This week the Board of Forestry (BOF) readopted the current Fire Safe Regulations that went into effect July 27, 2020 through the emergency rulemaking process. This is the second readoption of the regulations. This readoption makes no changes to the text and merely keeps the current rules in place for an additional seven months. The existing rules are set to expire December 8, 2021. Administrative agencies may only readopt emergency regulations twice, giving the BOF seven months to complete a formal rulemaking to make the current regulations, or a modified version, permanent.
The existing Fire Safe Regulations, established by the first emergency rulemaking in 2020, exempts the construction Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and the specified reconstruction of dwellings lost due to wildfire, from the requirements of the Fire Safe Regulations.
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 proposed permanent rules 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. The current draft of the proposed permanent rulemaking can be found on the BOFs Proposed Rule Packages webpage. During the formal comment period RCRC submitted two comprehensive comment letters outlining the adverse effects of the proposal on member counties.
At the BOF meeting this week the Board also announced the appointment of the Board’s new Executive Officer, Edith Hannigan. Edith has been the Land Use Planning Program Manager at the Board for the last eight years and the staff lead for the Fire Safe Regulations. The past Executive Officer, Matt Dias, announced his resignation in June of this year and is now the President/CEO for Calforests, an advocacy organization for the forestry industry.
Please contact Tracy Rhine, RCRC Senior Legislative Affairs Advocate, for further information.