City Council reinstates $13 brush‑clearance fee with self‑inspection option, orders 90‑day boundary review

The Los Angeles City Council on May 7 voted to reinstate a $13 brush‑clearance fee for properties within newly defined high‑hazard buffer zones while adopting amendments intended to reduce implementation problems. The measure requires the Fire Department to accept a homeowner self‑inspection and photo documentation in lieu of assessment, to refund checks submitted by owners later excluded from revised boundaries, and to return to the council with a boundary review within 90 days.

The Fire Department told the council it had prepared revised outreach materials and a new homeowner letter explaining the purpose and scope of the program. Deputy Fire Chief Jimmy Hill said the buffer zones and expanded clearance distances were designed to reduce the risk of fires spreading from hillside and canyon areas into residential neighborhoods. He described the program as a way to create a “margin of safety” for homes bordering hazardous vegetation.

Debate centered on legality and fairness. Council Member Bernson said the council should not charge every lot in the initial boundaries without first clarifying which parcels truly require inspection, noting potential non‑owner or public parcels (city, county or utility‑owned) included in the notices. Bernson moved for more precise boundary work and for refunds to those improperly charged.

Council Member Fur urged quick action, arguing that delay could leave the city exposed during high fire‑risk periods: “If we fail to act today, we could easily be known as the governing body that allowed a major fire to spread much farther than otherwise it would have,” he said. Fur and others supported the self‑inspection option and changes to the program’s paperwork to make compliance simpler.

Public testimony was mixed. Opponents said the fee felt like a tax and warned of inequitable application; proponents — including firefighters’ union representatives and residents of higher‑risk districts — called it a modest safety fee. Candido Mars, a resident north of the 118 Freeway who said his neighborhood benefited from prior clearance, said, “This $13 to me is insurance that next year my home is going to be around.”

The council approved the package as amended (recorded vote noted in council minutes). The amendments direct the Fire Department to: accept homeowner self‑certification with photo evidence for immediate compliance; refund payments from owners later excluded by a boundary review; and coordinate with council offices to reexamine buffer lines and return within 90 days. Council members also agreed to route administrative fees from noncompliance work back to the Fire Department to support program operations.

Next steps: the Fire Department will circulate the revised homeowner letter and self‑inspection instructions, implement outreach, and begin inspections in the highest‑risk areas. The department will return with a report on adjusted buffer boundaries and a tally of refunds and administrative accounting within 90 days.

Vote: Item 14 (as amended) was approved (roll call recorded in the council minutes).