Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Construction of a very simple and thin wall closing Garage.

There is an existing wall separating a small back area of the garage from the rest of the garage. In this area there is a gas water heater. This wall is built very simple with wooden planks on one side only of a very simple 2 x 4 frame. There is a space of aprox. 1 ft between the ceiling of the garage and the top of this wall. The wall goes from wall to wall perpendicular to the length of the garage and has a door to it. It is attached to the Ceiling of the garage by four pieces of wood which are nailed and only serve the purpose of keeping this wall from falling. This is by no means a bearing wall nor is it a solid construction at all.

The back wall of the garage has an opening as big as the garage door and it has no doors to it. I would like to remove half of the existing wooden wall and use it to close this opening. I would probably close the opening with a more solid construction, but still a simple wooden wall, and paint the exterior of it. My concern is that it might not be legal to close this back opening, and that the existing separating wall might have been built that way to allow for plenty of air circulation. There is both a gas water heater and a gas air heating system in the garage. Can I do it?

Thanks

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