Amended  IN  Assembly  June 24, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  January 10, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  January 03, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  March 21, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 571

Introduced by Senator Allen
(Coauthor: Senator Stern)

February 15, 2023

An act to amend Section 4290 of the Public Resources Code, add and repeal Section 65040.25 of the Government Code, relating to fire safety.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 571, as amended, Allen. Fire safety regulations: development projects: safety: ingress and egress route standards. recommendations: report.
Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor’s office. Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research, by July 1, 2020, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, and other fire and safety experts, to update the guidance document entitled “Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series.” Existing law requires the guidance document to include specific land use strategies to reduce fire risk to buildings, infrastructure, and communities.
This bill would require the office to conduct a study and prepare a report, including recommendations, that evaluates potential improvements to state standards for ingress and egress and evacuation routes for development, as defined, in the event of a wildfire, as provided. For purposes of assisting with and informing the development of the report, the bill would require the office to convene and consult with a working group that includes specified voluntary representatives, including from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit the report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor.

Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Natural Resources Agency and establishes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within the department. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations implementing minimum fire safety standards, as provided.

This bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2027, to create, and provide to the Legislature, a report relating to standards for ingress and egress routes in new development, as provided. The bill would require the state board to do certain things when creating the report, including provide opportunities for input from the public, as specified. The bill would prohibit the state board from adopting any regulations incorporating the standards described in the report until at least 6 months after completing that report.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 65040.25 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65040.25.
 (a) Unless the context otherwise requires, for purposes of this section, “development” means all new residential, commercial, and industrial development.
(b) The office shall conduct a study and prepare a report, including recommendations, that evaluates potential improvements to state standards for ingress and egress and evacuation routes for development in the event of a wildfire. The report and recommendations shall consider, at minimum, all of the following:
(1) The potential effect that a change to state standards, described in this subdivision, could have on all of the following:
(A) The cost and affordability of housing, including any potential impact on the ability of cities and counties to meet their obligations under Article 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of Chapter 3.
(B) Interactions with state climate goals.
(C) The ability for individuals and communities to rebuild after a disaster.
(2) Existing evacuation planning guidance, best practices, and fire safety standards.
(3) The role of wildfire behavior, fire modeling, and potential wildfire impacts affecting evacuation routes and temporary refuge area locations.
(4) Recommended feasible timeframes after notification of a fire to accommodate travel by the development’s population to a point of safety, such as to a temporary refuge area, when appropriate, using designated evacuation routes.
(5) Scaling and tiering of feasible standards based on the development’s size, population density, motor vehicle volume, and other appropriate factors, including strategies and performance criteria to address safety needs.
(6) The needs of vulnerable populations.
(7) Travel capacity needs for designated evacuation routes and needs for concurrent emergency vehicle access, including considerations of current use of existing routes by local populations and potential reductions of travel capacity posed by new development.
(8) Feasible mitigation for a development’s traffic impacts that address any unmet local travel and infrastructure capacity needs of identified evacuation routes.
(c) To assist with and inform the development of the report and recommendations required by this section, the office shall convene and consult with a working group that includes, but is not limited to, voluntary representatives from all of the following entities:
(1) The Office of the State Fire Marshal.
(2) The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(3) The Department of Housing and Community Development.
(4) The Office of Emergency Services.
(5) The Transportation Agency.
(6) The State Air Resources Board.
(7) Local fire chiefs and local law enforcement or statewide associations representing those entities.
(8) The building industry.
(9) Organizations representing urban, suburban, and rural local governments.
(10) Environmental, housing, and other nongovernmental stakeholder organizations.
(d) When developing the report pursuant to this section, the office shall include public outreach and engagement by providing regular opportunities for input from and dialogue with the public.
(e) On or before January 1, 2027, the office shall submit the report required by this section to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795, and to the Governor.
(f) Pursuant to Section 10231.5, this section is repealed on January 1, 2031.

SECTION 1.Section 4290 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
4290.

(a)The board shall 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 shall 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:

(1)Road standards for fire equipment access.

(2)Standards for signs identifying streets, roads, and buildings.

(3)Minimum private water supply reserves for emergency fire use.

(4)Fuel breaks and greenbelts.

(b)The board shall, on and after July 1, 2021, periodically update regulations for fuel breaks and greenbelts near communities to provide greater fire safety for the perimeters to all residential, commercial, and industrial building construction within state responsibility areas and 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. These regulations shall include measures to preserve undeveloped ridgelines to reduce fire risk and improve fire protection. The board shall, by regulation, define “ridgeline” for purposes of this subdivision.

(c)(1)On or before January 1, 2027, the board shall create, and provide to the Legislature, a report relating to standards for ingress and egress routes in new development that would be suitable for subsequent adoption by the board into the state minimum fire safe standards (Articles 1 (commencing with Section 1220) to 5 (commencing with Section 1260), inclusive, of Chapter 7 of Division 1.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations). The board shall do all of the following when creating the report:

(A)Provide opportunities for input from the public, including performing outreach to potentially interested parties.

(B)Provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed standards and publicly respond to those comments in the final report.

(C)Propose standards applicable to state responsibility area lands under the jurisdiction of the department and lands in high and very high fire hazard severity zones as identified pursuant to Section 51178 or 51179 of the Government Code.

(D)Develop standards to facilitate enforcement by the board while avoiding unnecessary duplication of existing applicable requirements.

(E)Propose standards that meet an appropriate minimum standard for new developments of varying size in different locations within the applicable areas. These standards shall include consideration of the traffic impact to existing communities; address the safety needs of vulnerable populations within existing communities; scaling or tiering of the standards with development size, population density, and motor vehicle volume; and other applicable factors. Proposed standards may include providing two or more ingress and egress routes for new developments that meet designated criteria.

(2)(A)A report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(B)The requirement for submitting a report to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) is inoperative on January 1, 2031, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(3)Notwithstanding any other law, the board shall not adopt any regulations incorporating the standards described in the report pursuant to paragraph (1) until at least six months after completing that report.

(d)These regulations do not supersede local regulations that equal or exceed minimum regulations adopted by the state.

(e)The board may enter into contracts with technical experts to meet the requirements of this section.