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17. Wildland urban fire area ord.
City of Cupertino 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 777-3228 Fax (408) 777-3333 CUPERTINO Summary Agenda Item No. j SUBJECT: Community Development Department Agenda Date: April 21, 2009 Introduce an ordinance establishing aWildland-Urban Interface Fire Area RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council: • Adopt the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area Ordinance and designated map. BACKGROUND: On January 30, 2007, the State of California adopted eleven new building codes covering building, fire, plumbing, mechanical, electrical and energy regulations. Cupertino and other municipalities were required to adopt these new codes by January 1, 2008- The new 2007 California Building Code (CBC) has a new chapter, Chapter 7A, created by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) for establishing construction requirements for new homes in Wildland-urban interface areas. CalFire has been developing Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps using computer modeling based on vegetation data, topography and potential fire behavior. Calfire's original draft maps consisted of Very High, High and Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Zones but were not available at the time of code adoption. Calfire expected to provide the recommended Fire Hazard Area maps to local Jurisdictions for adoption early in 2008, but they were unable to meet that deadline. Only the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone was recommended for adoption by Calfire- Since the area of Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone has been identified in our City on a map from the State, it is now a requirement to adopt this designated area as our Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area. DISCUSSION: CalFire's broad objective in establishing the 2007 CSC Chapter 7A and the VHFHSZ maps was to establish minimum standards for materials and material assemblies to provide a reasonable level of exterior wildfire exposure protection for new buildings consti~acted in a Wildland-Urban interface fire areas. The use of ignition resistant materials and design to resist the intrusion of flame or burning embers projected by a vegetation fire will help mitigate the losses resulting from a repeating cycle of interface fire disasters. i~-i Adoption of Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area Map. April 21, 2009 Page 2 FINDING: The City of Cupertino experiences low humidity, high winds and warm temperatures during the sun~_rner months creating conditions which are particularly conducive to the ignition and spread of grass, brush and structure fires. Additionally, the remoteness and steepness of hillside areas in the City significantly impacts the ability of emergency responders to extinguish or control Wildland or structure fires. These factors cumulatively mandate special provisions for the creation of defensible space around homes and ignition resistant construction in the hillside areas. Therefore, the State requires the adoption of the area they determined to be of a very high hazard severity zone as the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area. Santa County Fire Department has recorr~rnended we designate an even larger area of the City as a High Hazard Severity Zone to comply with the requirements of the Wildland- Urban Interface Fire Area. Santa Clara County Fire Department reconmiends this expansion due to areas in or close proxin-uty to our hillsides that may be subject to a wildfire. However, this is not required by Calfire. The extended zone would expand new construction requirements to a considerably larger area, which will have an impact on review time for building permits and construction costs. Prepared by: Greg Casteel, Building Official Submitted by: Approved by: ~~ ~~~ Aarti Sluivastava David W. Knapp Director of Community Development City Manager Enclosures: Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area Ordinance, Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area Map i~-z ORDINANCE NO. 09-2042 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO ADDING CHAPTER 16.74 TO ADOPT THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE FIRE AREA THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO HEREBY ORDAINS that they are adopting the Wildland Urban Interface Fire Area. See Attached Exhibit A. INTRODUCED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cupertino the 21st day of April 2009 and ENACTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cupertino the day of 2009, by the following vote: Vote: Members of the City Council Ayes: Noes: Abscnt: Abstain: ATTEST: City Clerk APPROVED: Mayor, City of Cupertino 17-3 L~ ~ - DOW MBUS A\'E -~-~ i I I ` / - 0EP"- ~ _ __ 2_ ~ _ _ I I I I I _1_ I ~ I L o _ O ~ GASTLETON ST -~ I I 1 }'\ ~ ~ CT r _~ __ r ~ _ 1 I hTBL_aM1SE CT ~_~ ~PALOMA DR 4 ~ N~~~Y~~ _ VA IAVE %T ~~ 'I~;-~y~ I ~T\ ~ I I _.G: 3 ~~-I ~L--j ~ ~~I I I I I I I I I/ J ORION LN I r l ` ' t I ~ - HILL IN ~? ~~V~STA OR ~ COLIINGSW ORTH ST - y SHI~ l ILI I I _ \ _ r l I -I Fll =~ _ _ _ I L _ ~- ~~_ ~ ~ ~ 4i ~ I ~ ~ K~ \Ci ,.i ~ b __-fir LUN4R CT i _ -_ /~ - I_ ~ 1 r I I r 1 F'_~ -J-L_ _ _ _ I _ _ _ _ _ C _ "~ 1 - -' ~ I- J-lc~il TrERRAICE DR~-r- to +~: I ~ - _ l - -~, ~ ~ -- ~5~:-0 ~ _ I I '~~o _¢~-- Wildland Urban Interface Fii-e Area _ ~ . -- ~ \ ery High -•-• City Boundary _-- I I -~ ~- - -- wI- I ~ ~ -1_~- _, - Fire Hazard --- _.. _ I ADDw oy~, - I=- I !Parcels __ ` I > ~_ =~saT ~ i - i- __._ Feet _ _ /~. , ~.~ _~- \ , ~~~ hT \~~ ~` `~i ~- Rv.r _coe wore b min -.. f ~ ~ or- ~ ~ ~.v ~~ ~ ~~ ~ L~-~ I I 1 _ ~L 'r~~ - - I .' 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