Ari Plachta, SACRAMENTO BEE
The bill would overhaul California’s ranking system for wildfire hazards.
A bill backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to overhaul California’s ranking system for wildfire hazards is taking heat from environmentalists and local governments, who argue the bill would lead to a dangerous increase in housing development in fire-prone areas.
Senate Bill 610 would replace the state’s existing, three-tiered, labeling system that rates communities based on their probability of burning with a single framework that would only identify whether or not an area requires “fire mitigation.”
The hazard ranking system is a key to local development processes, building safety standards and home defensible space requirements. Proponents say the reform would simplify a convoluted system and help expand compliance with those rules.