As city and state officials strive to ensure rapid approvals for reconstruction efforts in areas impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles, California lawmakers are being urged to accelerate regulations on fire mitigation strategies that will dictate the type and location of new developments.
In 2020, the state Legislature enacted a law mandating that property owners in fire-prone regions maintain “ember-resistant zones” surrounding their buildings, also referred to as “zone zero.”
This legislation assigned the responsibility of establishing regulations for fire-mitigation strategies to the state’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Although these rules were expected to be finalized by January 1, 2023, the board remains in a “pre-rule-making” stage two years later, with no clear timeline for the requirements to be implemented, according to the Los Angeles Times.
