Advisory board presses planners to add urban wildfire mitigation, evacuation and equity guidance to comp plan

Multiple Environmental Advisory Board members raised wildfire risk as a priority for the comp-plan update and urged staff to include explicit policy language for urban wildfire mitigation, evacuation planning and equitable allocation of mitigation resources. A written note from board member Alice—read into the record by a board member—recommended additional framework for "wildfire preparation mitigation for urban areas, not just natural ecosystems," and suggested that the plan address emergency-communication and evacuation planning for public institutions such as schools and hospitals.

Board members cited the Marshall Fire as an example that urban wildfire risk extends beyond the wildland-urban interface. A board member asked whether certain dwelling types and economically disadvantaged communities face higher wildfire and flood risk and recommended prioritizing infrastructure investment for disproportionately affected areas.

Staff agreed that wildfire has become a dominant resilience issue since the last plan and said the team is working on wildfire building-code updates, landscape standards and programs. Jonathan Cohen and Chris Rene Loews noted the city's climate fund contribution to local wildfire mitigation; staff said the climate fund has provided $1,500,000 for wildfire mitigation work at the local level. Staff committed to bringing wildfire resilience topics forward to city council (scheduled) and to coordinate upcoming regulatory work with the comp-plan policies. Board members asked staff to consider targeting limited mitigation assistance (for example, existing $2,000 mitigation grants referenced by a board member) toward mobile-home communities and other high-need households.