BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 505|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 505
Author: Kehoe (D), et al
Amended: 7/13/09
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 3-2, 4/15/09
AYES: Wiggins, Kehoe, Wolk
NOES: Cox, Aanestad
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/27/09
AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Runner, Ashburn
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-5, 5/28/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE FLOOR : 24-15, 6/3/09
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley,
Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Cox, Denham,
Dutton, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Maldonado, Runner,
Strickland, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 55-18, 9/1/09 - See last page for vote
CONTINUED
SB 505
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SUBJECT : Local planning: fire hazard impacts
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the required contents of
safety elements that cover state responsibility area lands
and very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified.
Assembly Amendments clarify that the comprehensive goals,
policies and objectives for the protection of the community
include avoiding or minimizing wildfire hazards associated
with new development, such as building materials that are
not fire resistant, flammable vegetation, insufficient
defensible space or fuel breaks, and lack of appropriate
emergency road access, and include construction designs or
methods to minimize the potential for ignition or spread of
a structure fire to wildlands.
ANALYSIS :
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):
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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 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. Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
to update its "Fire Hazard Planning" document on or
before January 1, 2011.
2. Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
to recommend changes to the "CEQA Guidelines" to the
Natural Resources Agency to include fire hazard impacts
on the initial study checklist.
3. Expands, the required contents of safety elements that
cover SRA lands and very high fire hazard severity zones
to include:
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A. Information about fire hazards, including fire
hazard severity zone maps, historical data on
wildfires, information about wildfire hazard areas
available from the U.S. Geological Survey, the
general location and distribution of existing and
planned development, and public fire protection
agencies.
B. Based on that information, a set of
comprehensive goals, policies, and objectives,
including avoiding or minimizing wildfire risks to
new development, identifying construction design or
methods to minimize the potential for ignition or
spread of a structure fire to wildlands or
surrounding areas if new development is located in
SRA lands, supporting appropriate methods to reduce
risks, locating new essential public facilities
outside SRA land and very high fire hazard severity
zones, and working cooperatively with public fire
protection agencies.
C. To carry out those goals, policies, and
objectives, a set of feasible implementation
measures.
4. Requires cities and counties to include these changes in
their safety elements the next time that they revise
their housing elements, on or after January 1, 2010, but
not later than January 1, 2015. In making these
changes, this bill requires cities and counties to
consider the advice in "Fire Hazard Planning," published
by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research.
Comments
According to the author's office, "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
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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's office 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.
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. This bill expands the required contents
of safety elements covering SRA lands and very high fire
hazard severity zones and also requires OPR to revise the
CEQA guidelines to change the initial study to address fire
hazard impacts.
Prior/Related legislation
AB 666 (Jones) addressed similar issues and was approved by
the Assembly Local Government Committee April 22, 2009
(5-2).
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 this bill, 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the State Appropriations Committee:
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
Office of Planning and $20 General
Research guideline
development
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/2/09)
American Planning Association, California Chapter
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Fire Districts Association of California
California Native Plant Society
California Professional Firefighters
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
Orange County Professional Firefighters Association IAFF
Local 3631
Sierra Club California
California State Firefighters Association
League of Cities
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/2/09)
California State Association of Counties
Regional Council of Rural Counties
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Brownley, Caballero, Carter, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore,
Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Monning, Nava, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Villines,
Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, DeVore, Duvall,
Fuller, Gaines, Hagman, Harkey, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Audra Strickland, Tran
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Buchanan, Charles
Calderon, Chesbro, Conway, Garrick, Vacancy
AGB:do 9/2/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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