BILL ANALYSIS
AB 666
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 666 (Jones) - As Introduced: February 25, 2009
SUBJECT : Subdivision maps.
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 Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Specifically, this bill :
1)States 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 of Forestry (Board) regarding map
approval.
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 any
of the following entities:
i) A county, city, special district, or political
subdivision of the state; or,
ii) Cal Fire.
c) A finding that there is adequate ingress and egress for
each lot in the subdivision for fire protection and
suppression services and emergency evacuation of
individuals, including, but not limited to, a minimum of
two separate access roads from different geographical
directions in the subdivision that provide clear
alternatives for access.
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2)Allows a county to waive the requirement of a minimum of two
separate access roads, 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.
3)Prohibits a county from waiving the minimum of two separate
access roads for a subdivision that would create 30 or more
lots.
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
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.
4)Requires the Board to identify as SRAs all lands where the
state has the primary financial responsibility for preventing
and suppressing fires.
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
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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 for its
review and comment prior to its adoption or amendment.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)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.
2)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
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first place, and what a county that wishes to approve such a
development should have to demonstrate in order to proceed.
3)AB 666 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.
4)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 places that responsibility on the county,
whether or not the county is the actual provider of fire
protection services. The Committee 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.
5)The Regional Council of Rural Counties and the California
State Association of Counties state in their "oppose unless
amended" letter that they believe that existing regulations by
Cal Fire already adequately deal with the issue of emergency
access. The Committee may wish to consider amending AB 666 to
require that when a county is making a finding that there is
adequate ingress and egress for each lot in the subdivision
for fire protection and suppression services and emergency
evacuation of individuals, the county rely on the regulations
established by Cal Fire to determine the appropriate needs of
the project.
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6)This measure is substantially similar to AB 2447 (Jones, 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.
7)PROPOSED COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :
On page 2 strike lines 17-33 and insert:
A finding that ingress and egress for the subdivision meets
the regulations adopted pursuant to Public Resources Code
4290.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
CA Professional Firefighters
Serene Lakes Homeowners Association
Opposition
American Council of Engineering Companies, CA
CA Building Industry Association
CA Business Properties Association
CA Chamber of Commerce
CA Major Builders Council
CA State Association of Counties (unless amended)
Regional Council of Rural Counties (unless amended)
Resource Landowners Coalition
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958