenance of buildings and their green building systems within the city, with the same limited exemptions used across the rest of Title 16, and clarifies that compliance with the local Green Building Code does not substitute for, or count as meeting, any outside green building certification program.