BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1241
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          Date of Hearing:  June 13, 2012

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                                Cameron Smyth, Chair
                     SB 1241 (Kehoe) - As Amended:  June 7, 2012

           SENATE VOTE  :  29-9
           
          SUBJECT  :  Land use: general plan: safety element: fire hazard 
          impacts.

           SUMMARY  :  Requires cities and counties to address fire risk for 
          state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity 
          zones in general plan updates and subdivision approvals, and 
          requires the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to update the 
          California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines and the 
          General Plan Guidelines, as specified.  Specifically, 
           this bill  :   

          1)Requires OPR, when it adopts its next edition of the General 
            Plan Guidelines pursuant to existing law, to include specified 
            provisions or a reference to provisions mandating the update 
            of the safety element, and any other materials related to fire 
            hazards or fire safety it deems appropriate.

          2)Requires cities and counties, upon the next revision of the 
            housing element on or after January 1, 2013, to review and 
            update the safety element as necessary to address the risk of 
            fire for land classified as state responsibility areas (SRAs), 
            and land classified as very high fire hazard severity zones; 
            requires the review to consider the advice included in OPR's 
            most recent publication of "Fire Hazard Planning, General 
            Technical Advice Series;" and, requires the review to also 
            include all of the following:

             a)   Information regarding fire hazards, including, but not 
               limited to, all of the following:

               i)     Fire hazard severity zone maps available from the 
                 Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE);

               ii)    Any historical data on wildfires available from 
                 local agencies or a reference to where the data can be 
                 found;









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               iii)   Information about wildfire hazard areas that may be 
                 available from the United States Geological Survey;

               iv)    General location and distribution of existing and 
                 planned uses of land in very high fire hazard severity 
                 zones and in SRAs, including the structures, roads, 
                 utilities, and essential public facilities.  The location 
                 and distribution of planned uses of land shall not 
                 require defensible space compliance measures required by 
                 state law or local ordinance to occur on publicly owned 
                 lands or open space designations of homeowner 
                 associations; and,

               v)     Local, state, and federal agencies with 
                 responsibility for fire protection, including special 
                 districts and local offices of emergency services.

             b)   A set of goals, policies and objectives based on the 
               information identified above in 2a) for the protection of 
               the community from unreasonable risk of wildfire;

             c)   A set of feasible implementation measures designed to 
               carry out the goals, policies, and objectives based on the 
               information identified pursuant to 2b) including, but not 
               limited to, all of the following:

               i)     Avoiding or minimizing the wildfire hazards 
                 associated with new uses of land;

               ii)    Locating, when feasible, new essential public 
                 facilities outside of high fire risk areas, including, 
                 but not limited to, hospitals and health care facilities, 
                 emergency shelters, emergency command centers, and 
                 emergency communications facilities, or identifying 
                 construction methods or other methods to minimize damage 
                 if these facilities are located in an SRA or very high 
                 fire hazard severity zone;

               iii)   Designing adequate infrastructure if a new 
                 development is located in an SRA or in a very high fire 
                 hazard severity zone, including safe access for emergency 
                 response vehicles, visible street signs, and water 
                 supplies for structural fire suppression; and,

               iv)    Working cooperatively with public agencies with 








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                 responsibility for fire protection.

             d)   If a city or county has adopted a fire safety plan or 
               document separate from the general plan, an attachment of, 
               or reference to, a city or county's adopted fire safety 
               plan or document that fulfills commensurate goals and 
               objectives and contains information required pursuant to 
               the bill's provisions.

          3)Requires the legislative body of a county to make the 
            following three findings before approving a tentative map, or 
            a parcel map for which a tentative map is not required, for an 
            area located in an SRA or a very high fire hazard severity 
            zone:

             a)   A finding supported by substantial evidence in the 
               record that the design and location 
             of each lot in the subdivision, and the subdivision as a 
               whole, are consistent with any applicable regulations 
               adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection 
               pursuant to existing law;

             b)   A finding supported by substantial evidence in the 
               record that structural fire protection and suppression 
               services will be available for the subdivision through any 
               of the following entities:

               i)     A county, city, special district, political 
                 subdivision of the state, or another entity organized 
                 solely to provide fire protection services that is 
                 monitored and funded by a county or other public entity; 
                 or,

               ii)    CAL FIRE, by contract entered into pursuant to 
                 existing law, as specified.

             c)   A finding to the extent practicable, ingress and egress 
               for the subdivision meets the regulations regarding road 
               standards for fire equipment access adopted pursuant to 
               existing law and any applicable local ordinance.

