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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.1 ITEM 3.1 TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS November 5, 2015 Staff Report to the Planning Commission SUBJECT: MODIFICATION TO THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS WILDLAND- URBAN INTERFACE FIRE AREA MAP; FILE #395-14-MISC FROM: Steve Padovan, Consultant Planner SP APPROVED: Suzanne Avila, AICP, Planning Director SA RECOMMENDATION: That the Planning Commission: Forward a recommendation to the City Council to adopt the draft Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area Map as revised by the Planning Commission(Attachment 1). BACKGROUND At the September 3,2015 Planning Commission meeting,staff presented four options for a revised Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Area Map. These options were as follows: 1. Eliminate the WUI map entirely (there are no Very High Fire Hazard Areas in Town);. 2. Retain the existing map(Attachment 2)with the current boundary(Fire Department and Fire District support this option); 3. Utilize Interstate 280 as the WUI map boundary and include all areas west of the freeway along with the Old Page Mill Road area; 4. Encompass the majority of the area west of the freeway that extends approximately one mile inward from the southerly and westerly incorporated Town limit lines. Staff provided background information on how the current WUI map was developed, the reason for the proposed update, the costs associated with WUI compliance, and the general rationale behind the location of the WUI boundary on each of the four options. The Commission also received several public comments on the various map options including support for the current WUI map, concern for the arbitrary location of the WUI boundary on each map,and comments on the potential impacts of the WUI requirements on the Town's landscape screening requirements. Additional background information is available in the September 3, 2015 Planning Commission staff report (Attachment 3). DISCUSSION The Commission discussed each option in conjunction with the fire hazard area maps developed by CALFIRE, the existing state laws regarding WUI designated properties, and existing Town codes related to vegetation management and Class A fire resistant roofs. A majority of the Commission agreed that the CALFIRE map was the most objective analysis currently available and that the Town should maintain some areas within the WUI boundary because of the potential Staff Report to the Planning Commission WUI Map Update November 5,2015 Page 2 of 2 fire danger associated with the open space areas adjacent to the Town. In addition, the current map does not encompass the newly annexed areas in Town, thereby necessitating the need to amend the map to keep it current. Based on these factors, the Commission, on a 4 to 1 vote, directed staff to revise the WUI map boundary to include all properties in Town that are west and south of Interstate 280 and to include properties east of 280 that are designated as High Fire Hazard Areas on the CALFIRE map. This new boundary removes a large portion of the properties on the east side of the freeway that were not located in a fire hazard zone. However, 16 properties that were previously not located within the old WUI map area are now within the new proposed area. These lots are located on Mandoli Drive and at the end of Alejandro and Palo Hills Drives. PUBLIC COMMENT Staff has received no other comments on the WUI map update as of October 26, 2015. CEQA STATUS The proposed map revision is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to "general exemptions" described in Section 15061(b)(3)of the CEQA Guidelines,since the map amendment would not have any significant effect on the environment. ATTACHMENTS 1. Planning Commission Recommended Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Area Map 2. 2011 Adopted Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Area Map 3. September 3,2015 Planning Commission Staff Report 4. Excerpt from Minutes of the September 3, 2015 Planning Commission Meeting 5. Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Los Altos Hills Town of Los Altos.7-fila ATTACHMENT 1 bik ,,,,, / \ INSTITUTIONAL / OPEN SPACE PRESERVE We RECREATION AREA-PUBLIC ', }m \ RECREATION AREA-PRIVATE ilr,/ '�~ 1`�� �4� ® OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION AREA -Whli ® WITHIN WUI .'t ,1 i 4 IllZ I e0 M.,. 1 `ys4 �> L� JQl7 pig w c - - \ ._. - ,._ _ fly -_;;- - Com... - . - _ , .,.,:. , 44,(11. 1 .-.... :„:_j ., . . ,_.:\14 , ,.. ��: ,i \ <. { S w. .. j� \• k, ii . ,,.., b_„.„,10 ,,..)/I „ ii,,,,, ,,_,, \ ,., ___, , „ft. , . ,,=.., .. ‘, \ 410...... ,______ riek : .. i.,.. .. _/ \,.„ . :11 ,. . e is, ,, _. 141,„ ,„, ..._ ,,10_, . , i , ,_..... i !,. , , . ,,,,,„,,, ,I ., _ ,4,._ . , . v. _ _ ..,._(__ __ _ , ,,, __--,r,"",,-''.7..':,:'''' ,i _ ter"/yam '""., tom . , 4404„. ,, -7 ,,,,, - . ,, 4011114 ititatikai PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED WUI FIRE AREA BOUNDARY Town of Los Altos.ffilts ATTACHMENT 2 me INS IIIUIIONAL / \ 111M OPEN SPACE PRESERVE 1 - MWM RECREATION AREA-PUBLIC -, ~~~ RECREATIV ION AREA-PRATE / ® OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION AREA N ® WITHIN WUI bi jiiiiiNtio . --- T, . . 