HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/7/2025 Item 8a, Slem
Charles M. Slem <cslem@calpoly.edu>
Sent:Monday, October
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE (WUI) CODE, BUILDING HARDENING, AND DEFENSIBLE
SPACE REGULATIONS Study Session
To Esteemed Council Members,
Richard Schmidt posted on Nextdoor concerning your study session about the new wildland fires
regulations, and another poster indicated that the council responded to him that the council had no
say over the regulations, only how to implement them.
I see that the agenda for tomorrow’s council meeting states as part of this item - “Direct staff to
return to City Council to adopt the WUI code as-is,”
…which sounds ominous.
Perhaps an LA Times article and the documents associated with the controversy that will be
discussed at their own LA City Council Meeting on Tuesday October 7 will supply you with more
analyses, suggested modifications, and alternatives that have been proposed to the regulations.
1. https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2025-09-15/proposed-zone-zero-rules-would-remove-
all-plants-within-five-feet-homes-fire-
2. https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=10-
2468-S2
Here’s one comprehensive document from the City of Los Angeles’ Community Forest Advisory
Committee.
https://cityclerk.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2010/10-2468-S2_misc_9-8-25.pdf
“Basically, a final report (approved by CFAC on Sept. 4) argues that cutting down irrigated,
healthy vegetation around homes will cause more problems than it solves by eliminating shade,
increasing the risk of erosion and destroying habitat, among other things. The report recommends
that the regulations move away from a “one-size-fits-all approach,” allow for an appeals process
and exempt “healthy, hydrated and well maintained vegetation ... not likely to be ignited by
embers,” as well as protected native trees and shrubs, historic and heritage trees and living
municipal street trees if well-pruned and maintained.”
Other quotes from the CFAC committee:
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???The bottom line is the winds far outweigh the fuel in terms of fire spread in a (high wind)
situation like this. When you have these winds it makes fuels less relevant. And the fuels are
definitely not relevant once it gets into the urban environment, because the primary fuels are the
homes.
??? where fire spreads uncontrollably from structure-to-structure – have shown that building
materials, home spacing, and moisture content in nearby vegetation are more predictive of home
survival than the presence of nearby vegetation.
??? Many of the underlying case studies, graphics, and demonstration projects used in devising the
rules were based on conditions more commonly found in forested areas in Northern California.
According to the LA Times article:
“They’re talking about destroying our urban canopy, hundreds of acres of trees for uncertain
benefits,” said Cyndi Hubach, a member of the City of Los Angeles’ Community Forest Advisory
Committee. Hubach, who lives in Silver Lake, wrote CFAC’s report for the council outlining the
problems with the proposed regulations, and what the organization believes should change.
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2025-09-15/proposed-zone-zero-rules-would-remove-all-
plants-within-five-feet-homes-fire-areas
San Luis Obispo
The point is that these regulations, like so many other heavy-handed mandates we have run into as
the state wrestles with important issues, need to be reviewed very carefully to ensure that they
actually meet the needs of a city that prides itself on its canopy of trees that makes living here so
wonderful.
I hope that in your study session you can explore not only how to interpret the regulations so they
actually protect the community while not simultaneously destroying the livability of the
community.
Perhaps the efforts and analyses of other communities can provide insights that can be used to
either challenge aspects of the WUI code that are not actually effective in protecting us against the
most likely dangerous fires — the wind driven fires.
Thanks for your attention,
Charles Slem
348 Lincoln Street
Nextdoor Source:
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https://nextdoor.com/p/JKbNfZLtN57t?utm_source=share&extras=OTg1OTExNA%3D%3D&ne_l
ink_preview_links=&share_platform=10&utm_campaign=1759729611891&share_action_id=768e
d6fd-47ec-473c-a1a6-b69f86609f97
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