Bill Text: CA AB3150 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Fire safety: fire hazard severity zones: defensible space: State Fire Marshal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-20 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading. [AB3150 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB3150-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 01, 2024 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva |
February 16, 2024 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal to classify lands within state responsibility areas into fire hazard severity zones, and, by regulation, designate fire hazard severity zones and assign to each zone a rating reflecting the degree of severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in the zone. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review designated and rated zones and, as necessary, revise zones or their ratings or repeal the designation of zones.
Under existing law, any interested person may petition a state agency requesting the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation. Existing law requires the state agency to either deny the
petition, as prescribed, or schedule the matter for a public hearing, as prescribed. Existing law authorizes the revision or repeal of a fire hazard zone within a state responsibility area to be petitioned pursuant to these provisions.
This bill would instead require the State Fire Marshal to develop a process to allow for the petition for a review and potential redesignation of large areas within a state responsibility area that have undergone a significant change in conditions that would likely result in a decrease in fire hazard based on substantial evidence.
Under
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 51178 of the Government Code is amended to read:51178.
(a) The State Fire Marshal shall identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones shall be based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and other relevant factors including areas where winds have been identified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as a major cause of wildfire spread.SEC. 2.
Section 51179 of the Government Code is amended to read:51179.
(a) A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51178.SEC. 3.
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, shrub-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:SEC. 4.
Section 51186 of the Government Code is amended to read:51186.
(a) The local agency having jurisdiction of property upon which conditions regulated by Section 51182 are being violated shall notify the owner of the property to correct the conditions. If the owner fails to correct the conditions, the local agency may cause the corrections to be made, and the expenses incurred shall become a lien on the property that is the subject of the corrections when recorded in the county recorder’s office in the county in which the real property is located. The priority of the lien shall be as of the date of recording. The lien shall contain the legal description of the real property, the assessor’s parcel number, and the name of the owner of record as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll.SEC. 5.
Section 51189 of the Government Code is amended to read:51189.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that site and structure defensibility is essential to reduce the risk of structure ignition as well as for effective fire suppression by firefighters. This need to establish defensibility extends beyond the site fuel management practices required by this chapter, and includes, but is not limited to, measures that increase the likelihood of a structure withstanding ignition, such as building design and construction requirements that use fire resistant building materials, and standards for reducing fire risks on structure projections, including, but not limited to, porches, decks, balconies and eaves, and structure openings, including, but not limited to, attic, foundation, and eave vents, doors, and windows.SEC. 2.SEC. 6.
Section 4124.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4124.5.
(a) The department shall establish a local assistance grant program for fire prevention and home hardening education activities in California. Groups eligible for grants shall include, but are not limited to, local agencies, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, the California Conservation Corps, certified community conservation corps as defined in Section 14507.5, University of California Cooperative Extension, the Board of Commissioners under CaliforniaVolunteers described in Section 8411 of the Government Code, Native American tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations. The department may establish a cost-share requirement for one or more categories of projects.SEC. 3.SEC. 7.
Section 4204 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4204.
(a) The State Fire Marshal shall periodically review zones designated and rated pursuant to this article and, as necessary, shall revise zones or their ratings or repeal the designation of zones. Any revision of a zone or its rating or any repeal of a zone shall conform to the requirements of Section 4203.SEC. 4.SEC. 8.
Section 4290 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4290.
(a) (1) The board shall, until January 1, 2025, adopt regulations implementing minimum fire safety standards related to defensible space that are applicable to state responsibility area lands under the authority of the department, and to lands classified and designated as very high fire hazard severity zones, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177 of the Government Code. These regulations apply to the perimeters and access to all residential, commercial, and industrial building construction within state responsibility areas approved after January 1, 1991, and within lands classified and designated as very high fire hazard severity zones, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177 of the Government Code after July 1, 2021. The board may not adopt building standards, as defined in Section 18909 of the Health and Safety Code, under the authority of this section. As an integral part of fire safety standards, the State Fire Marshal has the authority to adopt regulations for roof coverings and openings into the attic areas of buildings specified in Section 13108.5 of the Health and Safety Code. The regulations apply to the placement of mobile homes as defined by National Fire Protection Association standards. These regulations do not apply where an application for a building permit was filed before January 1, 1991, or to parcel or tentative maps or other developments approved before January 1, 1991, if the final map for the tentative map is approved within the time prescribed by the local ordinance. The regulations shall include all of the following:SEC. 5.SEC. 9.
Section 4290.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:4290.1.
(a) The State Fire Marshal shall develop criteria for and maintain a “Fire Risk Reduction Community” list of local agencies, communities, and neighborhoods located in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard severity zone, identified pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code, that meet best practices for local fire planning.SEC. 6.SEC. 10.
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, shrub-covered lands, grass-covered lands, or land that is covered with flammable material, shall at all times do all of the following:(f)
(g)