BILL ANALYSIS
SB 505
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 505
AUTHOR: Kehoe
AMENDED: April 21, 2009
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 27, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : FIRE HAZARD IMPACTS
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under Protection of Forest, Range and Forage Lands Law,
requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
(SBFFP) to classify lands where the financial
responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires is
primarily a state responsibility (i.e., state
responsibility areas (SRAs)). SRAs include lands covered
by trees producing or capable of producing forest products.
SRAs cannot include federal owned or controlled land, or
land within a city.
2) Under Planning and Zoning Law, requires cities and counties
to adopt a general plan that includes seven mandated
elements (land use, circulation, housing, conservation,
open space, noise, safety), and requires cities and
counties to adopt zoning ordinances regulating, for
example, the use of buildings, structures, and land.
Authority is provided to local governments to regulate
subdivisions under the Subdivision Map Act.
3) Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA):
a) Requires lead agencies with the principal
responsibility for carrying out or approving a proposed
discretionary project to prepare a negative declaration,
mitigated declaration, or environmental impact report
(EIR) for this action, unless the project is exempt from
CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory exemptions, as
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well as categorical exemptions in the CEQA guidelines).
An initial study is prepared to determine whether a
project may have a significant effect on the
environment. The Office of Planning and Research (OPR)
must prepare and develop proposed guidelines to
implement CEQA, and submit them to the Secretary of the
Resources Agency for certification and adoption. OPR
must review the guidelines at least every two years and
recommend changes or amendments to the Secretary for
certification and adoption.
b) Requires lead agencies to consult with responsible
and trustee agencies, and requires a notice of
preparation (NOP) to be submitted to responsible
agencies and trustee agencies, so agencies can identify
environmental information to be included in an EIR. A
notice of completion (NOC) is provided prior to
certification of an EIR, adoption of a negative
declaration, or making a determination that a project is
within the scope of a master EIR.
This bill :
1) Under Planning and Zoning Law:
a) Requires the general plan safety element to consider
the advice of "Fire Hazard Planning" document prepared
by OPR, and subsequent revisions. OPR must update this
document before January 1, 2011.
b) Requires the safety element to include certain
matters (e.g., fire hazard information; goals, policies,
and objectives based on this information for protecting
the community from unreasonable fire risk; set of
feasible implementation measures designed to carry out
the goals, policies, and objectives).
c) Requires the safety element to also be submitted to
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF).
2) Under CEQA:
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a) Requires OPR, at the next CEQA guidelines update on
or after January 1, 2010, to prepare guidelines
recommending changes to the initial study checklist for
the inclusion of questions related to fire hazard
impacts for projects in an SRA or within very high
hazard severity zones. After receipt and review, the
Natural Resources Agency must certify and adopt the
guidelines.
b) Requires a lead agency to consult with CDF and the
SBFFP for a project within a SRA or a very high hazard
severity zone, which can be conducted in the same manner
as for responsible agencies. The lead agency must also
send a NOP and a NOC to CDF and the SBFFP for certain
projects within a SRA or a very high hazard severity
zone.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "In 2005, the
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) reported that there are
31 million acres in [SRAs] and that local land use
decisions are responsible for the increased density of
homes in the wildland-urban interface. According to fire
experts, residential density and human activities in the
wildland-urban interface increase fire risk, with costs
borne at all levels of government. According to an April
2009 Climate Action Team report, global warming is more
severe than scientists previously thought and the number of
wildfires are expected to double over the next several
decades."
The author notes that "It is in the state's best interest to
ensure that cities and counties do all they can to engage
in comprehensive and consistent fire prevention and fire
protection planning as early in the local land use planning
process as possible. Affording [CDF] the same opportunity
to comment under [CEQA] on large projects proposed for SRAs
or high fire hazard severity zones as other state agencies
will assist local jurisdictions in addressing planning
strategies for fire prevention and fire suppression."
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2) Brief background on CEQA . CEQA provides a process for
evaluating the environmental effects of a project, and
includes statutory exemptions, as well as categorical
exemptions in the CEQA guidelines. If a project is not
exempt from CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine
whether a project may have a significant effect on the
environment. If the initial study shows that there would
not be a significant effect on the environment, the lead
agency must prepare a negative declaration. If the initial
study shows that the project may have a significant effect
on the environment, the lead agency must prepare an EIR.
Generally, an EIR must accurately describe the proposed
project, identify and analyze each significant
environmental impact expected to result from the proposed
project, identify mitigation measures to reduce those
impacts to the extent feasible, and evaluate a range of
reasonable alternatives to the proposed project. Prior to
approving any project that has received environmental
review, an agency must make certain findings. If
mitigation measures are required or incorporated into a
project, the agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring
program to ensure compliance with those measures.
If a mitigation measure would cause one or more significant
effects in addition to those that would be caused by the
proposed project, the effects of the mitigation measure
must be discussed but in less detail than the significant
effects of the proposed project.
3) Responding to concerns . Following recent wildfires, there
are concerns over reducing loss of lives and property, high
costs of fire protection, and addressing those losses and
costs through land use planning and CEQA. SB 505 expands
the required contents of safety elements covering SRA lands
and very high fire hazard severity zones; adds CDF to the
list of public agencies reviewing and reporting
recommendations to local governments regarding their draft
or existing safety elements; provides that when entities
must review draft or existing safety elements involving
SRAs and very high hazard severity zones, that the review
be within 60 days; requires OPR to revise the CEQA
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guidelines to change the initial study to address fire
hazard impacts; and provides CEQA notice and consultation
for CDF and SBFFP for certain projects in those areas.
The CEQA notice and consultation requirements under SB 505 for
CDF and SBFFP are similar to notice and consultation
requirements for responsible and trustee agencies - except
that under SB 505, notice and consultation requirements
are: a) only for projects in very limited areas (i.e.,
SRAs and very high fire hazard severity zones); and b) for
very limited types of projects (i.e., development
agreements, tentative and vesting tentative subdivision
maps, and projects of statewide, regional, or areawide
significance).
4) Related legislation . SB 1500 (Kehoe) of 2008 prohibited
counties from approving projects in SRAs until the county
received certification from fire protection agencies that
there is or will be sufficient structural fire protection
for the project. SB 1500 also required consultation and
notices under CEQA in a manner that is similar to SB 505,
except for all projects in those areas. SB 1500 was placed
on the Assembly inactive file. AB 2447 (Jones) of 2008,
which was vetoed, required counties to deny approval of a
tentative or parcel subdivision map in SRAs and very high
fire hazard severity zones, unless certain findings could
be made. AB 666 (Jones) addressed similar issues and was
approved by the Assembly Local Government Committee April
22, 2009 (5-2).
SB 505 differs from last year's bills by not directly
affecting local government authority over land use
decisions in SRAs very high fire hazard severity zones, and
instead revises planning requirements while providing for
notice and early consultation under CEQA.
SOURCE : Senator Kehoe
SUPPORT : California Fire Chiefs Association
California Fire Districts Association of California
California Professional Firefighters
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
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Orange County Professional Firefighters Association IAFF Local
3631
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : American Council of Engineering Companies,
California
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
CalChamber
California Forestry Association
California Major Builders Council
California State Association of Counties
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Resource Landowners Coalition