BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1241
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1241 (Kehoe) - As Amended: June 25, 2012
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:7-1
Natural Resources 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires cities and counties to address fire risk in
planning documents for areas within state responsibility areas
(SRAs) and very high fire hazard severity zones and to make
certain findings regarding fire protection services before
approving planning documents. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the legislative body of a county to make certain fire
safety findings before approving a tentative map or a parcel
map for an area in an SRA or a very high fire severity zone,
including finding that structural fire protection and
suppression services will be available through local fire
protection services or through contract with the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), and that the area has
sufficient access roads.
2)Requires each city and county, upon the next revision of the
housing element of its general plan, to review and update, as
needed, the safety element to address the risk of fire for
land classified as SRA or as very high fire hazard severity
zones, considering the advice included in OPR's most recent
"Fire Hazard Planning, General Technical Advice Series" and
other specified fire safety hazard and planning information.
3)Requires the Office of Planning and Research (OPR), when it
adopts its next edition of the general plan guidelines, to
include provisions or reference to provisions requiring the
update of the safety element and any other fire hazard or fire
safety materials OPR deems relevant.
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4)Requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to
recommend changes to existing or draft local safety elements
it is required to review. (Under current law, the board must
review existing or draft safety elements and may, but is not
required to, recommend changes.
5)Requires, on or after January 1, 2013, OPR, in cooperation
with CAL FIRE, at the time of the next review of guidelines
for lead agencies acting under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), to prepare, develop, and transmit to the
Secretary for Natural Resources 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 SRA or as very high fire hazard
severity zones.
6)Requires the secretary to certify and adopt OPR's proposed
changes or amendments to the CEQA guidelines.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Ongoing cost of approximately $200,000 annually, from 2013-14
through 2018-19, to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
to review approximately 50 safety element updates annually and
to develop recommended changes to them (General Fund).
(CAL FIRE reports it incur one-time costs of $1.2 million
assistance to local governments in the preparation of their
safety elements. Such assistance is not explicitly required
by this bill. CAL FIRE, however, contends such assistance
will be necessary to ensure the bill is implemented
effectively.)
2)Onetime cost of approximately $150,000 to $200,000, in 2012-13
or later, to OPR to prepare and develop proposed changes or
amendments to the CEQA guidelines for the inclusion of
questions related to fire hazard impacts for project on land
classified as SRA or as very high fire hazard severity zones
(General Fund).
3)Onetime cost of $150,000 to $500,000, in 2012-13 or later, to
CAL FIRE to assist OPR in preparing and developing proposed
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changes to the CEQA guidelines (General Fund).
4)Onetime costs, in 2012-13 or later, of approximately $100,000
to the Natural Resources Agency to review, certify and adopt
OPR's proposed changes or amendments to the CEQA guidelines
(General Fund).
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author intends this bill to strengthen the
local planning process governing development in SRAs and
fire-prone areas so as to reduce the risk of wildfire and the
costs of fighting fires.
2)Background . Existing law defines SRAs as areas of the
state-lands currently or once generally undeveloped and
covered by vegetation-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. The law also requires CAL FIRE to identify very high
fire hazard severity zones in areas of the state in which
locals are primarily responsible for fire prevention and
suppression.
Local governments must adopt a general plan that includes
several specified elements, including a housing element and a
safety element. A local government with SRAs or a very high
fire hazard severity zone must submit a draft safety element
to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for its
review and comment prior to its adoption or amendment. The
board is authorized, but not required, to make written
recommendations to the planning agency within 60 days of the
receipt of the draft or existing safety element.
Under CEQA, lead agencies with the principal responsibility
for carrying out or approving a proposed discretionary project
are required to prepare a negative declaration, mitigated
declaration, or environmental impact report. OPR is required
to prepare and develop proposed guidelines to implement CEQA
and submit them to the Secretary of the Natural Resources
Agency for certification and adoption. OPR is also required
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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While the state provides primary fire prevention and
suppression activities in the SRAs, local governments
generally control the planning process that permits physical
development in SRAs. In its analysis of the 2008-09 budget,
Legislative Analyst's Office found that CAL FIRE's budget has
increased 150% since 1997-98. One of the factors behind the
increase is expanding development in the rural areas. Despite
total acreage in SRAs having remained stable over the last 15
years, the number of housing units in SRAs increased by 15%
over this period.
3)Support . This bill is supported by the American Planning
Association of California, the California Fire Chiefs
Association, the California Professional Firefighters, the
Fire Districts Association of California and others who see a
critical link between planning in fire-prone areas and fire
prevention and suppression costs.
4)There is no opposition formally registered to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081