BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1207|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1207
Author: Kehoe (D), et al
Amended: 8/20/10
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 3-2, 4/7/10
AYES: Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
NOES: Cox, Aanestad
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 4/19/10
AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Lowenthal, Pavley, Strickland
NOES: Runner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-3, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Denham, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SENATE FLOOR : 23-11, 6/1/10
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Cogdill, Cox, Denham, Dutton,
Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Runner, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Oropeza, Walters, Wiggins,
Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not available
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SUBJECT : Land use: general plan: safety element: fire
hazard impacts
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Office of Planning and
Research to update its general plan advice document
relating to fire hazards and its California Environmental
Quality Act guidelines to address wildfire risks. Beginning
in 2015, the bill requires some cities and counties to
update the safety element of their general plans to address
risks of wildfire.
Assembly Amendments add language to prevent chaptering
problems.
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. Requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to
identify areas in the state as very high fire hazard
severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria
and based on the severity of fire hazard expected in
those areas.
3. 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). The draft
safety element or safety element amendment must be
submitted to the SBFFP and to every local agency that
provides fire protection in the city or county. The
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SBFFP and a local agency may review the draft and report
written recommendations to the planning agency regarding
certain matters.
4. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),
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.
This bill:
1. Expands the required contents of safety elements that
cover state responsibility area lands (SRA) and very
high fire hazard severity zones, as specified.
2. Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
(OPR) to update its "Fire Hazard Planning" document on
or before January 1, 2012.
3. Requires cities and counties, prior to January 1, 2015,
and thereafter upon each revision of the housing
element, to review and update their safety elements as
needed to address the risk of fire for land classified
as SRA and land classified very high fire hazard
severity zones.
4. Requires this review to consider the advice included in
the most recent publication of OPR's "Fire Hazard
Planning" document.
5. Requires that the review also include all of the
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following:
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. A set of comprehensive goals, policies, and
objectives, including avoiding or minimizing wildfire
hazards associated with 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, locating new essential
public facilities outside SRA land and very high fire
hazard severity zones, and working cooperatively with
public fire protection agencies; and,
C. Establishing feasible implementation measures
designed to carry out the goals, policies, and
objectives.
6. Requires OPR, at the next CEQA guidelines update on or
after January 1, 2011, to prepare guidelines
recommending changes to the initial study checklist for
the inclusion of questions related to fire hazard
impacts for projects in an SRA or within very high
hazard severity zones.
7. Requires, after receipt and review, the Secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt the
proposed guideline changes.
Related legislation
This bill is similar to SB 505 (Kehoe) of 2009, which was
vetoed. According to Governor Schwarzenegger in vetoing SB
505, "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
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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."
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 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. AB
666 (Jones) of 2009 addressed similar issues and was
vetoed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
OPR guideline and planning $50
General
document updates
CalFire guideline and planning $65
General
document update assistance
Board of Forestry reviews $90
General
of safety element updates
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/10)
American Planning Association of California
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California Fire Chiefs Association
California Fire District Association of California
California Native Plant Society
California Professional Firefighters
California State Firefighters' Association
League of California Cities
Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority
Orange County Professional Firefighters Association IAFF
Local 3631
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/25/10)
California State Association of Counties
County of Madera
County of San Bernardino
County of Tuolumne
Governor's Office of Planning and Research
Nevada County Board of Supervisors
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Regional Council of Rural Counties
AGB:RJG:do 8/25/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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