Senate Bill 182, authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), which would have established wildfire reduction standards and planning requirements for new housing developments in Very High Fire Risk Areas (VHFRA) of the state, was vetoed by Governor Newsom on September 30th.
SB 182 would have prohibited local governments from approving permits for housing developments unless the project was in compliance with the wildfire risk reduction standards outlined in the bill. Additionally, in order to reduce development pressures in the VHFRA through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process, SB 182 would have required a lower proportion of state housing allocation to jurisdictions that met specified conditions. RCRC lent its full support for SB 182, and worked closely with Senator Jackson to ensure it reflected a holistic approach to continued development in wildfire prone areas, considering both the need for more fire resistant communities, as well as the risk of development densification required by state housing production goals.
In vetoing SB 182, the Governor stated that, “Wildfire resilience must become a more consistent part of land use and development decisions. However, it must be done while meeting our housing needs.” The complete veto message can be found here. RCRC’s support letter can be accessed here. For more information, Tracy Rhine, RCRC Legislative Advocate, can be reached at (916) 447-4806 or trhine@rcrcnet.org.
On September 30th, Governor Newsom met the constitutional deadline to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature, officially bringing the 2019-2020 Legislative Session to close. The 2021-22 Legislative Session is scheduled to convene on December 7th. During this period, RCRC’s “Bill of the Week” will go into hiatus. For more information regarding state legislative activities, please contact the RCRC Governmental Affairs staff at (916) 447-4806.