On Thursday, the Board of Forestry (BOF) released a revised draft of its Fire Safe Regulations proposal, to be discussed at the December 7th Resource Protection Committee. The Board will meet December 8th and may act on any committee recommendations, including the proposed Fire Safe Regulations.  

According to the meeting materials, the BOF intends to consider submission of the modified text for a 15-day comment period, set to begin January 3, 2022. Comments submitted outside the formal public comment period will not be part of the official rulemaking record and will not be considered by the BOF.  

The BOF has been in the process of making significant changes to the existing Fire Safe Regulations since early 2020, however, the Board has been unable to find consensus on those rules, receiving significant opposition from environmental groups, local governments and developers on the detrimental effects of the proposed changes. The BOF noticed the initial proposal with the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on April 23, 2021 and has one year from that date to submit the final rulemaking package to OAL.  

For more information, contact RCRC Senior Legislative Affairs Advocate Tracy Rhine