It shall be the duty of every owner, occupant, and person in control of any unimproved or improved parcel of land or having an interest therein, which is located in the City of Placerville to abate therefrom, and from all sidewalks and roadways, except for those roads accepted into the City maintained system, all combustible material and hazardous vegetation, that constitutes a fire hazard which may endanger or damage neighboring or adjoining property and/or structures. The requirements of this section shall be satisfied if the parcel is cleared in accordance with a Notice to Abate by cutting brush, trimming trees, thinning trees, disking, mowing, plowing or any other method described in a Notice to Abate, or, if no Notice to Abate is issued, by removing all hazardous vegetation and combustible materials as follows:
(A) For improved parcels:
1. Maintain a thirty foot (30') defensible space around all buildings/structures.
(a) The grass needs to be cut six inches (6") or less.
(b) For trees twenty feet (20') or less in height, branches need to be limbed up six feet (6') from the ground. For trees more than twenty feet (20') in height, branches need to be limbed up ten feet (10') from the ground.
(c) Shrubs need to be maintained with ground clearance and removal of dead and dying limbs.
(d) Poorly maintained or overgrown climbing vines must be removed from trees and structures.
2. Additional defensible space outward to one hundred feet (100') from all buildings and surrounding, neighboring structures may be required depending on the property slope, fuel load and/or fuel type.
(a) Fuel load - amount of vegetation.
(b) Fuel type - type of vegetation.
(c) Property slope - steepness of property.
3. Maintain at all times a ten foot (10') minimum clearance of vegetation next to the roadside.
(a) The roadside clearance may be extended more than ten feet (10').
4. Maintain at all times a ten foot (10') minimum clearance in all directions of tree limbs or any other vegetation from chimney and/or stovepipe outlets.
5. Maintain all trees and vegetation adjacent to a structure to minimize overhanging and eliminate dead/dying wood.
6. Maintain the roof and gutters of any structure free of leaves, needles, debris, or dead/dying wood.
7. Install a spark arrester on chimney and/or stovepipe outlets.
(a) The spark arrester must be constructed of heavy wire mesh with openings not to exceed one-half inch (1/2").
8. Provide street address numbers that are clearly visible from the roadside, minimum height four inches (4").
(a) The address numbers should be posted on the house.
(b) If the house sits back from the street, post the address at the beginning of the driveway and on the house.
(c) The address numbers should be in a contrasting color for visibility.
9. Remove all dead/dying vegetation from property.
10. Maintain the property free of ladder fuels.
11. The amount of fuel modification necessary may take into account the flammability of the structure as affected by building material, building standards, location, and type of vegetation. Fuels shall be maintained in a condition so that a wildfire burning under average weather conditions would be unlikely to ignite the structure.
12. This section does not apply to single specimens of trees or other vegetation that are well-pruned and maintained so as to effectively manage fuels and not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from other nearby vegetation to a structure or from a structure to other nearby vegetation. The intensity of fuels management may vary within the one hundred foot (100') perimeter of the structure, the most intense being within the area closest to the structure.
(B) For unimproved parcels:
1. Any unimproved parcel of two (2) acres or less shall be cleared of all waste, hazardous vegetation and combustible material prior to May 1 or the start of fire season, whichever occurs first. Lots on which weeds, dry grass, non-cultivated pastures, or other hazardous vegetation exists shall be mowed or trimmed to a maximum vegetation height of six inches (6") throughout the calendar year so as to not constitute a fire hazard.
2. Any unimproved parcel or multiple contiguous parcels under the same ownership consisting of more than two (2) acres shall either be cleared of all waste, hazardous vegetation and combustible material or mowed as set forth in subsection (B)1 of this section, or shall construct and maintain a minimum thirty foot (30') wide shaded firebreak around the perimeter of such property. Such actions should take place prior to May 1 or the start of fire season, whichever occurs first. Shaded firebreaks shall be disked around the entire perimeter of the parcel. Scraping will also be allowed, provided that the scraped material is removed or spread evenly over the remaining property.
3. The Enforcement Officer or his or her designee may require a firebreak of more than thirty feet (30') in width to a maximum of one hundred feet (100') in width, or less than thirty feet (30') in width, as a firebreak for the protection of public health, safety or welfare or the environment. The determination of appropriate clearance distances for firebreaks will be made based upon a visual inspection of the parcel and shall consider all factors that place the property or adjoining properties or structures at risk from an approaching fire. These factors shall include local weather conditions, fuel type(s), topography, and the environment where the property or adjoining properties or structures are located.
(C) The Enforcement Officer's determination of appropriate fuel modification, clearance distances, or other management of hazardous vegetation and combustible materials shall be made for the protection of public health, safety, or welfare or the environment, shall be based upon a visual inspection of the parcel and shall consider all factors that place the property or adjoining properties or structures at risk from an approaching fire. These factors shall include local weather conditions, fuel type(s), topography, and the environment where the property or adjoining properties or structures are located.
(D) A person is not required under this section to manage fuels on land if that person does not have the legal right to manage fuels, nor is a person required to enter upon or to alter property that is owned by any other person without the consent of the owner of the property.
(E) Improved and unimproved parcels adjacent to roadways and determined by the Enforcement Officer (or designee) to be necessary for the safe ingress and egress to the area served by the roadway or fire access easement and on which the current condition of fuels is assessed by the Enforcement Officer as an extra hazardous fire condition must be treated or abated.
(F) Prior to constructing a new building or structure or rebuilding a building or structure damaged by a fire in an area subject to this section, the construction or rebuilding of which requires a building permit, the owner shall obtain a certification from the local building official that the dwelling or structure, as proposed to be built, complies with all applicable State and local building standards, including those described in subdivision (b) of section 51189 of the Government Code, and shall provide a copy of the certification, upon request, to the insurer providing course of construction insurance coverage for the building or structure. Upon completion of the construction or rebuilding, the owner shall obtain from the local building official a copy of the final inspection report that demonstrates that the dwelling or structure was constructed in compliance with all applicable State and local building standards, including those described in subdivision (b) of section 51189 of the Government Code, and shall provide a copy of the report, upon request, to the property insurance carrier that insures the dwelling or structure.
(G) In addition, any new building permit request will necessitate a vegetation management inspection and compliance before issuance of the permit.
(H) Good Neighbor and Neighborhood Protection Policy including unimproved parcels - a one hundred foot (100') wide strip of land around flammable structure(s) located on an adjacent improved parcel may be required (some or all of this clearance may be required on the adjacent improved or unimproved parcel depending upon the location of the structure on the improved parcel). For example, a structure could be within seventy feet (70') of its property line. The City of Placerville urges all such adjacent property owners to assist their neighbor by performing vegetation management on another thirty feet (30') to create a one hundred foot (100') strip of treated land.
(I) Prior to the close of any real estate sales transaction within the City, the requirements for property owners to comply with this chapter shall be disclosed to all potential buyers.
(J) Any use of chemical substances for the purpose of hazardous vegetation abatement shall be in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. No toxic chemical substances shall be allowed to enter into lakes, streams, waterways, the City's storm drain system or the City's wastewater system. (Ord. 1698, 8-13-2019)