For City Council Meeting June 10, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tanya Williams, City Manager
AUTHOR: Chris Jensen, Fire Marshal
Title
Request City Council to Set a Public Hearing for June 24, 2025, to Consider Adoption of an Ordinance Adopting Updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council Set a public hearing for June 24, 2025, to consider adoption of an ordinance designating updated Fire Hazard Severity Zones within the City of Rialto.
BACKGROUND
On March 24, 2025, the California State Fire Marshal released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps for San Bernardino County, including the City of Rialto. Pursuant to California Government Code ? 51179 and Public Resources Code ? 4202, local jurisdictions must adopt the updated maps by ordinance within 120 days of release, establishing a local deadline of July 22, 2025.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The updated maps reflect current wildfire risks and are designed to enhance building safety requirements and inform land use planning decisions in areas designated as Moderate, High, and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. These changes do not retroactively impact existing development. They apply to new construction and will enforce the use of Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) building standards as defined in California Building Code Chapter 7A.
The Fire Department conducted early outreach to inform and engage the community, including a presentation to the Economic Development Committee on May 29, 2025, and social media outreach across all platforms to provide information and solicit community questions.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A "Project" means the whole of an action which has the potential to result in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical chang...
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