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4 years agoon
SACRAMENTO — Years of increasingly deadly California wildfires spurred lawmakers to consider regulations Tuesday that would toughen local governments’ requirements for approving housing developments in high-risk areas.
A state Senate committee voted 8-3 Monday to advance a measure requiring developers to increase fire protections, plan for evacuations, or prepare for residents who may need to ride out fires in safe areas.
Local governments would also be required to try to make existing structures less likely to burn.
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New homes aren’t the problem, given California’s already tough building requirements in fire-prone areas, objected Nick Cammarota, who oversees government and regulatory affairs for the California Building Industry Association. The new houses are more fire-resistant, he said, while recent fires show that older homes are much more likely to burn.Lawmakers said they will continue to negotiate over the right balance between protecting vulnerable homes while still meeting housing construction goals.
“The spirit of this bill is not to kill housing, the spirit of this bill is so that wildfires don’t kill people,” Jackson said.
More than 3 million Californians, about 7%, live in high-risk wildfire areas and proponents said things will only get worse with climate change.
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Developments with nine houses or more would have to meet those standards, but also have roads designed to get residents and firefighting equipment in and out. Aside from evacuation plans, developers would have to identify sites where residents could safely stay while the fire roared past them.Rent Control Less Effective Than Believed, Apartment Association Study Says
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