Title 24 Reports in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is climate zone 6 across the city. On many projects here the deciding step comes before the energy model: in El Pueblo Viejo, a window has to satisfy the Historic Landmarks Commission before anyone can model it.
- Choose your report
- Upload your plans
- Pay securely
- Permit-ready report by email
The window is approved twice
Every property in the El Pueblo Viejo Landmark District falls under the Historic Landmarks Commission for alterations and new construction. Under the Commission's guidelines, a window change can be approved by staff only where the frames suit the building's style and the windows of an addition match the predominant windows already there. Vinyl, or aluminum frames where the property never had them, is never eligible for staff approval and goes to the Commission itself.
That sequence matters for Title 24. The energy report models each window's rated U-factor and solar heat gain coefficient, so a frame or glass that changes in design review changes the result. Modelling the window the Commission is likely to accept is quicker than modelling the one first drawn and then running the numbers again when it is swapped.
The coastal half-mile
The City's Coastal Zone generally reaches about half a mile inland along some six miles of shoreline, and takes in much of the Airport. The Coastal Commission certified the City's updated Coastal Land Use Plan in August 2019, and a project inside the zone is handled in one of three ways: exempt, excluded, or through a Coastal Development Permit.
The foothills have their own map
Uphill, the City maps a High Fire Hazard Area of its own through its Community Wildfire Protection Plan, in four zones: Coastal, Coastal Interior, Foothill and Extreme Foothill, with the two foothill zones rated highest. The City's fire code ties its wildland-urban interface to that same area. Ignition-resistant construction there reaches exterior glazing and vents, and for applications from 2026 those provisions sit in the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, Title 24 Part 7, which replaced Chapter 7A of the Building Code. A window chosen to meet those rules is the window the energy report has to describe.
Digital only, and a cut-off date
The City has moved to all-digital applications and plan review and no longer accepts paper plan sets. Every building permit application goes through Accela Citizen Access, the City's online portal. Before the 2025 codes arrived, the City set 17 December 2025 as the last day to submit under the 2022 codes, so a project filed by then can still be in review on the old Energy Code while anything filed since is checked against the 2025 code.
South coast and Santa Ynez Valley
The south coast is one zone from end to end: Carpinteria, Montecito and Goleta are zone 6 with the city. Over the Santa Ynez range Buellton, Solvang and Lompoc are zone 5, so a design first permitted in the valley is rerun before it is built in town.
Common Title 24 Questions in Santa Barbara
- Do replacement windows in Santa Barbara need Title 24?
- Do Santa Barbara room additions require Title 24?
- Is Solvang in the same climate zone as Santa Barbara?
- Does a Santa Barbara ADU need an energy report?
- Does the city or Santa Barbara County issue my permit?
- What happens if Santa Barbara plan check requests Title 24 corrections?
- Do Santa Barbara office tenant improvements need Title 24?
Santa Barbara projects fall in California climate zone 6. The zone drives the envelope and equipment requirements a report has to meet, and a single city can span more than one, so it is confirmed per address.