BILL ANALYSIS AB 2447 Page 1 GOVERNOR'S VETO AB 2447 (Jones) As Amended August 20, 2008 2/3 vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |43-34|(May 29, 2008) |SENATE: |21-17|(August 22, | | | | | | |2008) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |42-31|(August 30, | | | | | | |2008) | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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, AB 2447 Page 2 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 AB 2447 Page 3 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 AB 2447 Page 4 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 AB 2447 Page 5 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. AB 2447 Page 6 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 FN: 0007897