1 .._..,...„. , , . 0 . ._ 0 x , ... ..., w*E - \,c_ z . 1 ... ,,, . , ,:,:711111.I —II— "9:::, ., . , • ' N ') , I itik ‘ . I K. -r", \ N41*, 1 i ' • f I • r C`� /. 1 r / • 1 EXISTING WUI BOUNDARY ATTACHMENT 3 TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS September 3, 2015 Staff Report to the Planning Commission SUBJECT: REVIEW THE SUBCOMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING MODIFICATIONS TO THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS WILDLAND- URBAN INTERFACE FIRE AREA MAP; FILE#395-14-MISC FROM: Steve Padovan, Consultant Planner APPROVED: Suzanne Avila,AICP, Planning Director RECOMMENDATION: That the Planning Commission: 1. Discuss the Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps created by CALFIRE, existing state laws regarding fire codes and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Areas, existing fire prevention regulations in the Municipal Code; 2. Review the four WUI Fire Area Map boundary options that resulted from the three Planning Commission Subcommittee meetings; and 3. Direct staff to return to the Commission with a final draft of an amended WUI map boundary or select an existing WUI map option and direct staff to draft a resolution with a recommendation to the City Council to adopt that specific WUI map option. BACKGROUND In 2011, the Town adopted a WUI Fire Area Map (Attachment 1) in conjunction with the adoption of the 2010 California Building Code Update. The WUI map was developed by the Los Altos Hills County Fire District in consultation with Town officials and the Santa Clara County Fire Department. According to the Fire District representative, the boundary was determined based on the types of plants and fuel loads on properties throughout Town, topography, road access, open space areas and density of development. Any new structure within a WUI designation must comply with additional building code requirements for exterior fire protection which typically results in additional construction costs. In January 2014, the Town initiated the process of adopting the 2013 California Building Code (CBC). During the review process, the boundary line delineating which properties are within the designated WUI Fire Area was brought into question. The concerns centered on the inconsistencies between the Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps adopted by the state and the existing WUI map and the additional costs and/or design changes that apply to properties within the WUI Fire Area. At the March 20, 2014 City Council meeting, the Council agreed that any modifications to the WUI Fire Area map should be done separately from the proposed building code amendments due to the process by which the map is amended. Following adoption of the 2013 Code and associated amendments, the City Council directed the Planning Commission to form a subcommittee to work with staff, the Fire District and the Fire Department to consider revisions to the existing WUI map. Staff Report to the Planning Commission WUI Map Update September 3,2015 Page 2 of 4 In early 2015, the Planning Commission formed a WUI Map Update subcommittee with Commissioners Abraham and Couperus. The subcommittee met with staff, representatives of the Fire District and Fire Department representatives on March 18, April 22 and June 5, 2015 to discuss a variety of issues (see agendas under Attachment 2). These meetings were open to the public but were not posted or advertised. Each Commissioner and representative provided information to support their argument for modifying the existing WUI map boundary or retaining the original map. However, a consensus could not be reached and at the final meeting on June 5, 2015, staff presented the subcommittee with four WUI map boundary options. It was agreed that the four options would be brought forward to the Planning Commission for consideration. DISCUSSION The four options for the proposed WUI Fire Area Map boundary are as follows: 1. Eliminate the WUI map (Attachment 3) — Commissioner Abraham recommendation. There are no Very High fire hazard areas in Town, as designated by the state, and the state law was meant to address Very High fire hazard areas. In addition, the cost to comply with WUI requirements is high (up to $50,000 on a new house based on data from local home builders) and the fire risk in Town is low because the Town does not experience the type of winds that are associated with large wildfires (Diablo winds, Santa Ana winds, etc.). Furthermore, the Town maintains strong local codes for defensible space and the WUI designation increases fire insurance rates while decreasing availability. 