Tempe, AZ Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

Tempe's green building standard sits in the General Code at Chapter 8, Article XI, Sec. 8-1100, which adopts "the International Green Construction Code, 2024 edition," chapters 1 through 11 and appendix chapters A through N, "as if fully set forth in this article." The adoption ordinance is Ord. No. O2023.54, § 4, effective November 30, 2023, and the article was reorganized and amended by Ord. No. O2026.24, § 12(Exh. A), adopted June 4, 2026; an editor's note explains that ordinance originally targeted a new Article III, § 8-800, but was reclassified into Article XI as § 8-1100 for the codified City Code.

The operative limit is in adopted Section 101.2: "The use of this code is optional, unless specifically required through ordinance by the City of Tempe. This code is an overlay document to be used in conjunction with the other codes and standards adopted by the jurisdiction. This code is not intended to be used as a standalone construction regulation document and permits are not to be issued under this code." That single sentence controls the whole article: a builder cannot pull a permit under the IgCC by itself, and nothing in Chapter 8, Article XI forces a private project onto the green code unless a separate city ordinance says so for that project.

The adopted text also leaves the article's own administrative machinery empty. Section 102 (Applicability), Section 103 (Code Compliance Agency), Section 104 (Duties and Powers of the Authority Having Jurisdiction), Section 105 (Permits), Section 106 (Construction Documents), Section 107 (Fees), Section 109 (Certificate of Occupancy), and Section 110 (Means of Appeals) are all listed as "Reserved." A drafting note attached to Chapter 1 directs that for any reserved section, users must "refer to the City of Tempe Administrative Code for these code requirements," and further states that where the IgCC conflicts with the Tempe Administrative Code, "the Tempe Administrative Code shall apply." In practice that means the IgCC supplies green-building design targets that a project can voluntarily follow, while every permit, fee, inspection, and appeal step still runs through the city's regular building code administration rather than through Article XI itself.