Local government: planning and zoning: wildfires.

(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of a city or county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes various elements, including, among others, a housing element and a safety element for the protection of the community from unreasonable risks associated with the effects of various geologic and seismic hazards, flooding, and wildland and urban fires. Existing law requires the housing element to be revised according to a specific schedule. Existing law requires the planning agency to review and, if necessary, revise the safety element upon each revision of the housing element or local hazard mitigation plan, but not less than once every 8 years to identify new information relating to flood and fire hazards and climate adaptation and resiliency strategies applicable to the city or county that was not available during the previous revision of the safety element. Existing law requires that the Office of Planning and Research, among other things, coordinate with appropriate entities, including state, regional, or local agencies, to establish a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information for use by state, regional, and local entities, as provided. This bill would require the safety element, upon the next revision of the housing element or the hazard mitigation plan, on or after June 1, 2022, whichever occurs first, to be reviewed and updated as necessary to include a comprehensive retrofit strategy to reduce the risk of property loss and damage during wildfires, as specified, and would require the planning agency to submit the adopted strategy to the Office of Planning and Research for inclusion into the above-described clearinghouse. The bill would also require the planning agency to review and, if necessary, revise the safety element upon each revision of the housing element or local hazard mitigation plan, but not less than once every 8 years, to identify new information relating to retrofit updates applicable to the city or county that was not available during the previous revision of the safety element. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the general plan to include a land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land for, among other purposes, housing, business, and industry. Existing law additionally requires the general plan to include a housing element and requires each local government to review and revise its housing element, as specified. This bill would require a city or county that contains a very high fire risk area, as defined, upon each revision of the housing element on or after June 1, 2022, to amend the land use element of its general plan to contain, among other things, the locations of all very high fire risk areas within the city or county and feasible implementation measures designed to carry out specified goals, objectives, and policies relating to the protection of lives and property from unreasonable risk of wildfire. The bill would require the city or county to complete a review of, and make findings related to, wildfire risk reduction standards, as defined, upon each subsequent revision of the housing element, as provided. The bill would require the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to review the findings and make recommendations, as provided. The bill would additionally require the Office of the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research and the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, by January 1, 2023, to adopt wildfire risk reduction standards that meet certain requirements and reasonable standards for third-party inspection and certifications for a specified enforcement program. The bill would also require the Office of the State Fire Marshal to, by January 1, 2024, update the maps of the very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified. The bill would require the Office of the State Fire Marshal to convene a working group of stakeholders, as specified, to assist in this effort and to consider specified national standards. Existing law requires county or city zoning ordinances to be consistent with the general plan of the county or city, as specified. This bill would require a city or county that contains a very high fire risk area, within 12 months following the amendment of the city or county's land use element, to adopt a very high fire risk overlay zone or otherwise amend its zoning ordinance so that it is consistent with the general plan, as specified. This bill would additionally prohibit the legislative body of a city or county that contains a very high fire risk area, upon the effective date of the revision of the city or county's land use element, from entering into a development agreement for property that is located within a very high fire risk area, approving specified discretionary permits or other discretionary entitlements for projects located within a very high fire risk area, or approving a tentative map or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required for a subdivision that is located within a very high fire risk area, unless the city or county makes specified findings based on substantial evidence in the record. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with each council of governments, to determine each region's existing and projected housing need, as provided. Existing law requires each council of governments, or the department for cities and counties without a council of governments, to adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county and that furthers specified objectives. This bill would require the regional housing needs allocation plan to additionally further the objective of reducing development pressure within very high fire risk areas. (4) Existing law requires the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, to develop a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need and, to the extent that sufficient data is available as provided, to include specified factors to develop the methodology that allocates regional housing needs, including, among other factors, the rate of overcrowding. This bill would additionally require the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, to include within those factors for any scheduled revision of the housing element required, as provided, on or after July 1, 2022, the amount of land in each member jurisdiction that is within a very high fire risk area by allocating a lower proportion of housing if the council of governments or delegate subregion determines, based on specified factors, that it is likely that the jurisdiction would otherwise need to identify lands within a very high fire risk area as adequate sites in order to meet its housing need allocation. For cities and counties without a council of governments, existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine and distribute the existing and projected housing need, unless that responsibility is delegated as provided to cities and counties, based upon available data and in consultation with the cities and counties, taking into consideration, among other things, the availability of suitable sites and public facilities. This bill would also require the department, for any scheduled revision of the housing element required, as provided, on or after July 1, 2022, to take into consideration the amount of land in each city and each county that is within a very high fire risk area, as defined, by allocating a lower proportion of housing if the department determines, based on specified factors, that it is likely that the jurisdiction would otherwise need to identify lands within a very high fire risk area as adequate sites in order to meet its housing need allocation. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research to implement various long-range planning and research policies and goals that are intended to, among other things, encourage the formation and proper functioning of local entities and, in connection with those responsibilities, to adopt guidelines for the preparation and content of the mandatory elements required in city and county general plans. This bill would require the Office of Planning and Research, on or before January 1, 2023, in collaboration with cities and counties, to identify local ordinances, policies, and best practices relating to land use planning in very high fire risk areas, wildfire risk reduction, and wildfire preparedness and publish these resources on the above-described clearinghouse, as specified. (6) Existing law requires, until the 2023–24 fiscal year, the amount of $165,000,000 to be appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for healthy forest and fire prevention programs and projects that improve forest health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by uncontrolled wildfires. This bill would establish the Wildfire Risk Reduction Planning Support Grants Program, administered by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, for the purpose of providing small jurisdictions, as defined, containing very high fire hazard risk areas with grants for specified planning activities to enable those jurisdictions to meet the requirements set forth in the bill, as described above. Upon appropriation, the bill would require the department to distribute grant funds under the program via a noncompetitive, over-the-counter process, as provided, to small jurisdictions. The bill would require a recipient small jurisdiction to use the allocation solely for wildfire risk reduction planning activities, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to set aside up to 5% of any amount appropriated for these purposes for program administration. (7) Existing law requires a common interest development within a very high fire severity zone to allow an owner to install or repair a roof with at least one type of fire retardant roof covering material that meets specified requirements. This bill would require the one type of fire retardant roof covering material to additionally meet, at a minimum, class B standards, as specified in the International Building Code. (8) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.