Land use planners and community leaders who sanction development decisions in wildfire risk areas must recognize their role in protecting communities.
Local Codes and Planning Can Save Lives
Molly Mowery is the Fire Adapted Communities program manager at the National Fire Protection Association.
July 11, 2012
Local government policies and planning are essential to avoid putting lives and property in unnecessary danger from wildfires.
Traditional roles dictate that this is a problem for fire and emergency services only. But land use planners and community leaders must also take responsibility for where and how development occurs.
Important land use tools can be used to address high hazard wildfire areas. These tools include: overlay zoning, a mapping technique that identifies areas highest at risk based on their landscape features and fire history and requires specific mitigation for structures and landscapes; development and design standards that ensure existing code standards for tree preservation do not prohibit homeowners from maintaining defensible space; subdivision ordinances that ensure adequate standards for fire protection water supply and access roads. And lastly, homeowners associations should take a careful look at their covenants and restrictions: Class A / metal roofs are less likely to ignite if embers land on their surface. Incorporating these standards into the development process before development occurs is more cost effective than retrofits.
These efforts should be coupled with outreach and education. Research shows that regulations and hazard mitigation policies are more likely to be politically palatable when the public has been educated about them, through programs like Firewise Communities/USA and Ready, Set, Go.
Wildfire can’t be someone else’s responsibility. Land use planners and community leaders who sanction development decisions in wildfire risk areas must recognize their role in protecting communities.