At Tuesday nights meeting the Redding City Council will likely adopt the latest version of the California building code. There are a number of changes to the code, including fire and smoke protection features. The most widely publicized and controversial change is the requirement for new homes to have solar panels installed. Staff says this will be a significant cost increase for home construction. Although the city is not required to adopt the code locally, failure to do so could bring the ire of the state and increase insurance costs.
The Redding City Council is also being asked to extend wastewater utility service outside city limits. The developer of the “Villages of Tierra Oaks”, north of the city, has been trying to convince the city to provide the service since 2016, but staff has consistently recommended that the request be denied for various reasons, including the inconsistent precedent is would set and the competition the development would present to housing within the city.