“Could Virtually Shut Down any Suburban Development”

AB 2447 (Ass. Member Jones D-Sac) Amended in Senate, June 26

This bill would require the county to deny approval of a tentative or a parcel map, if the proposed map is in a state responsibility area or a very high fire hazard sensitivity zone unless the county makes specified findings and obtains written verification from each fire protection agency of sufficient structural fire protection for the lots created.

The county may approve a map if the county does all of the following:

(1) Makes a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the design and location of each lot in the subdivision and the subdivision as a whole would allow improvements, such as roads, turnarounds, defensible space, and emergency water systems, to be made consistent with any regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection ...

(2) Obtains written verification from each fire protection agencies that has jurisdiction... (C) The applicable fire protection agency's written verification of its ability, or inability, to provide sufficient structural fire protection for the proposed subdivision shall be supported by substantial evidence and be based on, but is not limited to, its determination as to the adequacy of its equipment, personnel, and response time.

The Sierra Club California supports AB 2447 which it believes strengthen community planning measures that protect against fire and limit development in areas where there isn't adequate fire protection.

The TRINITY COUNTY Board of Supervisors opposes AB 2447 stating, "Trinity County fully supports the concepts of community wildfire protection planning and implementation, and the new State requirements for additional clearing around homes and other structures.  However, the requirement that the County deny a subdivision map in a state responsibility area or very high fire hazard sensitivity zone unless certain findings are made may virtually eliminate any new land development within the County of Trinity. While we can all agree that new developments should be made as fire safe as possible, the emphasis should be on management of the forestlands in Trinity County by the Federal agencies that control some 75% of the lands. These lands have evolved into a state of extreme fire danger due to the lack of forest management that would significantly reduce the fire hazard in the state responsibility areas. The proposed legislation does not seem to take into account the existence of many volunteer fire departments and fire companies that provide essential fire protection on rural California counties. ...this legislation would make it virtually impossible for any development while ignoring the primary cause of the high fire hazard and leaving the existing improved lands subject to the high fire hazard."

In opposing AB 2447, The Trinity County Board of Supervisors asked that legislators consider sponsoring legislation directed at the cause of the high fire hazard area by requiring forest management plans that would reduce the fuel loading that is the ultimate cause of the high fire hazard.

The California Chamber of Commerce has classified AB 2447 as a "job killer." citing Construction Job Losses.  "Severely limits residential and commercial development to a degree that it could virtually shut down any suburban development in certain areas of California by prohibiting the approval of development in fire-risk areas without a mitigating finding by the city or county."  The building industry, foresters, and local government groups also oppose the measures.

The measure passed the Assembly 41-29. Only Democrats voted in favor; every Republican and some Democrats opposed the bill.  "We should not limit locals' ability to perform what they were elected to do," said Assemblyman George Plescia, R-La Jolla. "The endgame of this is to stop all development in California."  After the 2003 firestorms in Southern California that destroyed 3,600 homes, a blue-ribbon commission recommended increasing defensible space around properties and requiring more fire-resistant buildings, but, Panel members and lawmakers shied away then from injecting the state into the local land-use planning process.

Much of El Dorado County is controlled by state and federal agencies and similar fire conditions exist in those lands as was described by Trinity County’s BOS.

Keep an eye on this Bill  since all of El Dorado County is considered a State Fire Responsibility Area (except for El Dorado Hills and the cities of Placerville and South Lake Tahoe)

For additional information or comment, contact 

Sen. David Cox at

(916) 651-4001

or Send a Letter online. http://capwiz.com/calchamber/issues/alert/?alertid=11520136