2. Retain the existing map with the current boundary (Attachment 4)—Fire Department and Fire District recommendation. The Fire Department feels that the fuel loads in Town and the terrain justify the current boundary (see Attachment 5). Access for fire equipment is challenging in many areas with narrow roads and the burning embers spread fires some distance from the main fire. Therefore, the wildland-urban interface area should be large to protect a greater number of structures. This view is also supported by the 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California(Attachment 6). 3. Utilize Interstate 280 as the WUI map boundary and include the Old Page Mill Road area (Attachment 7)—Fire District Alternate Proposal. I-280 forms a large defensible fire line and most of the area to the west is designated as High fire hazard. The fire station is located near the freeway and equipment from other jurisdictions can be brought quickly to help defend the fire line. 4. I-280/El Monte/Altamont/Black Mountain/Natoma/Elena/I-280/Page Mill Road (Attachment 8) — Staff Proposal. This option includes most of the areas west of I-280 that are in High fire hazard areas and the boundary follows roads generally located along ridgelines that are adequate in width to support emergency vehicle access. The area within the WUI designation forms a band roughly 3/4 to one mile wide between the Town limits and the WUI boundary. The general assumption is that a wildfire would begin in the open space areas to the west and then winds would blow embers toward the Town. Staff Report to the Planning Commission WUI Map Update September 3,2015 Page 3 of 4 State Laws and Fire Hazard Maps The state laws relating to wildland fire hazards (Attachment 9) require that all areas designated as Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (on maps developed by CALFIRE) be designated as a WUI Fire Area (see Attachment 10 for maps of west Santa Clara County). These maps are divided into State Responsibility Areas (SRA) and Local Responsibility Areas (LRA). The LRA maps are lands within incorporated city limits and are recommended areas that each local jurisdiction should place within its own adopted WUI Fire Area Map. In addition, the 2013 California Fire Code also allows each enforcing agency to include other areas deemed to be at a significant risk from wildfires to be included in the WUI fire area. Each local jurisdiction abutting the open space lands on the west side of Santa Clara County has adopted a WUI fire area map that encompasses the CALFIRE designated Very High fire hazard zones and some also include areas that are listed as High fire hazard zones (Attachment 11). However, Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills are the only jurisdictions with no areas designated as Very High fire hazard and it appears that only Los Altos Hills includes areas with no fire hazard designation within its adopted WUI fire area map (Attachment 12). Local Codes The Town has extensive existing local codes for fire prevention which require a "Class A" roof on all new structures and include clearance of brush and vegetative growth throughout the entire Town limits (Attachment 13). The maintenance of defensible space around a home and a fire resistant roof are known to be very effective at preventing the spread of fires from embers and help to slow the spread of fires between properties. PUBLIC COMMENT Staff received public comment at the subcommittee meetings regarding wildfire risks and cost benefit analysis. These comments are included under Attachment 14. CEQA STATUS The proposed map revision is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to "general exemptions" described in Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, since the map amendment would not have any significant effect on the environment. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2011 Adopted Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Area Map 2. Subcommittee Agendas for March 18,April 22, and June 17,2015 3. WUI Map Option 1 —Eliminate WUI Map 4. WUI Map Option 2—Retain Existing Map 5. Fire Department Justification Letter 6. 2010 Strategic Fire Plan for California Staff Report to the Planning Commission WUI Map Update September 3,2015 Page 4 of 4 7. WUI Map Option 3—Interstate 280 Boundary Line 8. WUI Map Option 4—Staffs Proposal 9. State Laws Related to Wildland Fire Hazards and WUI 10. CALFIRE State Fire Hazard Severity Zones(SRA and LRA) 11. WUI Maps from Local Jurisdictions in West County 12. Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Los Altos Hills 13. Excerpts from Town Municipal Code 14. Public Comments from Bill Balson ATTR 1104 Minutes of a Regular Meeting, Town of Los .AltosHills PLANNING COMMISSION Thursday, September 03, 2015, 7:00 P.M. • Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 L ROLL CALL.AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Present: Commissioner Abraham, Commissioner Mandle, Commissioner Partridge, Commissioner Tankha, Chair Couperus Staff Suzanne Avila, Planning Director;Steve Padovan, Consultant Planner; Jaime McAvoy, Planning Secretary 2. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR There were no presentations from the floor. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS • Ex Parte Disclosures: There were no Ex Parte Disclosures. 