BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    





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          GOVERNOR'S VETO
          AB 2447 (Jones)
          As Amended  August 20, 2008
          2/3 vote

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          |ASSEMBLY:  |43-34|(May 29, 2008)  |SENATE: |21-17|(August 22,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2008)          |
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |42-31|(August 30,     |        |     |               |
          |           |     |2008)           |        |     |               |
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           Original Committee Reference:    L. GOV.  

           SUMMARY  :  Requires a county to deny approval of a tentative map  
          or parcel map if the proposed map will cause increased  
          development in a state responsibility area (SRA) or a very high  
          fire hazard severity zone as designated by the Department of  
          Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), with specified  
          exceptions.

           The Senate amendments  :

           1) Require a county to make a finding supported by substantial  
             evidence in the record that the design and location of each  
             lot in the subdivision and subdivision as a whole would allow  
             improvements to be made consistent with any regulations  
             promulgated by the Board of Forestry (Board) or adopted by  
             the county and certified by the Board.

           2) Require a county to makes a finding based on substantial  
             evidence in the record that sufficient structural fire  
             protection and suppression services will be available for the  
             subdivision through any of the following entities:

             a)   A county, city, special district, or political  
               subdivision of the state; or, 










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             b)   CAL FIRE.

           3) Require a county to notify each applicable fire protection  
             agency and the department of any application for a  
             subdivision and solicit their comments on the sufficiency of  
             fire protection services for the proposed subdivision.

           4) Allow a county to approve a subdivision that would create 30  
             or fewer lots with a single access road if it makes a finding  
             supported by substantial evidence in the record that it is  
             not feasible to have a secondary access road due to  
             topographic features or land ownership patterns and that  
             redesign of the subdivision, including reduction in the  
             number of proposed lots or reconfiguration of roads and lots  
             in order to provide at least a secondary emergency access  
             road is not possible.

           5) Provide that, if the Board adopts a regulation that would  
             allow specific exceptions to the requirement of a minimum of  
             two access roads into and out of a subdivision, a county may  
             allow an exception to this requirement only if it is found  
             that the exception is in conformance with the Board's adopted  
             regulation.

           6) Authorize CAL FIRE to charge a fee to a subdivider for each  
             verification of sufficient fire protection it completes,  
             require CAL FIRE to deposit this fee revenue in a newly  
             created Project Review Special Fund, and authorize CAL FIRE  
             to expend these revenues, upon legislative appropriation, to  
             complete the verifications required by this bill. 

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires, pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act (Map Act), the  
            legislative body of a city or county to deny approval of a  
            tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was  
            not required, if it makes certain findings.

          2)Requires the director of CAL FIRE to identify areas in the  
            state as very high fire hazard severity zones based on  










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            consistent statewide criteria and the severity of fire hazard  
            that is expected to prevail in those areas as determined by  
            fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and other relevant factors.

          3)Defines SRAs as areas of the state in which the financial  
            responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires has been  
            determined by the Board of Forestry to be primarily the  
            responsibility of the state.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill:

          1)Required a county to deny approval of a tentative map or  
            parcel map if the proposed map is in an SRA or a very high  
            fire hazard severity zone as designated by CAL FIRE.

          2)Permitted a county to approve the tentative or parcel map if  
            the county does all of the following:

             a)   Makes a finding supported by substantial evidence that  
               the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and  
               subdivision as a whole would allow improvements, such as  
               roads, turnarounds, defensible space, and emergency water  
               systems, to be made consistent with any regulations  
               promulgated by the Board of Forestry;

             b)   Obtains certification from the appropriate fire  
               protection agencies that there is or will be sufficient  
               structural fire protection for the lots created by the  
               subdivision provided by either of the following:

                i)      A county, city, special district, or political  
                  subdivision of the state; or,

                ii)     Through a contract with CAL FIRE.

             c)   Makes a finding that there is adequate ingress and  
               egress for the lots created by the subdivision, including a  
               minimum of two access roads into and out of the subdivision  
               for emergency equipment and evacuations.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  The Senate Appropriations Committee reports that  










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          the Board of Forestry estimates that the promulgation of the  
          regulations called for in this bill would require up to one  
          personnel year (PY) of staff time at a cost of $25,000 to  
          $100,000, with ongoing annual review of local safety regulations  
          costs of approximately $50,000.  The Senate Appropriations  
          Committee staff estimates that the cost to CAL FIRE for review  
          of proposed development projects, researching maps, and  
          determining whether there is adequate fire protection to support  
          additional development would likely be approximately $200,000  
          annually.  

