Subcommittee vote clears the way for Zone Zero implementation

The Board of Forestry could adopt the regulations in August

By Jolena Voorhis, legislative advocate (public safety)

On June 16, a Board of Forestry subcommittee held its last public hearing on the draft Zone Zero regulation — landscaping rules for the first five feet around a home or structure in fire-prone areas. After discussing some minor drafting changes, including revising the definition of combustible materials and allowing innovative products in Zone Zero, the subcommittee adopted the regulations on a 3-0 vote.

The full Board of Forestry is expected to vote on the rules at its August board meeting. If adopted in August, the emergency regulations will likely become effective in mid-September.

These new regulations will give property owners three years to create a one-foot safety zone around their homes and five years to create a zone around larger structures, such as gates, fences, and sheds. The safety zone is a buffer around a structure with more stringent requirements than the rest of Zone Zero, such as the removal of all vegetation.

Other provisions include allowing well-maintained trees, vegetation, and plants in the area outside the safety zone. Property owners would need to trim trees to help prevent fires from climbing from the tree and into the structure.

The proposal also allows fire agencies within Local Responsibility Areas to adopt different rules within five years that “provide substantially similar practical effects to the regulations” for the five-year phase.