Chino Hills, CA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

CHMC § 8.16.040 locally amends Fire Code § 109.1.2, "Authority to inspect," to read that the "code official(s) designated below shall inspect, as often as necessary, buildings and premises... for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be corrected any conditions that could reasonably be expected to cause fire or contribute to its spread, or any violation of the purpose of this code and of any other law or standard affecting fire safety." The amendment splits inspection authority between two officials: the Chino Valley Independent Fire District's Fire Marshal is "designated as the lead responsible for ensuring overall compliance with this code, including building standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal (SFM) relating to R-3 occupancies," while the City's Building Official "also has the authority to inspect and enforce provisions of this code in conjunction with construction permits issued by the City, or the enforcement of Chino Hills Municipal Code Title 8, Title 15, and/or Title 16." Chino Hills adopts the 2025 California Fire Code and Wildland-Urban Interface Code by reference under § 8.16.010, and the parallel Building, Residential, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical, and Green Building Standards Codes under Chapter 15.04.

Construction permits require submitted documents under amended § 106.1, and a construction permit stays valid only if work begins within twelve months of issuance and is not suspended for more than twelve months, per § 105.3.1, after which the fire code official can require re-approval before work resumes.