Council directs staff to adopt 2025 fire‑hazard maps and return with municipal-code changes

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. — The Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council on May 5 directed staff to proceed with adopting the 2025 fire hazard severity zone map prepared by the State Fire Marshal and to prepare municipal-code amendments that implement the state-required defensible-space and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) rules.

Anna, director of Community Planning and Building, briefed the council on recently released state maps that expand areas designated moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity. Staff recommended the council adopt the required map by ordinance and extend WUI-related requirements citywide as a consistent standard. Staff described three options: (1) adopt the map as issued by the state (meets state minimums), (2) adopt the map while arguing to the state for more areas to be designated as very high (staff recommended against this because of time and uncertain consequences), or (3) adopt the map and extend WUI requirements across the city (staff recommended that option for clarity).

Staff and the fire department emphasized that state law requires a public‑comment period and a July 8, 2025 deadline to adopt the map by ordinance for the local responsibility area. Several members of the public urged the council to proceed quickly; others warned that aggressive code changes could alter Carmel’s character and create high costs for homeowners.

Council ultimately voted to instruct staff to bring back municipal-code modifications based on option 1 (adopt the map as issued) so the city meets the state deadline, and to prepare the necessary code language for future council consideration. The city attorney advised that adoption of the map would occur by ordinance and that any additional code amendments (for example, to define defensible-space enforcement, roofing or fencing standards, or to clarify treatment of historic structures) would follow through the municipal-code amendment process and public hearings.

Staff acknowledged the council’s direction, and several councilmembers asked staff to identify short-term “easy wins” (for example, clarifying whether gravel counts as permeable surface under site coverage rules and whether new wooden roofs should be allowed) and to return with recommendations. Councilmembers also requested clearer guidance on enforcement and outreach to property owners; staff said inspections currently occur mostly from the public rights‑of‑way and that the defensible-space program emphasizes education with a multi-step compliance process before administrative citations are considered.

Staff noted that the state provides a list of approved noncombustible materials and that some jurisdictions are already implementing building-code provisions (California Building Code Chapter 7A and related fire-code sections) for new construction and for significant alterations in designated areas. Council asked staff to return with draft ordinance language in June and noted that the ordinance adopting the maps must be filed with the State Fire Marshal by July 8.