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County mapping, wildfire scores and local zoning: Castle Dale hears presentation on state risk zones
Summary
A planning/forestry official briefed the council on new state wildland-interface mapping and risk scores; the presentation explained the 1—to—10 scoring, tax-letter implications for high-risk properties, and the two-step process for local adoption of an ordinance and optional zone designations.
A city planning/forestry official presented state wildfire-risk mapping and a draft ordinance to Castle Dale's council on Feb. 12, explaining how new mapping could change local building requirements and, in some cases, property taxation.
The official described two implementation steps: adopt an ordinance that provides the city's regulatory authority, and separately decide whether to adopt mapped high-risk zones. Under the system described, risk scores run from 1 (low) to 10 (high); a property scored 10 could receive a notice from the county assessor and face tax implications tied to mitigation funding. The presenter said cities may adopt an ordinance now and defer adopting zone designations to planning or later council action.
The speaker referenced House Bill 58 and state forestry maps as the source of the risk designations and showed examples of red (high-risk) areas. City council members asked for clarification about which areas would be affected and whether public or non-taxable land would receive the same treatment; the presenter stressed that the program primarily affects taxable structures and that special service districts and public facilities are treated differently in the scoring model.
Council did not vote on the ordinance at the Feb. 12 meeting; staff said planning and zoning will continue review and bring zoning recommendations back to the council in a future meeting.
