BILL NUMBER: AB 2301	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Logue

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2010

   An act to amend Section 51182 of the Government Code and to amend
Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire
protection.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2301, as introduced, Logue.  Fire protection: defensible space.

   Existing law requires that a person who owns, leases, controls,
operates, or maintains an occupied dwelling or occupied structure in,
upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered land,
brush-covered land, grass-covered land, or land that is covered with
flammable material that is within a very high fire hazard severity
zone, as designated by a local agency, to maintain a defensible space
of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the
structure. Existing law requires that a person who owns, leases,
controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in, upon, or
adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered land, brush-covered
land, grass-covered land, or land that is covered with flammable
material, within a state responsibility area, to maintain a
defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and
rear of the structure.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 51182 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   51182.  (a) A person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or
maintains an occupied dwelling or occupied structure in, upon, or
adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered land, brush-covered
land, grass-covered land, or land that is covered with flammable
material, which area or land is within a very high fire hazard
severity zone designated by the local agency pursuant to Section
51179, shall at all times do all of the following:
   (1) Maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from
the front and rear of the structure, but not beyond the property line
except as provided in paragraph (2). The amount of fuel modification
necessary shall take into account the flammability of the structure
as affected by building material, building standards, location, and
type of vegetation. Fuels shall be maintained in a condition so that
a wildfire burning under average weather conditions would be unlikely
to ignite the structure. This paragraph does not apply to single
specimens of trees or other vegetation that are well-pruned and
maintained so as to effectively manage fuels and not form a means of
rapidly transmitting fire from other nearby vegetation to a structure
or from a structure to other nearby vegetation. The intensity of
fuels management may vary within the 100-foot perimeter of the
structure, the most intense being within the first 30 feet around the
structure. Consistent with fuels management objectives, steps should
be taken to minimize erosion.
   (2) A greater distance than that required under paragraph (1) may
be required by state law, local ordinance, rule, or regulation.
Clearance beyond the property line may only be required if the state
law, local ordinance, rule, or regulation includes findings that the
clearing is necessary to significantly reduce the risk of
transmission of flame or heat sufficient to ignite the structure, and
there is no other feasible mitigation measure possible to reduce the
risk of ignition or spread of wildfire to the structure. Clearance
on adjacent property shall only be conducted following written
consent by the adjacent landowner.
   (3) An insurance company that insures an occupied dwelling or
occupied structure may require a greater distance than that required
under paragraph (1) if a fire expert, designated by the fire chief or
fire official from the authority having jurisdiction, provides
findings that the clearing is necessary to significantly reduce the
risk of transmission of flame or heat sufficient to ignite the
structure, and there is no other feasible mitigation measure possible
to reduce the risk of ignition or spread of wildfire to the
structure. The greater distance may not be beyond the property line
unless allowed by state law, local ordinance, rule, or regulation.
   (4) Remove that portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of
the outlet of a chimney or stovepipe.
   (5) Maintain a tree, shrub, or other plant adjacent to or
overhanging a building free of dead or dying wood.
   (6) Maintain the roof of a structure free of leaves, needles, or
other vegetative materials.
   (7) Prior to constructing a new dwelling or structure that will be
occupied or rebuilding an occupied dwelling or occupied structure
damaged by a fire in that zone, the construction or rebuilding of
which requires a building permit, the owner shall obtain a
certification from the local building official that the dwelling or
structure, as proposed to be built, complies with all applicable
state and local building standards, including those described in
subdivision (b) of Section 51189, and shall provide a copy of the
certification, upon request, to the insurer providing course of
construction insurance coverage for the building or structure. Upon
completion of the construction or rebuilding, the owner shall obtain
from the local building official, a copy of the final inspection
report that demonstrates that the dwelling or structure was
constructed in compliance with all applicable state and local
building standards, including those described in subdivision (b) of
Section 51189, and shall provide a copy of the report, upon request,
to the property insurance carrier that insures the dwelling or
structure.
   (b) A person is not required under this section to manage fuels on
land if that person does not have the legal right to manage fuels,
nor is a person required to enter upon or to alter property that is
owned by any other person without the consent of the owner of the
property.
   (c) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall develop,
periodically update, and post on its Internet Web site a guidance
document on fuels management pursuant to this chapter. 
Guidance   The guidance document  shall include,
but not be limited to, regionally appropriate vegetation management
suggestions that preserve and restore native species, minimize
erosion, minimize water consumption, and permit trees near homes for
shade, aesthetics, and habitat; and suggestions to minimize or
eliminate the risk of flammability of nonvegetative sources of
combustion such as woodpiles, propane tanks, decks, and outdoor lawn
