California Board of Forestry & Fire Protection (BOF) to update minimal fire safety regulations affecting VHFHSZ: Next meeting March 3, 2021

The California Legislature has directed the state’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (“BOF”) to expand and strengthen the 1991 regulations. These regulations, known as “State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Safe Regulations," established minimum wildfire protection standards in building, construction, and new development to ensure basic emergency access and perimeter wildfire protection measures.

NOTE: Only a few meetings left!

• The BOF is a state agency that has statewide regulations that mandate fire safe roads.

• The regulations from 1991, that are being re-drafted, never applied to incorporated cities UNTIL NOW.

• These regulations will affect communities in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ).

• Issues can impact development in the hillsides; examples include the ability to build a property with a road less than 20 feet, and the length of a dead end street.

• If the State’s fire safety rules are more restrictive than the city’s rules, the state rules will trump the city rules.

Board of Forestry & Fire Protection
REVISED March Meeting Agenda Posted

The Resource Protection Committee agenda for Tuesday, March 2 has been changed to add a discussion regarding the Fire Safe Regulations, in addition to the discussion on the regulations at the full Board meeting on Wednesday, March 3.

The revised March meeting agenda is available on the Board's website, and links to register for the webinars are on the Board's homepage.

You may also download the revised agenda, which includes the webinar registration links, by clicking on this link.
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Please contact Edith Hannigan, Land Use Planning Program Manager, with any questions.
edith.hannigan@bof.ca.gov

Anyone interested in following the Board's Resource Protection Committee regulatory proposals should sign up at this link to receive updates: Mailchimp Signup. Don't forget to check your spam/junk folders.

Click here to view the Agenda for March 3, 2021.

Additional information:

Below are a number of links and other information regarding this project:

1.       A Box website where we have posted

a.       Materials from the 2020 Emergency Rulemaking

b.       Comments received on these draft proposals since November 18, 2020 (this folder is updated weekly on Fridays)

c.       Materials for all workshops and Board meetings where the Fire Safe Regulations were discussed since the first workshop on November 18

d.       A copy of the existing Fire Safe Regulations

e.       A document with additional relevant links and information that may be of interest to stakeholders.

Box link: https://calfire.box.com/v/firesaferegulations2021

2.       Discussion on the Fire Safe Regulations at the next Board’s Resource Protection Committee meeting and the Full Board meeting on March 2 and 3, respectively.

a.       An agenda for those meetings is attached (for those of you who received the agenda when it was initially noticed last week, you’ll see the RPC agenda has been revised)

b.       Links to register for those meetings are here – 

March 2 Resource Protection Committee: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8539706015407203852

March 3 Board meeting: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5337943548486139660