APPROVAL OF AN ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE FOR RELOCATABLE PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN THE 2025 ENERGY CODE
Summary
SCH Number
2026070325
Public Agency
California Energy Commission
Document Title
APPROVAL OF AN ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE FOR RELOCATABLE PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN THE 2025 ENERGY CODE
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/9/2026
Document Description
The California Energy Commission (CEC) adopts and regularly updates regulations for new construction, additions, and alterations to residential and nonresidential buildings, which are contained in California Code of Regulations, Parts 1 and 6 (the California Energy Code). These regulations go through an extensive public process and are adopted at a CEC business meeting before going into effect. Part 1 of the Energy Code includes administrative regulations for implementation. In certain circumstances, interested parties or the CEC may identify alternative procedures that meet the minimum requirements of the Energy Code, but that require additional regulatory action to ensure compliance and consistency with the Energy Code. In these situations, section 10-109(h) of the 2025 Energy Code states that “In addition to the procedures and protocols identified in Sections 10-109(c), 10-116 and the Reference Appendices, the Commission may authorize alternative procedures that demonstrate compliance with Part 6.” The 2025 Energy Code defines a relocatable public school building as “a relocatable building as defined by Title 24, Part 1, Section 4-314, which is subject to Title 24, Part 1, Chapter 4, Group 1”. On November 12, 2025, the Division of the State Architect (DSA) in accordance with California Education Code Sections 17310 and 81142 published Procedure PR 18-02 that introduced an alternative procedure for demonstrating compliance with the 2025 Energy Code for relocatable public school buildings. The approach allows relocatable public school building designs analyzed using the performance compliance approach to be evaluated for the four cardinal azimuths and introduced the climate zone group method as an acceptable alternate method of compliance. In keeping with the CEC mission to maintain accurate and technically feasible compliance procedures, CEC staff proposed an additional alternative procedure to the Nonresidential Appendix NA4 “Compliance Procedures for Relocatable Public School Buildings” specification of the 2025 Energy Code to align with the alternative compliance approach allowed by DSA, using representative climate zones to demonstrate compliance for specified climate zone groups, and rotating the relocatable public school building through the cardinal azimuths of 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees to demonstrate compliance. On May 4, 2026, the CEC provided a copy of the proposed alternative procedure to interested parties, and accepted comments through June 11, 2026. No comments were received. CEC staff analyzed the proposed alternative procedure for demonstrating compliance and determined that it is technically feasible and effective at reducing the building energy budget to save at least as much energy as currently approved 2025 Energy Code compliance approaches. CEC staff and the Executive Director recommended the CEC approve the additional alternative procedure to the Nonresidential Appendix NA4 “Compliance Procedures for Relocatable Public School Buildings” specification of the 2025 Energy Code, consistent with Section 10-109(h). CEC staff and the Executive Director further recommended incorporating this alternative procedure in the California Building Energy Code Compliance software (CBECC), which is a CEC-approved software for demonstrating performance compliance with the nonresidential provisions of the 2025 Energy Code. The alternative procedure for relocatable public school buildings was approved at the CEC’s July 8, 2026 Business Meeting.
Contact Information
Name
Trevor Thomas
Agency Name
California Energy Commission
Job Title
Standards Tools Technical Specialist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Sacramento
Counties
Sacramento
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
715 P Street
Zip
95814
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Common Sense (Sec. 15061(b)(3))
Reasons for Exemption
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Public Resources Code (PRC) sections 21000 et seq., see also CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, sections 15000 et seq.) requires that state agencies consider the environmental impact of certain discretionary decisions. CEQA allows certain projects to be exempted from its requirements. Of relevance here, and discussed further below, is the common-sense exemption (CCR, Title 14, section 15061(b)(3)). A “project” under CEQA is defined as the “whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment” (CCR, Title 14, section 15378(a)).The CEC’s findings regarding alternative procedures for public school buildings do not constitute a “project” under CEQA since it is not an activity that may cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change to the environment. In its findings approving an alternative procedure for relocatable public school buildings, the CEC does not change the minimum requirements of the 2025 Energy Code. Instead, CEC is approving a voluntary alternative compliance pathway that guarantees, at least, the same action as already required by the regulations. Additionally, the CEC’s proposed action ensures consistency with DSA’s existing Procedure PR 18-02. The CEC’s actions in approving the alternative procedure for relocatable public school buildings on its own do not amount to actions that may cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change to the environment, as provided by the CEQA definition for a “project” (CCR, Title 14, section 15378(a)). Accordingly, the CEC’s actions are not a “project” for purposes of CEQA. Even if considered a project under CEQA, the CEC’s approved findings in accordance with section 10-109(h) are exempt from CEQA under the Common-Sense Exemption. The Common-Sense Exemption states that, “Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA” (CCR, Title 14, section 15061(b)(3)). A “significant effect on the environment” is defined as a “substantial, or a potentially substantial, adverse change” in the environment, and does not include an economic change by itself (Public Resources Code, section 21068; CCR, Title 14, section 15382). The Common-Sense Exemption would apply as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the CEC’s findings regarding the alternative procedure for relocatable public school buildings will have a significant effect on the environment (CCR, Title 14, sections 15061(b)(3) and 15061(a)). As discussed above, the proposal conforms to the existing DSA Procedure PR 18-02 and CEC staff findings confirm that this alternative procedure meets, at a minimum, the requirements in the 2025 Energy Code. It does not require any particular project or design to engage in any activity that was not already evaluated during the 2025 Energy Code rulemaking, which published an initial study and negative declaration for the 2025 Energy Code as a whole. For these reasons, the CEC’s approval of the alternative procedure for relocatable public school buildings is not subject to CEQA under the Common-Sense Exemption, section 15061(b)(3).
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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