Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Severity Mapping topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Solvang staff outlines new CAL FIRE severity map, next steps for building rules and defensible space
Summary
City staff presented CAL FIRE27s updated fire severity mapping for Solvang, explained disclosure and building-code implications, and said staff will recommend the city council adopt the maps on May 27; no formal Commission vote was taken.
City staff presented updated CAL FIRE fire severity maps for Solvang at the Planning Commission meeting on May 5, explaining how the maps differ from the city27s 2016 hazard mapping and outlining next steps including property-disclosure requirements, new building-code provisions and potential municipal-code changes to require defensible space.
The presentation, given by the Planning Manager, said CAL FIRE and the Department of Forestry used fire probability, past fire history, terrain, proximity to wildland and potential ember patterns to redraw hazard zones and for the first time identified a small area near the city27s southern edge by Alisal Ranch as "very high" severity. "What is a fire severity zone? It basically evaluates hazards, not necessarily risks," the Planning Manager said.
The maps are tied to statewide policy and deadlines. The Planning Manager told the commission that Senate Bill 63 requires municipalities to adopt a fire severity map and that "we are required by California government code section 51179 to adopt these maps no later than July 8." Staff said the changes from the city27s February 2016 map are substantial and that some areas previously shown as nonhazard (gray) are now mapped as moderate (yellow), high (orange) or very high (red).
Why it matters: designation on the CAL FIRE map carries regulatory and transaction consequences. For properties mapped in orange (high), the Planning Manager said the designation will trigger a state-style property disclosure at the time of sale, similar to flood- or airport-related disclosures. New construction in designated zones will have to meet updated building standards, the Planning Manager said, pointing to the 2025 California Building Code and Chapter 7A (the wildland-urban interface chapter) as the primary technical requirements.
Staff said the California Building Standards Commission is scheduled to release the 2025 California Building Code in July; the city intends to adopt the new code and related local amendments in the fall. "New construction needs to adhere to the 2025 California Building Code standards," the Planning Manager said, adding that Chapter 7A requires additional home-hardening materials and construction methods intended to reduce structural ignitability.
For parcels mapped in red (very high), staff said the requirements will include both the high-zone measures and a mandatory creation of defensible space. The Planning Manager said the city will work with Santa Barbara County Fire Department to draft municipal-code language to codify defensible-space standards and to consider specific weed-abatement provisions. "Some communities have specific weed-abatement sections; that's a part of the defensible space that we will be looking at," the Planning Manager said.
Commissioners asked whether the maps impose requirements on vacant parcels with no structures and whether the city can take additional preventive steps inside the village area that the new map does not mark as high. The Planning Manager said CAL FIRE27s defensible-space prescriptions are measured to the property line, not only to structures, and that the city could seek council direction to draft stronger or additional measures for new construction in the village. "The city council could direct city staff to craft language to codify additional measures," the Planning Manager said, but added that expanding requirements in urban areas is a policy decision with trade-offs.
Staff said it has posted an explanatory video and an interactive map on the city's website allowing residents to enter an address and see their location on the new fire map. The Planning Manager said staff will recommend the City Council formally adopt the CAL FIRE maps at the May 27 council meeting and will follow up with proposed municipal-code changes to Title 10 (building regulations), updated landscaping standards and a defensible-space section.
No formal action on the maps was taken by the Planning Commission; the meeting record shows the item was presented for discussion and questions. Commissioners approved the meeting agenda and consent items earlier in the meeting by unanimous voice votes.