          4)Provides that the provisions of 3) above shall not supersede 
            regulations established by the State Board of Forestry and 
            Fire Protection or local ordinances that provide equivalent or 
            more stringent minimum requirements.








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          5)Requires, on or after January 1, 2013, OPR, in cooperation 
            with CAL FIRE, at the time of the next review of the CEQA 
            guidelines, to prepare, develop, and transmit to the Secretary 
            of the Natural Resources Agency recommended proposed changes 
            or amendments to the initial study checklist of the guidelines 
            for the inclusion of questions related to fire hazard impacts 
            for project on land classified as an SRA, and on lands 
            classified as very high fire hazard severity zones.

          6)Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, upon 
            receipt and review, to certify and adopt the recommended 
            proposed changes or amendments prepared and developed by the 
            OPR to the CEQA guidelines.

          7)Provides that no reimbursement is required by the bill's 
            provisions because a local agency has the authority to levy 
            service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for 
            the program or level of service.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Defines SRAs to mean areas of the state in which the financial 
            responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires has been 
            determined, as specified, to be primarily the responsibility 
            of the state.

          2)Defines lands classified as a very high fire hazard severity 
            zone to mean an area designated by the director of CAL FIRE, 
            as specified, that is not an SRA.

          3)Requires the director of CAL FIRE 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.

          4)Requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to identify 
            as SRAs all lands where the state has the primary financial 
            responsibility for preventing and suppressing fires.

          5)Requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to map SRAs 
            and provide this map to county assessors and update this map 
            every five years.









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          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 of CAL FIRE 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 of Forestry 
            and Fire Protection for its review and comment prior to its 
            adoption or amendment.

          10)Regulates, through the Subdivision Map Act, how local 
            officials approve the conversion of larger parcels into 
            marketable lots.

          11)Requires, under CEQA, 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). 

          12)Requires, under CEQA, an initial study to be prepared to 
            determine whether a project may have a significant effect on 
            the environment.  

          13)Requires OPR to prepare and develop proposed guidelines to 
            implement CEQA, and submit them to the Secretary of the 
            Natural Resources Agency for certification and adoption. 

          14)Requires OPR to review CEQA guidelines at least every two 
            years and recommend changes or amendments to the Secretary of 
            the Natural Resources Agency for certification and adoption.









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           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations 
          Committee, this bill contains ongoing costs between $100,000 and 
          $250,000 from the General Fund from 2013-14 through 2018-19, for 
          the Board of Forestry to review safety element updates as 
          required by this bill, and one-time costs of $285,000 from the 
          General Fund for 2013-14 for the update of CEQA guidelines.

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)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 the 2010 U.S. 
            Census, the number of people living in inland Southern 
            California's most fire-prone places alone increased by more 
            than 50% during the past decade.

          2)Every county and city must adopt a general plan with seven 
            mandatory elements: land use, circulation, housing, 
            conservation, open space, noise, and safety.  Except for the 
            housing elements, the Planning and Zoning Law does not require 
            counties and cities to regularly revise their general plans.  
            Cities and counties' major land use decisions -- subdivisions, 
            zoning, public works projects, use permits -- must be 
            consistent with their general plans.  Development decisions 
            must carry out and not obstruct a general plan's policies.

            In the aftermath of annual wildfires, state and local 
            officials have thought about how to reduce the loss of lives 
            and property and address high costs of local fire protection 
            agencies when fighting wildfires in developed areas.  One way 
            to avoid or mitigate these losses and costs is to use land use 
            planning to guide decisions about future development.
          3)CAL FIRE provides wildland fire protection on non-federal 
            lands outside cities.  To meet this duty, the State Board of 
            Forestry and Fire Protection designates SRAs every five years. 
             Within SRA lands, the Director of CAL FIRE designates fire 
            hazard severity zones.  SRA landowners must follow specified 
            fire prevention practices.  After the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley 
            fire storm, the Legislature required CAL FIRE to designate 
            very high fire hazard severity zones.  Landowners in these 
            areas must follow specified fire prevention practices.