furniture.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   4291.  (a) A person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or
maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining a
mountainous area, forest-covered lands, brush-covered lands,
grass-covered lands, or land that is covered with flammable material,
shall at all times do all of the following:
   (1) Maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from
the front and rear of the structure, but not beyond the property line
except as provided in paragraph (2). The amount of fuel modification
necessary shall take into account the flammability of the structure
as affected by building material, building standards, location, and
type of vegetation. Fuels shall be maintained in a condition so that
a wildfire burning under average weather conditions would be unlikely
to ignite the structure. This paragraph does not apply to single
specimens of trees or other vegetation that are well-pruned and
maintained so as to effectively manage fuels and not form a means of
rapidly transmitting fire from other nearby vegetation to a structure
or from a structure to other nearby vegetation. The intensity of
fuels management may vary within the 100-foot perimeter of the
structure, the most intense being within the first 30 feet around the
structure. Consistent with fuels management objectives, steps should
be taken to minimize erosion. For the purposes of this paragraph,
"fuel" means any combustible material, including petroleum-based
products and wildland fuels.
   (2) A greater distance than that required under paragraph (1) may
be required by state law, local ordinance, rule, or regulation.
Clearance beyond the property line may only be required if the state
law, local ordinance, rule, or regulation includes findings that the
clearing is necessary to significantly reduce the risk of
transmission of flame or heat sufficient to ignite the structure, and
there is no other feasible mitigation measure possible to reduce the
risk of ignition or spread of wildfire to the structure. Clearance
on adjacent property shall only be conducted following written
consent by the adjacent landowner.
   (3) An insurance company that insures an occupied dwelling or
occupied structure may require a greater distance than that required
under paragraph (1) if a fire expert, designated by the director,
provides findings that the clearing is necessary to significantly
reduce the risk of transmission of flame or heat sufficient to ignite
the structure, and there is no other feasible mitigation measure
possible to reduce the risk of ignition or spread of wildfire to the
structure. The greater distance may not be beyond the property line
unless allowed by state law, local ordinance, rule, or regulation.
   (4) Remove that portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of
the outlet of a chimney or stovepipe.
   (5) Maintain a tree, shrub, or other plant adjacent to or
overhanging a building free of dead or dying wood.
   (6) Maintain the roof of a structure free of leaves, needles, or
other vegetative materials.
   (7) Prior to constructing a new building or structure or
rebuilding a building or structure damaged by a fire in an area
subject to this section, the construction or rebuilding of which
requires a building permit, the owner shall obtain a certification
from the local building official that the dwelling or structure, as
proposed to be built, complies with all applicable state and local
building standards, including those described in subdivision (b) of
Section 51189 of the Government Code, and shall provide a copy of the
certification, upon request, to the insurer providing course of
construction insurance coverage for the building or structure. Upon
completion of the construction or rebuilding, the owner shall obtain
from the local building official, a copy of the final inspection
report that demonstrates that the dwelling or structure was
constructed in compliance with all applicable state and local
building standards, including those described in subdivision (b) of
Section 51189 of the Government Code, and shall provide a copy of the
report, upon request, to the property insurance carrier that insures
the dwelling or structure.
   (b) A person is not required under this section to manage fuels on
land if that person does not have the legal right to manage fuels,
nor is a person required to enter upon or to alter property that is
owned by any other person without the consent of the owner of the
property.
   (c) (1) Except as provided in Section 18930 of the Health and
Safety Code, the director may adopt regulations exempting a structure
with an exterior constructed entirely of nonflammable materials, or,
conditioned upon the contents and composition of the structure, the
director may vary the requirements respecting the removing or
clearing away of flammable vegetation or other combustible growth
with respect to the area surrounding those structures.
   (2) An exemption or variance under paragraph (1) shall not apply
unless and until the occupant of the structure, or if there is not an
occupant, the owner of the structure, files with the department, in
a form as the director shall prescribe, a written consent to the
inspection of the interior and contents of the structure to ascertain
whether this section and the regulations adopted under this section
are complied with at all times.
   (d) The director may authorize the removal of vegetation that is
not consistent with the standards of this section. The director may
prescribe a procedure for the removal of that vegetation and make the
expense a lien upon the building, structure, or grounds, in the same
manner that is applicable to a legislative body under Section 51186
of the Government Code.
   (e) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall develop,
periodically update, and post on its Internet Web site a guidance
document on fuels management pursuant to this chapter. 
Guidance   The guidance document  shall include,
but not be limited to, regionally appropriate vegetation management
suggestions that preserve and restore native species, minimize
erosion, minimize water consumption, and permit trees near homes for
shade, aesthetics, and habitat; and suggestions to minimize or
eliminate the risk of flammability of nonvegetative sources of
combustion such as woodpiles, propane tanks, decks, and outdoor lawn
furniture.
   (f) As used in this section, "person" means a private individual,
organization, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation.