The Board of Forestry released new text of proposed changes to
the State Fire Safe Regulations on February 8th. This
new draft will be used for an upcoming public workshop on
February 24th. The new draft of the regulations can be
found
here. CSAC strongly encourages counties to review the
new proposed changes to the Fire Safe Regulations and submit
comments by February 17th. Comments
received prior to February 17th will be included for
discussion during the February 24th workshop. Register
to attend the workshop here.
In addition, Board of Forestry staff has released a guidance memo
to help with review and includes key questions for the Board and
stakeholders. That memo can be found
here. The Board staff is seeking input on the following
topics:
Thresholds regarding ADU and wildfire rebuild exemptions,
Thresholds for limiting development on existing roads,
Thresholds that trigger safety mitigations for projects on
existing roads, and
The concept of an area of refuge to help provide a safe space
during fire related incidents.
CSAC and other local government advocacy groups have been closely
monitoring the development of new Fire Safe Regulations for the
past several months. This has included participation in several
workshops and a local government stakeholder meeting to
discuss the proposed changes and direct meetings with Board of
Forestry members and staff. Our efforts have been successful in
helping create a more reasonable timeline to give counties and
other stakeholders an appropriate amount of time to provide
comments and feedback. If your county plans to submit comments,
please send them to Edith Hannigan at the
Board of Forestry with a CC to Nick Cronenwett.
If you have any questions regarding the Fire Safe Regulations
please email Legislative Analyst, Nick Cronenwett.
