BILL ANALYSIS
AB 666
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 666 (Jones)
As Amended June 1, 2009
Majority vote
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 9-5
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|Ayes:|Caballero, Arambula, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Davis, |
| |Davis, Krekorian, Skinner | |Krekorian, Hall, John A. |
| | | |Perez, Price, Skinner, |
| | | |Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight, Duvall |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, |
| | | |Audra Strickland |
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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);
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 solely to provide
fire protection services that is monitored and funded by a
county or other public entity; or, ii) CAL FIRE; and,
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c) A finding that ingress and egress for the subdivision
meets the regulations adopted for road standards for fire
equipment access.
2)Requires, 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)Specifies 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.
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 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.
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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 for its
review and comment prior to its adoption or amendment.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there are:
1)Minor costs of less than $150,000 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.
While the author believes that significant progress has been
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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. AB 666 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/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.
AB 666
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Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0001325