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Cupertino adopts updated CAL FIRE hazard map; 'very high' zones expand, building rules clarified
Summary
Following CAL FIRE's February recommendations, Cupertino's City Council approved amendments adopting a new fire hazard severity map and related municipal-code updates. The update increases areas designated 'very high' and sets uniform parcel-level designations; state-mandated defensible-space rules and forthcoming 'zone 0' guidance were discussed.
Cupertino City Council voted unanimously on June 3 to conduct the first reading of an ordinance adopting CAL FIRE’s 2025 fire hazard severity zone recommendations and to amend the municipal code to reference the new map. The action aligns local code with state-recommended maps issued in February.
City planning and fire staff told the council the biggest practical change is an expansion of the areas designated “very high” on the CAL FIRE map west of the city’s flat residential core. Staff recommended adopting CAL FIRE’s map with a single designation per parcel (where a parcel intersected multiple designations, the higher designation would apply) rather than splitting a parcel across multiple categories. Staff said the total acreage in hazard zones changed only modestly, but the number of parcels placed in the very-high category increased.
City staff and Santa Clara County Fire representatives described two main consequences for properties newly mapped into the higher categories. First, state and local defensible-space standards require property owners to reduce fuels and create separation between vegetation and structures; county Fire said inspections and outreach will follow and that enforcement ultimately can include county weed-abatement processes if properties remain noncompliant. Second, building construction standards can apply to new construction and major remodels; under current city practice high and very-high zones are treated the same for building-code requirements, while moderate zones are not yet subject to the same standards.
The council and fire officials discussed “zone 0,” a state-level proposal for rules governing the first five feet adjacent to structures; staff said those rules are still being finalized and could take effect next year. County fire staff said mature, large trees are not automatically slated for removal under the current state drafts and that inspections will emphasize guidance, voluntary mitigation and phased compliance rather than immediate wholesale removal.
Members of the public raised questions about insurance impacts, public-property obligations (parks and open space) and coordination with county landowners and quarry operators on adjacent lands. Staff said CAL FIRE’s hazard map reflects terrain, fuels and slope; insurers use more granular risk models and may consider additional factors. Staff also said the city mailed notices to certain affected properties and has been running outreach at public safety commission and other forums.
The council conducted the ordinance’s first reading by title only and voted to proceed; council members asked staff to continue outreach and to clarify enforcement timing and resources for affected homeowners.
