Chandler City Code 29-7: International Fuel Gas Code Adopted

Section 29-7 opens: "The City Council of Chandler adopts by reference the International Fuel Gas Code, 2024 edition," and brings in the whole model code as if it were printed in the city code. The next sentence says that "code" or "IFGC" means the IFGC "as amended herein," so the city's changes travel with the book.

A third sentence says a reference to another ICC code the city adopted means the city's amended version. So when the fuel gas code points at the building code, it means the building code as amended in Section 29-2.

Then come the two amendments. Section 29-7.1 deletes the IFGC's Chapter 1, Scope and Administration, in its entirety. Section 29-7.2 replaces it with "the Chapter 1 Scope and Administration of the 2024 International Building Code," along with Chandler's amendments to that chapter.

The parts, in order:

• Adoption: the 2024 IFGC is law in Chandler, by reference.
• Cross-references: other adopted ICC codes mean Chandler's amended versions.
• 29-7.1: the model code's own Chapter 1 is gone.
• 29-7.2: the building code's Chapter 1, as amended in 29-2, takes its place.
• History: the section's history line starts with Ord. No. 3409 (1-23-03) and ends with "Ord. No. 5108 , § 3(Exh.), 12-9-24, eff. 7-1-25". Municode's editor's note says the article was formerly Art. XI.

Nothing past Chapter 1. There is no 29-7.3, so every technical chapter of the 2024 IFGC applies as the International Code Council published it. Mesa, by contrast, rewrites its burial depth and pressure test sections. In Chandler, the numbers for a job come from the model text and from the city's gas line permit and pressure test guidance, not from a local amendment.

It also names no appendices, while Mesa and Scottsdale list Appendices A and B. Edition history for every Chandler code is on our Chandler code editions page.

• Adopted by reference: the full published code becomes city law without being reprinted.
• Chapter 1, Scope and Administration: the administrative chapter. Chandler's amendments in 29-2 show what the building code version holds: work exempt from permit (105.2), permit expiration (105.5), the fee schedule (109.2), certificates of occupancy (111) and unsafe structures (116).
• Group R-3: a building code occupancy group. Our reading: it is the group most detached one- and two-family homes fall into. The Chandler sections quoted here do not define it.
• Building Official: the city official who runs Chapter 1. Section 29-2.6 names the Development Services Department as the enforcement agency.
• Special cases: each exemption list ends with "Special cases as allowed by the Building Official for work of a similar nature and complexity as those items listed above."

Chandler adds like-for-like gas replacements to two exemption lists; 29-7.2 is why the first matters for fuel gas work.

The building code list (29-2.11, IBC 105.2, Gas items 3 to 6). Replacement of gas water heating equipment, pool or spa heating equipment, and gas air-conditioning equipment, direct vent equipment, furnaces and log lighters, each where the replacement "is of equal or lesser BTU capacity and is placed in the same location as the existing equipment." Items 3 to 5 are each limited to equipment affixed to or serving a Group R-3 occupancy; item 6 is the special cases catch-all.

The residential code list (29-6.7, IRC R105.2, Gas items 4 to 7). The same four items in the residential code, with the same BTU and same-location conditions and no Group R-3 wording.

Our reading: because 29-7.2 sends the fuel gas code's administration to the building code's Chapter 1, the 29-2.11 list governs gas work under the IFGC, and its R-3 limit leaves other occupancies off Chandler's added items. The numbering starts at item 3 (IBC) and item 4 (IRC), so the model codes have their own gas items ahead of these, which this page does not describe.

It covers fuel gas work inside Chandler city limits, by owners and contractors. The Homeowner Building Permit Manual says a licensed contractor does permitted work "unless the owner-applicant performs the work," and a rental home needs a licensed contractor to obtain the permit. Our who can install a gas line in Arizona answer covers licensing.

This does not apply in unincorporated Maricopa County or in neighboring cities, which adopt their own codes. It also does not cover the gas utility's own meter and service rules.

The furnace swap in Ocotillo. A homeowner's gas furnace fails, and the replacement has the same BTU input and goes in the same closet. Both Chandler lists exempt it.

The designer who works in Mesa and Chandler. Plans drawn for a Mesa project carry Mesa's gas test pressure and burial notes. In Chandler, 29-7 has no technical amendments, so those Mesa notes are not Chandler requirements, and the 2024 IFGC applies as written.

The edge case: the restaurant water heater. A café on Arizona Avenue replaces its gas water heater with the same BTU model in the same spot. At a house, that swap is exempt. Here the answer flips. The building code list is written for Group R-3, so by our reading the café's swap is not covered by Chandler's like-for-like items. Ask the Plan Reviewer of the Day before treating it as exempt.

1. 1Cite the code correctly on plans: the 2024 IFGC as amended by Chandler City Code 29-7, with administration under the 2024 IBC Chapter 1 as amended by 29-2.
2. 2Check whether your job is on the 29-2.11 or 29-6.7 exemption list, including the BTU and same-location conditions and, for 29-2.11, the Group R-3 limit.
3. 3If you are unsure, the manual points to the Plan Reviewer of the Day at 480-782-3078 or prod@chandleraz.gov.
4. 4Apply through the CLICS portal (developmentpermits.chandleraz.gov/clics) or at the Development Services counter, 215 East Buffalo Street, 480-782-3000.
5. 5Book inspections at least one business day ahead, by CLICS or by phone at (480) 782-3100.

HQ's licensed and insured plumbers do gas line work in Chandler; our gas line cost guide covers what drives the price.

• Myth: Chandler has its own gas code changes, like Mesa. It does not. Section 29-7 amends Chapter 1 and nothing else.
• Myth: The IFGC's Chapter 1 sets Chandler's gas permit rules. Section 29-7.1 deletes that chapter; the building code's Chapter 1 applies instead.
• Myth: Any same-size gas appliance swap is exempt. The building code's like-for-like items (29-2.11, items 3 to 5) cover Group R-3 only, and each requires equal or lesser BTU capacity in the same location.
• Myth: A gas code violation is just a fine. Unless another law or ordinance says otherwise, 29-11 makes a conviction for violating a code adopted by reference in Chapter 29 a Class 1 misdemeanor, and each day a continuing violation goes on is a separate offense.

Under 29-11, a Class 1 misdemeanor carries a fine of up to $2,500.00, up to six months in jail, up to three years of probation, or any combination. The Homeowner Building Permit Manual adds that "Permit fees are doubled for building without a permit."

This page explains Chandler City Code 29-7 as checked on the date above; the adopted code text governs any specific job.