Council briefed on draft wildfire urban interface building standards required by HB 48

Salt Lake City staff briefed council members Wednesday on a draft ordinance to implement wildland-urban interface (WUI) building standards required by the 2025 Utah Legislature’s House Bill 48.

Michael Sanders, council policy analyst, and city planning and fire officials said HB 48 makes adoption and enforcement of WUI standards mandatory for municipalities that contain fixed-rail or certain wildland interfaces. The ordinance under discussion would adopt the WUI provisions, identify properties in the city subject to the WUI code (shown in maps in the staff packet), and establish that in cases of conflict the WUI code will control over the city zoning code except where historic-designation or riparian corridor overlay provisions apply; those conflicts would be resolved with public utilities and fire officials collaborating on solutions, staff said.

Why it matters: Staff told the council that failure to adopt a WUI building code by Jan. 1, 2026, could expose the city to a loss of state reimbursement for firefighting costs. The planning commission forwarded the draft ordinance to council on a unanimous recommendation on Sept. 24, staff said.

What staff explained: The WUI rules are building code provisions (not zoning) that regulate exterior building materials, defensible-space landscaping requirements and other construction details intended to increase the chance a building survives a nearby wildland fire. Staff showed maps that identify roughly 917 parcels (staff’s refined count) in areas such as Capitol Hill, the Avenues transition area, the University of Utah/upper East Bench, and corridors along Red Butte Creek and Emigration Creek that the draft ordinance would cover.

Fire department clarifications and enforcement: Fire officials said the WUI model code currently referenced by the state is the 2006 code but that the state is expected to adopt the more flexible 2024 code in an upcoming legislative session; city staff said they are waiting for the state decision so they can align local rule-making. Fire staff said property evaluations and any parcel-level inspections or required work likely will not begin until late next summer, given mapping and staffing timelines. The fire department said roof replacements that require permits (repairs exceeding 25% of roof area) currently receive over-the-counter permits but that affected parcels will be flagged and subject to a code review when owners apply for work.

Questions from council: Council members asked about the number of parcels included (staff said earlier iterations were 2,000 and that the final map landed at roughly 917 properties), grandfathering of existing construction, timelines for compliance, impacts to landscaping and mature trees, Rocky Mountain Power infrastructure on public easements, and available funding to mitigate risks on public lands or to underground power lines. Fire officials said parcel owners are responsible for mitigation on their property lines but the city has an emergency-management effort to coordinate mitigation on public lands and continue discussions with utilities about best practices. Fire officials described typical mitigation steps (NFPA Firewise guidance and trimming of lower tree limbs and removing ladder fuels) and said enforcement will be flexible and focus on progress toward compliance.

Next steps: Staff said the council will consider the ordinance at the Nov. 25 formal meeting; a public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 18. Adoption by Jan. 1, 2026, is required under HB 48 to preserve state reimbursement protections for firefighting costs.