LATC backs Board of Forestry’s ‘zone zero’ draft, urges ban on new trees inside 5‑foot zone

The Landscape Architects Technical Committee voted unanimously May 8 to send a letter to the Board of Forestry expressing conditional support for the board’s new two‑phase draft of ‘zone zero’ wildfire regulations, while asking that no new trees be planted inside the immediate 0–5 foot zone around structures and that the regulation drop prescriptive lists of example plants.

Committee members said the updated draft — released in the weeks before the LATC meeting — narrows earlier proposals and adds flexibility for local agencies, but also raised concerns about insurance practices, enforcement and the cumulative effect on urban tree canopy. A staff summary presented to the LATC described the draft as a two‑phase approach, with Phase 1 expected within three years and Phase 2 within five, and explained there are two subzones: a non‑combustible immediate safety zone at the façade/eave and an adjacent low‑combustibility zone extending to five feet.

"This regulation is specific for zone zero," a staff presenter told the committee and walked members through the draft's figures and definitions. The staff summary also noted the rule allows local alternative practices and includes maintenance timelines for trees that are permitted with conditions.

Members who opposed allowing trees in the zone said the presence of overhanging branches can create ladder fuels and increase risk during extreme fire events; others pointed to recent field observations and peer‑reviewed work suggesting some trees and vegetated buffers can stop embers under certain conditions. Committee member Susan Landry warned that insurers are already using aerial assessments and tree overhang as underwriting criteria. That concern was echoed by other members who said insurance practices could become the principal driver of tree removal regardless of the state's technical standards.

The LATC motion directs staff to draft a letter that: (a) expresses support for the board’s draft language as an improved compromise; (b) requests the board add a clear prohibition on new tree plantings inside the defined 0–5 foot zone; and (c) asks the board to remove or replace the regulation’s prescriptive list of example plants so jurisdictions can rely on objective, testable criteria rather than named species lists. The chair said the draft letter will be reviewed by the committee’s legal counsel before submission.

The motion passed on a unanimous roll‑call vote. The committee asked staff to circulate the draft letter to members for comment and indicated it would monitor the Board of Forestry’s public hearing schedule and provide additional input during the regulatory comment period.