LawWiki
HomeCodesSearchGlossaryAPIAbout
LawWiki

Plain English summaries of California law with zero-hallucination AI. Every summary is verified against official source text.

Product

  • Search
  • Codes
  • About

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer

© 2026 LawWiki. All rights reserved.

HomeGovernment CodeDiv. 2Pt. 1Ch. 1Art. 5§ 53091 Local Agency Building Compliance

§ 53091 Local Agency Building Compliance

Government Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 53091 Local Agency Building Compliance

Key Takeaways

  • •Local agencies (like schools or city offices) must follow the building and zoning rules of the city or county they're in.
  • •If a school wants money from the state to build something, the city or county must check if the site is safe, big enough, and good for future use.
  • •Local agencies must pay fees for building permits, but they can't be charged more than regular people or businesses.
  • •Some special buildings, like water or power plants, don’t have to follow the usual building or zoning rules.

Example

A school district wants to build a new school and asks the state for money to help pay for it.

The city must check if the land is safe, big enough for the kids, and good for the neighborhood. If the school follows all the rules, the city approves it, and the state helps pay. But if the school doesn’t follow the rules, they might not get the money.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 53091 Local Agency Building Compliance

(a) Each local agency shall comply with all applicable building ordinances and zoning ordinances of the county or city in which the territory of the local agency is situated. (b) On projects for which state school building aid is requested by a local agency for construction of school facilities, the county or city planning commission in which the local agency is located shall consider in its review for approval information relating to attendance area enrollment, adequacy of the site upon which the construction is proposed, safety features of the site and proposed construction, and present and future land utilization, and report thereon to the State Allocation Board. If the local agency is situated in more than one city or county or partly in a city and partly in a county, the local agency shall comply with the ordinances of each county or city with respect to the territory of the local agency that is situated in the particular county or city, and the ordinances of a county or city shall not be applied to any portion of the territory of the local agency that is situated outside the boundaries of the county or city. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, this section does not require a school district or the state when acting under the State Contract Act (Article 1 (commencing with Section 10100) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code) to comply with the building ordinances of a county or city. (c) Each local agency required to comply with building ordinances and zoning ordinances pursuant to this section and each school district whose school buildings are inspected by a county or city pursuant to Section 53092 shall be subject to the applicable ordinances of a county or city requiring the payment of fees, but the amount of those fees charged to a local agency or school district shall not exceed the amount charged under the ordinance to nongovernmental agencies for the same services or permits. (d) Building ordinances of a county or city shall not apply to the location or construction of facilities for the production, generation, storage, treatment, or transmission of water, wastewater, or electrical energy by a local agency. (e) Zoning ordinances of a county or city shall not apply to the location or construction of facilities for the production, generation, storage, treatment, or transmission of water, or for the production or generation of electrical energy, facilities that are subject to Section 12808.5 of the Public Utilities Code, or electrical substations in an electrical transmission system that receives electricity at less than 100,000 volts. Zoning ordinances of a county or city shall apply to the location or construction of facilities for the storage or transmission of electrical energy by a local agency, if the zoning ordinances make provision for those facilities. (Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 267, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

enrollmentordinanceconstructioncommissioncontractschoolportstudent

Related Statutes

  • § 53097 School District Ordinance Compliance
  • § 12087 Community Action Agency Recognition
  • § 14070.4 Interagency Rail Transfer Funding
  • § 14070.6 Intercity Rail Service Contracts
  • § 24004.3 Sheriff Candidate Qualifications

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 53091.
View Official Source