Deschutes County adopts ordinance repealing ADU wildfire mitigation rules tied to state hazard map

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 13 adopted Ordinance No. 2025-015 to amend Deschutes County Code Title 18 (zoning) and Title 19 (Bend Urban Area Zoning Ordinance), removing references to the state wildfire hazard map and related rural accessory dwelling unit (ADU) mitigation standards. Commissioners approved the ordinance by emergency adoption, making it effective immediately.

Will Groves, planning manager filling in for Kyle Collins, told the board the amendments respond to state legislative changes that repealed the comprehensive state wildfire hazard map and its associated requirements earlier in 2025. “The proposal before you today is to amend the Deschutes County code to remove local wildfire hazard mitigation standards for rural accessory dwelling units as originally governed by the state wildfire hazard map,” Groves said.

Groves summarized the legislative background provided in the staff report: he referenced 2021 legislation that established ADU rules and created a state wildfire hazard map; later modifications in 2023; and the 2025 legislative repeal of the hazard map and associated requirements. He said the county’s ADU sections still contained standards left over from the earlier map and that local code amendments were necessary to align with state law. Groves also noted the legislature left a process for local governments to adopt their own wildfire mitigation standards, but that state-recommended or mandatory standards had not yet been finalized.

Commissioners discussed the next steps and emphasized that adopting the cleanup ordinance does not foreclose the county from setting local standards in the future. Several commissioners urged a rapid local process to establish defensible-space and home‑hardening standards: one commissioner said, “I really feel that we need these standards today,” and another requested staff return quickly with a work plan. Board members also described widespread local wildfire risk and noted that existing home-hardening practices are common in new construction.

The motion to approve first and second reading by title only and to adopt the ordinance by emergency passed on a recorded voice vote. The meeting record shows Commissioners Chang and Dyer and the chair voting yes; the motion carried and the ordinance was adopted immediately.

Staff said the action is a code cleanup to reflect state law and that more detailed local standard-setting will follow through the planning commission and future board action. Groves provided a project website for the full record and invited further public and agency comment during the follow-up process.