Fresno County Municipal Code Art. II Definitions

"May" indicates an action which is permissive. "Shall" indicates an action which is mandatory. All words in the singular shall include the plural, and plural, the singular. Each gender shall include the other. Each tense shall include the other tense.

(Ord. No. 23-001, § 1(Exh. 2), 2-28-2023; Ord. No. 19-025, § 1(Exh. B), 12-10-2019; Ord. No. 11-005, § 1, 5-24-2011; Ord. 07-049, Exh. A)

A. "Accessory structure" means any structure used as an accessory to residential, commercial, recreational, industrial or educational purposes for which a Building Permit is required.

B. "Board" means Board of Supervisors of the County.

C. "Building" means any structure used for residential, commercial, recreational, industrial or educational purposes including mobile and manufactured homes.

D. "Building Official" means the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning or his/her designee.

E. "Cal Fire" means California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

F. "Cul-de-sac" means a road which terminates in a permanent turnaround and which by design is not intended to continue beyond its terminal point.

G. "Dead-end road" (stub road) means a road which is terminated at the boundary line of a parcel or lot but which will be extended at a later date to provide access to abutting land.

H. "Defensible space" means the area within the perimeter of a parcel development, neighborhood or community where basic wildland fire protection measures are implemented, providing the key point of defense from an approaching wildfire or defense against encroaching wildfires or escaping structure fires. The perimeter as used in this regulation is the area encompassing the parcel or parcels proposed for construction and/or development, excluding the physical structure itself. The area is characterized by the establishment and maintenance of emergency vehicle access, emergency water reserves, road names and building identification, and fuel modification measures.

I. "Department" means the Department of Public Works and Planning of the County.

J. "Director" means the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning of the County.

K. "Driveway" means vehicular access that serves no more than three (3) dwelling units within no more than two (2) buildings constructed after January 1, 1991.

L. "Dwelling unit" means two (2) or more rooms in a building designed for or occupied by one (1) family for living or sleeping purposes and having only one (1) kitchen and separate toilet facilities.

M. "Fire Apparatus" A vehicle designed to be used under emergency conditions to transport personnel and equipment or to support emergency response, including, but not limited to, the suppression of fires.

N. "Fire Authority" A fire department, agency, division, district, or other governmental body responsible for regulating and/or enforcing minimum fire safety standards in the Local Jurisdiction.

O. "Fire Hazard Severity Zone" means a geographical area determined to have a "moderate," "high" or "very high" determination based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in the respective area.

P. "Fuel Break" A strategically located area where the volume and arrangement of vegetation has been managed to limit fire intensity, fire severity, rate of spread, crown fire potential, and/or ember production.

Q. "Fuel modification area" An area where the volume of flammable vegetation has been reduced, providing reduced fire intensity and duration.

R. "Greenbelts" A facility or land-use, designed for a use other than fire protection, which will slow or resist the spread of a wildfire. Includes parking lots, irrigated or landscaped areas, golf courses, parks, playgrounds, maintained vineyards, orchards or annual crops that do not cure in the field.

S. "Hammerhead/T" means a "T" shaped, three-point (3-point) turnaround space for emergency equipment, being no narrower than the road it serves.

T. "Hazardous Land Use" A land use that presents a significantly elevated potential for the ignition, prolonged duration, or increased intensity of a Wildfire due to the presence of flammable materials, liquids, or gasses, or other features that initiate or sustain combustion. Such uses are determined by the Local Jurisdiction and may include, but are not limited to, power-generation and distribution facilities; wood processing or storage sites; flammable gas or liquids processing or storage sites; or shooting ranges.

U. "Local Responsibility Area," as defined by the state, means incorporated cities, urban regions, agricultural lands and portions of the desert where the local government is responsible for wildfire protection.

V. "Municipal-Type Water System" A system having water pipes servicing Fire Hydrants and designed to furnish, over and above domestic consumption, a minimum of 250 gpm (950 L/min) at 20 psi (138 kPa) residual pressure for a two (2) hour duration.

W. "Occupancy" The purpose for which a Building, or part thereof, is used or intended to be used.

X. "Residential Unit" Any Building or portion thereof which contains living facilities, including which include including provisions for sleeping, and can include provisions for eating, cooking and/or sanitation, for one or more persons. Manufactured homes, mobile homes, and factory-built housing are considered Residential Units.

Y. "Roads" means new roads or extensions of existing roads, whether public or private, providing vehicular access to more than one (1) parcel, constructed after January 1, 1991; access to any industrial or commercial occupancy; or vehicular access to a single parcel with more than two (2) buildings or four (4) or more dwelling units.

Z. "Roadway" means any surface designed, improved, or ordinarily used for vehicle travel.

AA. "Road or Driveway Structures" Bridges, culverts, and other appurtenant Structures which supplement the Traffic Lane or Shoulders.

BB. Same Practical Effect: As used in this subchapter, means an Exception or alternative with the capability of applying accepted wildland fire suppression strategies and tactics, and provisions for fire fighter safety, including:

a. access for emergency wildland fire equipment,

b. safe civilian evacuation,

c. signing that avoids delays in emergency equipment response,

d. available and accessible water to effectively attack Wildfire or defend a Structure from Wildfire, and

e. fuel modification sufficient for civilian and fire fighter safety.

CC. State Responsibility Area (SRA): As defined in Public Resources Code sections 41264127; and the California Code of Regulations, title 14, division 1.5, chapter 7, article 1, sections 1220-1220.5.

DD. "Subdivision" means the division, by any subdivider, of any unit or units of improved or unimproved land, or any portion thereof, shown on the latest equalized County assessment roll as a unit or as contiguous units, for the purpose of sale, lease or financing, whether immediate or future. Property shall be considered as contiguous units, even if it is separated by roads, streets, utility easement or railroad rights-of-way. "Subdivision" includes a condominium project, as defined in Subdivision (d) of Section 1351 of the Civil Code, or the conversion of five (5) or more existing dwelling units to a stock cooperative, as defined in Subdivision (m) of Section 1351 if the Civil Code. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the definition of a "subdivision" includes the subdivision of four (4) or more parcels.

EE. "Strategic Ridgeline" a Ridgeline identified pursuant to § 1276.02(a) that may support fire suppression activities or where the preservation of the Ridgeline as Undeveloped would reduce fire risk and improve fire protection.

FF. "Structure" That which is built or constructed, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner.

GG. "Turnaround" An area which allows for a safe opposite change of direction for Fire Apparatus at the end of a Road or Driveway.

HH. "Turnout" means a widening in a roadway to allow vehicles to pass.

(Ord. No. 25-014, § 3, 6-24-2025; Ord. No. 23-001, § 1(Exh. 2), 2-28-2023; Ord. No. 19-025, § 1(Exh. B), 12-10-2019; Ord. No. 15-021, § 2(Exh. B), 11-17-2015; Ord. No. 11-005, § 1, 5-24-2011; Ord. 07-049, Exh. Amended by Ord. 10-008, Ord. 03-0001 (part), Ord. 91-025 §1 (part))

All specified or referenced distances are measured in the true horizontal distance, unless otherwise stated.

(Ord. No. 23-001, § 1(Exh. 2), 2-28-2023; Ord. No. 19-025, § 1(Exh. B), 12-10-2019; Ord. No. 11-005, § 1, 5-24-2011; Ord. 07-049, Exh. A)