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, over the last few decades  
          counties have approved new subdivisions in rural areas that are  
          subject to a high risk of fire danger at a rapid pace due to  
          California's population growth and growing demand for homes away  
          from urban areas.  According to a USA Today analysis, building  
          in fire prone areas in California has been running at twice the  
          state average.  At the same time, CAL FIRE keeps expanding the  
          area it considers dangerously fire-prone.  From 2000-2005, land  
          designated as SRAs increased by 284,812 acres due to more  
          accurate assessments by CAL FIRE and the Board of Forestry.   
          Accelerated climate change is exacerbating the problem.  There  
          is near consensus among fire scientists and climatologists that  
          fires will be more intense and more frequent due to global  
          warming.

          While the author believes that significant progress has been  
          made in the areas of stricter building standards and  
          requirements for defensible space for homes already approved for  
          fire-prone areas, he also believes that more emphasis should be  
          put on whether the homes should be approved in the first place,  
          and what a county that wishes to approve such a development  
          should have to demonstrate in order to proceed.

          This bill takes an approach to approving development pursuant to  
          the Map Act in areas of high fire risk somewhat similar to that  
          taken by SB 221 (Kuehl), Chapter 642, Statutes of 
          2001, which requires proof of adequate water supply prior to map  
          approval, and by SB 5 (Machado), Chapter 364, Statutes of 2007,  
          which prohibits map approval for specified flood-prone areas  
          unless the city or county makes findings concerning the adequacy  










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          of flood protection for the area.  This bill prohibits a county  
          from approving a tentative map or parcel map if the proposed map  
          is in an SRA or a very high fire hazard severity zone as  
          designated by CAL FIRE unless the county can make findings that  
          the proposed development is located and designed in a way that  
          conforms with state fire prevention regulations, that sufficient  
          structural fire protection will be available, either from a  
          local agency or from CAL FIRE through contracting, and that  
          residents and firefighters will be able to get in and out from  
          more than one direction in the event of a fire, with specified  
          exceptions.

          One significant difference between this bill and the SB 221/SB 5  
          model is that, while the latter places the responsibility for  
          determining the adequacy of water supply or flood protection on  
          the agencies that actually provide those services, this bill, as  
          amended in the Senate on August 20, 2008, places that  
          responsibility on the county, whether or not the county is the  
          actual provider of fire protection services.

           GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE  :

               Although this bill has some meritorious components, it  
               creates a new program that would potentially mandate  
               the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL  
               FIRE) to be directly involved with costly and  
               time-consuming project-by-project verification for  
               subdivisions located in StateResponsibility Areas  
               (SRAs) throughout the state.  CAL FIRE should not be  
               in the position of having to act as a local land use  
               agency.  Rather, that responsibility rests with  
               California local governments and elected officials.
           
               Additionally, this bill places CAL FIRE in the  
               unenviable position of having to make written  
               verifications as to whether or not a subdivision has  
               "sufficient structural fire protection."  Because the  
               bill does not define this term, competing  
               interpretations between local government, their local  
               fire services, and the State would certainly ensue.
           










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               CAL FIRE's role, put simply, is to protect life,  
               property and watersheds from the threat of fire in our  
               state.  This responsibility requires them to work  
               cooperatively with local governments and their local  
               fire services.  I cannot compromise those important  
               relationships by placing CAL FIRE in the inappropriate  
               role of arbiter between local governments and their  
               local fire services as to whether the prescribed fire  
               protection standard is being met.
           
               Nonetheless, the need for comprehensive fire safety  
               protection within our state is vitally important.  I  
               look forward to working with the Legislature in the  
               next session to pursue solutions that increase fire  
               protection for Californians in ways that do not  
               inappropriately combine or confuse the legitimate  
               roles and responsibilities of the state and local  
               governments.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    J. Stacey Sullivan / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958


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