BILL ANALYSIS
AB 666
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 666 (Jones)
As Amended September 1, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |57-19|(June 3, 2009) |SENATE: |24-12|(September 4, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Requires the legislative body of a county to make
three specified findings before approving a tentative map or a
parcel map for an area located in a state responsibility area
(SRA) or a very high fire hazard severity zone as designated by
the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL
FIRE).
The Senate amendments specify that the provision of this measure
shall not supersede regulations established by CAL FIRE or local
ordinances that provide equivalent or more stringent minimum
requirements than those contained within this measure.
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 (Director) to identify areas
in the state as very high fire hazard severity zones based on
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 (Board) to be primarily
the responsibility of the state.
4)Requires the Board to identify as SRAs all lands where the
state has the primary financial responsibility for preventing
and suppressing fires.
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5)Requires the Board to map SRAs and provide this map to county
assessors and update this map every five years.
6)Excludes from SRAs, federal lands and lands within the
exterior boundaries of any city, except a city and county with
a population of less than 25,000 if, at the time the city and
county government is established, the county contains no
municipal corporations.
7)Requires CAL FIRE, within SRAs, to provide wildland fire
prevention and firefighting personnel and equipment, and may
provide rescue, first aid, and other emergency services
if the activity does not require additional funds.
8)Requires the Director to classify and update or reclassify, if
necessary, SRAs into fire hazard severity zones for the
purposes of fire prevention and suppression.
9)Requires local governments to adopt a general plan that
includes, among other things, a safety element; and, requires
a local government with SRAs or a very high fire hazard
severity zone to submit a draft safety element to the Board
for its review and comment prior to its adoption or amendment.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Stated that before approving a tentative map, or a parcel map
for which a tentative map was not required, for an area
located in an SRA or a very high fire hazard severity zone, as
designated by CAL FIRE, the legislative body of a county shall
make the following three findings:
a) 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;
b) A finding based on substantial evidence in the record
that sufficient structural fire protection and suppression
services will be available for the subdivision through:
i) a county, city, special district, or political
subdivision of the state or another entity organized
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solely to provide fire protection services that is
monitored and funded by a county or other public entity;
or,
ii) CAL FIRE; and,
c) A finding that ingress and egress for the subdivision
meets the regulations adopted for road standards for fire
equipment access.
2)Required, prior to January 1, 2011, the Board to open a
rulemaking process to consider adopting regulations requiring
a minimum of two separate access roads for a subdivision
located in an SRA or very high fire hazard severity zone.
3)Specified that if the Board adopts a rule to require two
separate access roads, the rule shall be based on among other
things, the geographical and topographical situation of a
subdivision, the feasibility of requiring two separate access
roads, ownership patterns, the ability of future phases to
provide access, and the predominant known wind patterns.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, there are:
1)Minor costs of less than $125,000 to CAL FIRE to consider
adoption of regulation as described in this bill.
2)Nonreimbursable costs of an unknown amount to local
government.
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. 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.
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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
of flood protection for the area. This bill requires that
before a county approves 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, the county must 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 and
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
places that responsibility on the county, whether or not the
county is the actual provider of fire protection services. The
Legislature may wish to consider if it would be appropriate for
the county to consult with the designated fire suppression and
protection agency that will be serving a subdivision prior to
making a determination that adequate coverage would be available
or not.
This measure is substantially similar to AB 2447 (Jones) of
2008, which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. However, the
veto message references components of previous versions of
AB 2447, not the final version that was passed by the
Legislature.
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Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN:
0002688