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Council adopts CAL FIRE’s 2025 hazard-severity maps for San Leandro; defers stronger mandates
Summary
Alameda County Fire recommended and the council adopted updated CAL FIRE 2025 wildfire hazard-severity maps that replace 2009 ‘very high’ zones with new ‘high’ and ‘moderate’ categories; staff and fire officials recommended education-first strategies and left open future adoption of more stringent defensible-space requirements.
Alameda County Fire Division Chief Paige Buie briefed the San Leandro City Council on May 19 about CAL FIRE’s 2025 hazard-severity mapping update and recommended replacing the city's 2009 ordinance references to the old map with a new ordinance referencing the 2025 maps. Buie said CAL FIRE’s new mapping uses modern fire-science modeling and now differentiates among moderate, high and very high hazard bands; the updated map shows no parcels within the city labeled 'very high' but increases the total parcels affected (the staff presentation cited 627 parcels in the new high/moderate designations).
Buie told the council that the maps are regulatory triggers for rules such as California Building Code Chapter 7A and certain defensible-space enforcement measures and that adopting the new maps does not in itself mandate immediate punitive enforcement. “We can adjust the final version of these maps to go along property lines to avoid confusion,” Buie said, and recommended adopting the maps and maintaining the current voluntary education-and-outreach approach for defensible-space compliance.
Why it matters: The hazard maps affect building standards, inspection practices and eligibility for certain funding and disclosures at time of sale. Buie noted the city already conducts wildland-urban interface inspections and that the city could choose to upgrade zones later — but cannot weaken state-mandated hazard findings. She cautioned that converting to mandatory defensible-space enforcement would require administrative capacity, funding and legal work and could reduce community trust if not paired with homeowner assistance programs.
Council action: Council member Bolt moved to accept the maps as presented and to adjust the ordinance references; the motion passed 5-0-2. Council members discussed the cost and administrative burden of mandating defensible-space enforcement and asked staff to monitor pending state legislation (referred to as “Zone 0” proposals) before adopting any added local mandates.
Next steps: The council adopted the ordinance changes to reference the 2025 maps; staff will track state-level rulemaking and return with options if the council wants to pursue more stringent defensible-space enforcement or homeowner-assistance funding in the future.
