Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wildfire Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County begins WUI zone mapping under HB 48; officials urge careful edits before state assessments
Summary
County GIS and emergency‑management staff presented draft Wildland‑Urban Interface zone maps based on state structure‑exposure data and outlined an appeals window for the state's high‑risk assessment; officials warned default assessments could raise homeowner fees and urged local edits to avoid misclassifying low‑risk parcels.
Iron County staff provided a detailed update on Wildland‑Urban Interface (WUI) mapping and the implementation path under state HB 48. GIS coordinator Bailey Banks showed draft zone boundaries generated from the state's structure‑exposure scores and described how the county will edit state layers to reflect local conditions before adopting a county WUI zone for code enforcement.
County emergency‑management staff and the DNR liaison described two distinct uses for maps: the state’s high‑risk/high‑exposure layers (used in the state assessment and insurance discussions) and the county’s WUI zone (used for local building‑code enforcement). Cassie Meredith, the county wildfire/community specialist, stressed the need for local edits and an appeals package to the state. “The state map is the one that people are going to be assessed off of,” she said, urging staff to pursue appeals where local knowledge shows lower risk.
Officials explained potential homeowner impacts under HB 48: properties default to higher risk classifications unless owners pursue a local assessment and mitigation to reduce risk scores. Staff outlined an initial fee framework discussed in the meeting — first‑year fees by dwelling gross living area at roughly $20, $50, or $100 depending on size — and said fee revenue is intended to fund assessments and program administration. County leaders said the program is designed to be self‑funding through the fees, and that part of each fee would stay with the county to cover administrative costs.
Commissioners directed staff to proceed with local edits and to convene subject‑matter staff and municipal partners for common‑sense boundary adjustments; staff plan to prepare an appeals submission to the state by the August deadline for high‑risk area challenges.
