Indio adopts new building codes amid council concerns over housing affordability, adds crucial air conditioning requirement

The Indio City Council unanimously adopted updated building standards on Nov. 5, including expanded solar and energy efficiency requirements that some councilmembers warned could further strain housing affordability in the growing desert city.

The council voted 5-0 to adopt the 2025 California Building Standards Code, which automatically becomes effective statewide on Jan. 1, 2026. Cities must adopt the standards by that date or lose the ability to enforce local amendments tailored to regional conditions.

The updated codes include significant expansions to energy efficiency requirements, including solar installations on all new homes, battery storage rules for commercial buildings, and heat pump requirements for water heaters and pool equipment.

“This doesn’t mean that if your existing water heater goes out, you can’t replace it,” Luis Uribe, a plans examiner for the city, explained. “You can replace it. It’s just requiring it to also be electric ready.”

“The benefit I see in this is if you buy a house now and 10 years from now, these water heaters aren’t available, you don’t have to do a complete retrofit of your home,” Uribe went on to say. “So it’s hundreds of dollars versus thousands of dollars, right?”

Councilmembers expressed frustration with state mandates they said would drive up construction costs in a city already struggling with housing affordability.

“I see the purpose,” Councilmember Waymond Fermon said. “I just think, with our affordability issues that we have in housing…that [the new requirements] might make it go a little higher.”

“This just takes it into the stratosphere,” added Mayor Pro Tem Elaine Holmes.

Mayor Glenn Miller also raised issues with the solar requirements, and said he knows people who have installed solar but run into problems with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID).

“The last three people I know that put [solar] in, the IID refused to install it,” Miller said. He said the reason might be that IID won’t connect unless the home has its own battery.

Indio City Manager Bryan Montgomery said he would contact IID for an explanation of how it connects homes with solar to the grid.

Under state law, homes aren’t required to have battery storage, but under the new rules, new commercial buildings will now require a battery.

“There are exceptions to these codes, we just have to see which ones apply for the specific use of the building,” Uribe said.

One significant local amendment the council adopted requires all new residential homes to have air conditioning installed at the time of construction, and mandates that existing systems be maintained in rental properties. 

“The state code currently only requires a heating source, but not a cooling source,” Uribe said. “The lack of cooling spaces poses a serious health [threat] especially for our seniors, children, and vulnerable residents.”

Council Member Oscar Ortiz thanked staff for the air conditioning ordinance, saying it would be “extremely helpful for enforcement out there and making sure that our families are safe.”

The air conditioning requirement was developed by city staff during internal meetings after observing that other Coachella Valley cities, including Palm Springs, have adopted similar standards. 

“There are times where a landlord will say, ‘[The air conditioning] went out? I’m not replacing it,’” Montgomery said. “So we’re stepping up and making sure that tenants…have the appropriate air conditioning.”

The ordinance was introduced for first reading and will return to the consent calendar at the next regular meeting for final adoption.

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