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Home My WebLink About2024-11-14; Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps (Districts - All); Davidson, DarcyTo the members of the: CITYC~UNCI ✓ Date I 1)14)2f A cc-_ CM~-DCM (3) / Council Memorandum November 14, 2024 To: From: Via: Re: Honorable Mayor Blackburn and Members of the City Council Darcy Davidson, Assistant Fire Marshal Nick Ordille, Acting Fire Chief Geoff Patnoe, Acting City Manager @ Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps (Districts -All) {city of Carlsbad Memo ID# 2024081 This memorandum provides information related to the adoption and implementation of the State of California's Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) Maps and the implications these maps have on the city's fire, building, and land use requirements. The state is in the early stages of releasing these maps and additional information will be provided as staff learns more. Background The "Bates Bill" (AB 337) was passed by the state legislature in 1992 in response to the devastating 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, which burned over 1,500 acres of land, destroyed close to 3,000 homes and killed 25 people in the northern hillsides of Oakland. It short, the bill required CAL FIRE to evaluate fire hazards in local areas and recommend actions to local jurisdictions based on the severity of the fire hazard. CAL FIRE uses predictive modeling to develop a series of maps that reflect different "fire hazard severity zones," based on inputs such as fire history, vegetation cover, proximity to wild land, predicted flame length, blowing embers, terrain, and typical fire weather for the area. Based on these inputs, the model identifies areas (zones) considered to be "moderate, high or very-high" fire hazard. Structures will need to meet specific requirements for building development depending on the zone they are in. Developers building in a very high fire hazard zone, for example, must build to a more ignition resistive construction standard and have greater setback distances from adjacent vegetation than, say, the same project being built in a moderate fire hazard zone. The requirements are also different for zones depending on whether they have been identified as a State Responsibility Area (SRA) or a Local Responsibility Area (LRA), which designate which government entity is responsible for wildfire suppression. The severity maps that currently apply to Carlsbad are the LRA maps, which were last released and adopted by the city in 2007-2008. Under state law, the State Fire Marshal (SFM) should update these maps every five years, but for undisclosed reasons, the SFM had not provided updated maps until now. Council Memo -Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps (Districts -All) November 14, 2024 Page 2 Discussion/ Analysis According to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Local Responsibility Areas (LRA) maps will be released to the public in January 2025. Once they are released, the city must make the maps available for public review and comment. Within 120 days of transmittal, the city must designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction. Local jurisdictions may amend fire severity maps to increase the level of fire hazard severity zone identified by the State Fire Marshal, but may not decrease it. Unlike prior map updates, local jurisdictions will not be given the authority to revise or amend the fire severity maps to account for local conditions, something that local fire authorities have been able to do in the past. In other words, cities are no longer able to amend fire severity maps if the amendments result in a reduction in what the state has mapped for fire severity in an area. Cities are only allowed to increase the fire severity on property. Furthermore, it is a requirement that the highest level of fire hazard severity apply to the entire property, even if only a portion of the property falls within the higher fire hazard zone. This is a departure from past practice where parcels could have two different fire severity zones (i.e., unmapped and high) and development would be placed in that fire zone with the lower severity (unmapped) and avoid the area with higher severity (high). As such, once the LRA maps are released, cities will need to revise their respective maps to eliminate situations where split fire zones occur, so the highest mapped fire severity zone applies to the entire parcel. Cities have not been given the opportunity to view or comment on the draft LRA maps, so it is unknown how the changes to the maps are going to affect Carlsbad. However, staff anticipate a significant amount of the city will be mapped as high and very high fire hazard, which could significantly impact new, as well as existing, development, as summarized below: • Previously, only the very high zone was mapped in the LRA. The mapping of the high zone will have immediate impacts on the application of building codes and standards for new construction within this zone. There are currently not any requirements for the moderate zone, but this could change within the next couple of years with new legislation that is under development. • Mandatory 100-foot of defensible space (buffer between a structure and the surrounding area designed to prevent spread of fire) required around all new structures within the very high fire hazard zone (the city currently allows for a reduced fire buffer of 60-feet in this zone). • Exterior wildfire construction standards will apply to more properties and will apply to properties located in high and very high fire hazard zones (construction standards currently only apply to properties located in very high fire hazard zone). • Real estate hazard disclosures will be required for buildings in the high and very high fire hazard zones (currently, only properties in the very high zones are required to comply). Council Memo -Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps (Districts -All) November 14, 2024 Page 3 • Zone Zero, Government Code 51182, requires an ember-resistant zone within five feet of structures located in the very high fire severity zone. Essentially, no combustible materials will be allowed within the five-foot zone (e.g., vegetation, wood fences, combustible storage). The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection is currently developing this regulation to determine the specific criteria for what will be allowed in this zone. • SB 504 (2024) amended Government Code 51182 to specify that the Zone Zero will take effect for new structures once the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection updates the regulations and provides a guidance document. The bill also provides that Zone Zero will take effect for existing structures three years after the effective date for new structures. Next Steps Regarding the updated fire severity maps, based upon the latest information from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the state will release the updated maps sometime during the week of January 13, 2025. Local fire authorities will be given access to a portal where the maps can be accessed and downloaded. Within 30 days following the release of the maps to the local fire authorities, the maps will be available for public review and comment. Staff are being informed that while the public is being offered the opportunity to engage in this effort, no revisions to the maps will be made. Within 120 days following the release of the maps to the fire authorities, cities must adopt the state fire severity maps with any local amendments (per the limitations described in the section above) via an ordinance. Within 30 days following the city's adoption, the copy of the ordinance and maps must be transmitted to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for certification. Regarding Zone Zero, staff is being advised that the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection is currently working on developing the regulation criterion, however an exact draft regulation date is unknown. Furthermore, the actual implications and impacts resulting from these mapping changes will not be known until the state releases the updated fire severity maps. Once released, staff will provide City Council with an update. cc: Scott Chadwick, City Manager Cindie McMahon, City Attorney Christie Calderwood, Police Chief Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Public Works Jeff Murphy, Community Development Director Mike Strong, Assistant Director of Community Development Council Memo -Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps (Districts -All) November 14, 2024 Page 4 Shawn Huff, Building Official Eric Lardy, City Planner Jennifer True, Assistant City Attorney