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Santa Barbara updates local fire-hazard zones; council directs further assessment for fire-suppression district
Summary
City staff presented updated local responsibility area (LRA) maps prepared with Cal Fire, and the City Council adopted an ordinance updating high fire-hazard severity zones. Council also directed staff to engage the assessment-district engineer to examine expanding or adjusting the wildland fire suppression assessment district.
The Santa Barbara City Council on June 17 adopted an ordinance updating the city's high fire hazard severity zones, incorporating California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) mapping with local adjustments, and directed staff to pursue further analysis of the wildland fire suppression assessment district.
Fire Chief Chris Mails and Battalion Chief (Fire Marshal) Ryan DeJulio explained Cal Fire—s revised local responsibility area (LRA) maps — the first statewide update that touches Santa Barbara in 14 years — and how the city used its Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) to refine and, in a few cases, expand the state—s draft boundaries. "These are hazard maps, not risk maps," Chief Mails told council, emphasizing that the state mapping file does not reflect parcel lines or streets and that the local refinement aimed to make hazard areas intelligible and administrable for residents and city operations.
What changed and why it matters Cal Fire—s March 10, 2025 LRA release identified several neighborhoods as newly subject to the state mapping process: East San Roque, Upper Hope/Mesa areas, Hidden Valley, Elings Park vicinity, and areas near the Douglas Family Preserve. Staff proposed local amendments to avoid parcel-splitting and to align hazard boundaries with major roads and logical neighborhood lines so that requirements (for defensible space and construction standards in high-hazard zones) would be clear to property owners. DeJulio noted the maps identify environmental hazard conditions (vegetation, topography, historical fire behavior) and do not equate to insurance or property-value determinations; he reminded council insurance companies work from risk and historic claim data, not the hazard maps.
Council action and direction Council member Sneddon moved and Council member Friedman seconded the staff recommendation to introduce and adopt an ordinance updating the fire-hazard severity zones and to authorize staff to proceed with administrative steps to implement the coastal-area portion of a wildland fire suppression assessment. The council added direction to have staff engage in conversation with the assessment-district engineer of record regarding further assessment of high- and extreme-high-fee zones and how the district boundary or assessment might be adapted. The motion passed unanimously.
Practical effects for property owners Property owners newly inside high-hazard zones will be subject to defensible-space requirements and to high-fire-area building-code requirements (California Building Code Chapter 7A) for new construction and, depending on forthcoming statewide rules, for certain existing structures over time. Staff emphasized that some statewide changes, such as proposed "zone 0" requirements (0–5 feet of noncombustible ground around structures), are still in legislative progress and would likely be phased in for new construction first.
Staff outreach and next steps City staff said they will continue community engagement, partner with county and state agencies, and follow up on implementation details for inspections, vegetation management support, and assessment-district engineering. Council directed staff to begin administrative work for the coastal assessment-district process and to consult the engineer of record on any changes to district boundaries or assessment methodology.
