Commissioners spent the longest portion of the July 18 meeting debating residential and commercial setback standards, and their relationship with wildfire safety requirements.

Staff recommended increasing side and rear setbacks to 30 feet to align with Board of Forestry and defensible‑space guidance; John Patton, the county’s wildfire mitigation coordinator, explained 30 feet is consistent with CAL FIRE and NFPA defensible‑space guidance and helps reduce radiant heat exposure and improve emergency access. Patience Good (Mariposa County Fire / Cal Fire) stated plainly: “So that's a general requirement for everybody, and we include that even with ADUs. We still require that 30 feet.”

Several commissioners and members of the public argued for more flexibility on small lots and in town planning areas. Commissioners noted the state ADU statute provides an 800‑square‑foot ADU setback exemption (4 feet), and several asked whether that would be overridden locally; staff and fire clarified state ADU law remains in effect for qualifying ADUs but that fire code and defensible‑space requirements may require greater clearances in practice.

Staff and fire agreed exemptions and mitigations are possible for constrained lots; staff proposed keeping a 10% rule (a lot‑width‑based percentage) to allow smaller setbacks on narrow lots and for town/town‑planning areas while maintaining a default 30‑foot standard for most rural parcels. Commissioners asked staff to bring back a tidy implementation approach that: (1) sets clear numeric table values for setbacks, (2) preserves a small‑lot/area‑plan exception (the 10% approach) for town planning areas and undersized lots, and (3) clarifies the process for administrative waivers, variances and director‑level determinations so applicants are not surprised by post‑permit fire requirements.

No final ordinance text was adopted; staff were directed to draft language that includes a clear table of setbacks and an explanatory footnote that fire‑safety requirements can impose additional clearances; staff and fire will also propose whether some determinations can be handled at the planning‑director level to reduce time and cost for applicants.