3.1 LANDS OF PURISSIMA HILLS WATER DISTRICT (APPLI 1T: T-Mobile Wireless do Modus); 12863 La Cresta Drive, File #73-15- D-CUP; a request for a Conditional Use Permit for modifications an existing wireless communications facility including the installatio •f additional antenna and equipment(Staff-S. Padovan). Consultant Planner Steve Padovan pres;. ed the staff report. Commission asked questions of sta Chair Couperus opened the P.:LIC HEARING. Kevin Bowyer, T-Mo' e, Applicant, spoke on behalf of the application and answered questions . "•ed by the Commission. Seeing.no on- -Ise wishing to speak Chair Couperus closed the PUBLIC HEARING. Co ion discussion ensued. 1 Regular Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 3,2015 Approved October 1,2015 MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Partridge mo -d to forward a recommendation to the City Council to adopt the o ance in Attachment 1, amending Title 8 of the Los Altos Hills Munic't.,. ode, adding Chapter 9, "small residential rooftop solar expedited permi : . The motion was seconded by Commissioner Abraham. AYES: Commissioner Abr-,r. , Commissioner Mandle, Commissioner P. - .ge, Commissioner Tankha, Chair Couperus NOES: Non- ABSENT: one ABST• b None ION CARRIED 5-0. 3.3 DISCUSSION ON REVISIONS TO. THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE FIRE AREA MAP FOR THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS; FILE #395-14- MISC; CEQA REVIEW: CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION PER SECTION 15061(B)(3) (Staff-S. Padovan). Chair Couperus opened the PUBLIC HEARING. Consultant Planner Steve Padovan presented the staff report. Commission asked staff questions pertaining to the logic behind each of the three (3)proposed maps. George Tyson, Los Altos Hills, stated his support of having a WUI map, and that the existing map sounds sufficient. Bill Balson, Los Altos Hills, commented that all three (3) proposed maps are arbitrary as they disregard.the Cal Fire analysis and:replace it with a subjective judgment of non-wildfire related factors. Kjell Karlsson,.Los Altos Hills, asked how this would affect the Town's landscape screening requirements, and asked the Commissioners;to think how it would affect the look of the Town. Chair Couperus closed the PUBLIC HEARING. Commission discussion ensued. Commissioner.Abraham asked staff to provide a list of the requirements imposed on residences in the WUI area. 3 Regular Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 3,2015 Approved October 1,2015 Commissioner Mandle said that if the map needed to be revised for the new annexed,areas, then this was an opportunity to revise the whole map, and she was happy to leave the un-zoned, or areas that were grey on the map, out of the WUI. She added that by having the WUI, it notifies residents that they are in an area to be more prepared, and if the map was removed, she was not sure how they would continue to do so. Commissioner Partridge said that the only truly objective analysis they have is the Cal Fire map. Chair Couperus discussed his logic in the proposed map he helped create. Commissioner Mandle suggested that staff draw a line along the edge of the high fire danger area and call that the WUI. Commissioner Abraham wanted the Commission to look at what they are trying to accomplish, and 'reminded them that:the experts at Cal Fire say the there is no reason to have a WUI area in Town, and they are oppressing home design by pushing the map on the residents. Chair Couperus did not see WUI causing a large fmancial burden, and that it would give hini greater piece of mind to have had his house built to WUI standards. Further,he said he could not support removing the WUI all together. MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Mandle moved to direct staff to return to the Planning Commission with a revised WUI map that includes the annexed areas of Town.and designates the area of:Town west of Interstate 280 as the WUI area, as wellas the additional area east of Interstate 280 that is designated high fire danger on the Cal Fire Frap 2008 Map. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Tankha. AYES: Commissioner Mandle, Commissioner Partridge, Commissioner Tankha, Chair Couperus NOES: ' Commissioner Abraham ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED 4-1. 4. OLD BUSINESS -none 5. NEW BUSINESS -none . 4 Regular Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 3,2015 DRAFT FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES IN LRA CALFIRE - FRAP 2008 ATTACHMENT 5 id i .2•1 t ,40)1 kL.-2/. . .. . , 'N.it,* ,, • \NI MF-----; . Illk ET ,. ‘: . : --... , .4. 11,110.. 4 , , ,„ . , ,._, . ,: „ . . . , , „ i . , , , ., •,„„ , , ' . ._..._ -4t, .41; -- v ,) 411141 401/14” i,''k N, lkir i , , • Los AlCosnl . i \ . ,. • . ._i ,.. .. \ \ .. _ 11, 11 . I,.. . s.\,....... f FIRE I IALARD SEVERITY ZONES _ LRA Very High 4411 LRA High LRA Moderate MI LRA Unzoned Other Very High Other High Other Moderate Other Unzort d Incorporated Citic. 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