Planning commission recommends adopting state‑designated WUI map under HB48

Tyler Timmons of the Sevier County Regional Council told the Monroe City Planning Commission on May 19 that House Bill 48 (2025) requires municipalities to adopt a Wildland‑Urban Interface (WUI) map and corresponding building‑code provisions to participate in cooperative wildfire suppression agreements.

Timmons presented two mapping options: the state‑generated high‑risk map and a broader, risk‑scored map based on data from wildfirerisktool.gov. He said the state's forestry contact suggested using a risk‑score threshold of 5 and above as a reasonable minimum. Timmons also noted that adoption affects only new construction (existing homes would be grandfathered) and that the state levies a separate fee on property owners inside the state‑designated zone that is outside the city’s control.

Explaining the practical benefit, Timmons cited Marysvale as an example where participation in a cooperative agreement spared the municipality more than $200,000 in wildfire suppression costs during the Silver King Fire. Commissioners agreed the prudential starting point was the state‑identified high‑risk map, with the option to expand the designation in the future if warranted. The Commission recommended proceeding with the state map and noted the cooperative agreement should be signed by June 1 to preserve suppression‑cost protections.

Commissioner Lance Roberts moved to recommend adoption of the state‑designated WUI map to the City Council; Commissioner Riley Lindsay seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.