Notice this house, surrounded by greenery and shrubs, survived the Palisades Fire. There are example after example of these small homes surrounded by greenery still standing. If one wants to legislate for fire, maybe it’s the large homes built lot line to lot line that contributed to the rapid spread of flames.
Proposed Zone Zero legislation would aim to reduce wildfire risks by banning flammable landscaping materials within five feet of structures in high fire-risk areas. These rules are proposed by the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and if approved will apply immediately to new constructions and within three years for existing buildings.
One Palisades resident wrote about the proposed Zone Zero: “the bill is a vehicle for the know-it-all out-of-touch politicians to dictate to individuals how they should or shouldn’t live and have choice in their own environment.
“It’s also a way to obfuscate their absenteeism during the fires. Brush clearance, which Newsom vetoed twice, could have eliminated much of the fuel. Bass cut the fire department’s budget the minute she got into office and the County Board of Supervisors voted for a reduction (though reduced it only slightly).
“LADWP failed to keep a reservoir filled. With great fortune, my home in Mandeville Canyon survived, but after living through several big fires in my 40 years up here, I’ve never experienced the lack of preparedness or mitigation efforts on the part of ‘city hall’ to protect the entirety of the Pacific Palisades.”
A Zone Zero Committee meeting will be held September 18 at the Pasadena Convention Center 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 Space 106. Webcast registration links: click here.. The in-person registration link: click here.
The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection hosts in-person meetings for the Board and its Standing Committees, but these in-person meetings are not “teleconference” meetings within the meaning of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. That means one can only give public comment if attending in person.
On the Fire Safe Brentwood site click here, it’s noted that “The Zone 0 mandates the removal of privacy hedges, street buffers, and landscape features that keeps neighborhoods livable, beautiful, and environmentally healthy and will cause serious, lasting harm.
The site notes that Zone Zero would have unattended consequences, such a 1) Worsens air quality, 2) Increases stormwater runoff, 3) Destabilizes hillsides, 4) Decimates irreplaceable biodiversity; and 5) Makes homes hotter by eliminating shade.