Tuolumne County eyes new fire safety rules for vacant lots

A possible ordinance could create new rules related to vegetation management for vacant and undeveloped lots in Tuolumne County.

The county Board of Supervisors’ Fire Safety Advisory Committee will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday via Zoom to gather input and discuss how such an ordinance would work, how other counties have done it, and the potential benefits and drawbacks.

“This is the first in a series of public meetings prior to submitting a draft to the fire safety committee as a whole and then to the Board of Supervisors,” Dore Bietz, the county Office of Emergency Services coordinator, said at a news briefing on Friday.

Bietz said they hope to have a draft in front of the board for consideration and possible approval by February or March, before the start of next year’s fire season.

Though there are California laws requiring landowners with developed properties to clear at least 100 feet of defensible space around structures, Bietz explained the county currently does not have any rules in place governing vegetation management on vacant or undeveloped lots.

“The California government code governs defensible space around a built-in structure, but vacant lots do not have any mechanism” for enforcing standards, Bietz said.

Bietz noted the fire advisory committee, which was created by the board shortly after the devastating 2018 Camp Fire that killed 86 people and destroyed the town of Paradise in Butte County, has begun looking into similar ordinances in other counties.

The ordinance would likely be similar to one already in place that pertains to vacant and undeveloped lots within the threesquare-mile City of Sonora limits, Bietz said, adding that the county will eventually be required to have one anyway under changes to state recommendations in high-fire-hazard severity zones like Tuolumne County.

When asked about ways to enforce the ordinance, such as

fines or other penalties, Bietz said the committee hasn’t gotten to the point in the process where any proposed language has been drafted.

Bietz said the goal of the meeting on Wednesday is to start the process of getting the public involved and engaged in hopes that fewer people will be taken by surprise when a proposed ordinance is considered.