          4)This bill requires a city or county to review and update the 
            safety element in the general plan upon the next revision of 








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            the housing element on or after January 1, 2013, to include 
            information regarding local fire hazards, and feasible 
            implementation measures for the protection of designated areas 
            from wildfire hazards for lands located in SRAs or very high 
            fire hazard severity zones.  Second, the bill requires OPR, in 
            its next update of the CEQA Guidelines, to cooperate with CAL 
            FIRE in recommending changes to the CEQA initial study 
            checklist to include questions related to fire hazard impacts 
            for projects in SRAs or very high fire hazard severity zone 
            lands, and requires OPR, in its update of the General Plan 
            Guidelines to include provisions related to fire hazards, as 
            specified.  Finally, the bill requires a local government to 
            make three specific findings before approving a tentative map 
            or parcel map.  The findings must specify that the design and 
            location of each lot in the subdivision meet certain 
            applicable regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry 
            and Fire Protection, that structural fire protection and 
            suppression services will be available for the subdivision, 
            and that ingress and egress to the subdivision meet existing 
            regulations for road standards for fire equipment access.

            This bill is author-sponsored.

          5)According to the author, in the wake of the 2003 and 2007 
            wildland fires that swept across Southern California and 
            annual state fire suppression costs that peaked in 2008 at $1 
            billion, the relationship between land use planning, fire 
            prevention, and fire suppression strategies has taken on added 
            significance.

            The author notes that "given the rising costs of fire 
            suppression, 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 for 
            projects in SRAs and very high fire hazard severity zones.

          6)This bill is the latest in a series of bills proposing better 
            land use planning for wildland fires, including the following 
            bills:

            SB 1207 (Kehoe, 2010), vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, a 
            measure substantially similar to SB 505.  In his veto message, 
            the Governor stated that "this bill is almost identical to a 
            measure I vetoed last year because it would have placed 








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            significant fiscal pressures on the state's General Fund and 
            on already strapped local government budgets. Yet, this bill 
            does not address the concerns I expressed in last year's veto 
            message. For this reason I am unable to sign this bill."

            SB 505 (Kehoe, 2009), vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.  In 
            his veto message, the Governor stated "while I concur that 
            counties must ensure that adequate fire protection is 
            available in an area before approving additional development, 
            I am concerned that this bill 
            will result in additional General Fund costs and create 
            significant cost pressures to maintain State Responsibility 
            Areas and fire hazard severity zone maps.  In addition, I am 
            also concerned with the cost pressures this bill will place 
            upon local governments to implement this measure."

            AB 666 (Jones, 2009), vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, would 
            have required 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 an SRA or a very high fire 
            hazard severity zone as designated by CAL FIRE. 

            SB 1500 (Kehoe, 2008) would have prohibited a county from 
            approving a proposed project, as defined, in an SRA if the 
            Board determines that structural fire protection is a local 
            responsibility and no fire protection services are provided, 
            as specified.  This measure died on the Assembly Floor. 

            AB 2447 (Jones, 2008), almost identical to AB 666, 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.

          7)The Counties of Napa and Nevada are opposed to the provisions 
            of the bill that create an unfunded mandate with the 
            additional requirements placed on local governments to update 
            their general plans.  These counties believe that the state 
            has already "approved a substantial and burdensome fee on 
            persons living in SRAs in order to provide those landowners 
            with fire protection."
             
          8)Support arguments  :  According to the California Fire Chiefs 
            Association and the Fire Districts Association of California, 
            the provisions contained in the bill address very critical 
            public safety issues, and the Fire Service has long supported 








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            the front-end planning provisions contained in SB 1241.

             Opposition arguments  :  The Boards of Supervisors in both Napa 
            and Nevada County write that "general plan updates are 
            time-intensive and expensive?the State provides no funding for 
            local agencies to do this mandated activity, yet continues to 
            add additional requirements on local governments updating 
            their general plans." 

          9)This bill is double-referred to the Assembly Natural Resources 
            Committee.









           



          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          American Planning Association of California
          California Fire Chiefs Association
          California Native Plant Society
          California Professional Firefighters
          Endangered Habitats League
          Fire Districts Association of California
            Sierra Club California

           Opposition 
           
          Napa County Board of Supervisors
          Nevada County Board of Supervisors

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 
          319-3958 










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