Kern County Municipal Code Ch. 17.34 Wildland-Urban Interface Code

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, adopted Nov. 4, 2025, repealed the former Ch. 17.34, §§ 17.34.001—17.34.170, and enacted a new Ch. 17.34 as set out herein. The former Ch. 17.34 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. G-8866, § 13, adopted Nov. 5, 2019; Ord. No. G-9179, § 13, adopted Nov. 8, 2022; and Ord. No. G-9349, § 4, adopted June 3, 2025.

California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 7, 2025 Edition of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code being that portion of the California Building Standards Code that imposes substantially the same requirements as are contained in the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, 2024 Edition published by the International Code Council and the California Building Standards Commission with errata, together with those portions of the International Fire Code, 2024 Edition, published by the International Code Council not included in the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, as modified and amended by this chapter, are adopted by this reference into this chapter, and are hereby collectively declared to be the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code for the purpose of regulating the safeguarding of life, property and public welfare to a reasonable degree from the hazards of fire from wildland fire exposures and fire exposures from adjacent structures and to mitigate structure fires from spreading to wildland fuels.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 101.1 of Chapter 1 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

101.1 Title. These regulations shall be known as the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code, hereinafter referred to as "this code."

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 103.1 of Chapter 1 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

103.1 Creation of Agency. The Kern County Fire Department shall enforce this code and the Fire Chief shall be the code official.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 105.2 of Chapter 1 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

105.2 Permits required. A permit shall be obtained for the activities, operations, practices or functions within a wildland-urban interface area when required by the Kern County Fire Code.

Permits shall be obtained from the Office of the Fire Marshal. Applications for permits shall be made in accordance with Section 105.1.1 of the Kern County Fire Code.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Sections 105.4 through 105.10 of Chapter 1 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code are deleted.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 109.1.1 of Chapter 1 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

109.1.1 General. Construction or work for which a permit is required by this code shall be subject to inspection by the code official and all such construction or work shall remain accessible and exposed for inspection purposes until approved by the code official.

It shall be the duty of the permit applicant to cause the work to remain accessible and exposed for inspection purposes. Neither the code official nor the jurisdiction shall be liable for expense entailed in the removal or replacement of any material required to allow inspection.

It shall be the duty of the person doing the work authorized by a permit to notify the chief that such work is ready for inspection. Every request for inspection shall be filed not less than two working days before such inspection is desired. Such request may be in writing or by telephone.

Approval as a result of an inspection shall not be construed to be an approval of a violation of the provisions of this code or of other ordinances of the jurisdiction. Inspections presuming to give authority to violate or cancel the provisions of this code or of other ordinances of the jurisdiction shall not be valid.

A survey of the lot may be required by the code official to verify that the mitigation features are provided and the building or structure is located in accordance with the approved plans.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 109.3.7 of Chapter 1 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

Any person who shall violate a provision of this code or who shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or fail to comply with any order made thereunder by competent authority, or who shall erect, install, alter, repair or do work which deviates from any specifications or plans submitted to and approved by the fire marshal, or of a permit or certificate issued under provisions of this code shall for each and every such violation or failure to comply be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail of the county of Kern for not more than six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment. The administrative penalty for any violation of this code shall be as provided in Ordinance Code Section 8.54.060. All enforcement of administrative penalties shall be conducted pursuant to Chapter 8.54 of the Ordinance Code.

A conviction for any offense under the provisions of this code shall not excuse the violation or authorize its continuance and the person or persons convicted of such offense shall be required to correct or remedy any condition or installation which fails to comply with the requirements of this code with reasonable diligence. Each day that a condition prohibited by the provisions of this code is caused or permitted to be maintained or continued shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 112 of Chapter 1 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

112 Board of Appeals. Any decision of the code official relating to the interpretation of this code, or to the standards referred to hereinabove, shall be subject to appeal to the Board of Building Appeals, upon payment of the fee required for Kern County Building Code appeals to that Board. Any decision of the Board of Building Appeals shall be subject to appeal to the Board of Supervisors, as provided by Section 17.04.160 of this title.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

The definition of Code Official in Section 202 of Chapter 2 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

CODE OFFICIAL is the Fire Chief of the Kern County Fire Department, or the Fire Chief's authorized representative.

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 403.1.4 of Chapter 4 of the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

403.1.4 Grades.

(a) At no point shall the grade for all roads and driveways exceed 15 percent.

(b) The grade may exceed 15 percent, not to exceed 20 percent, with approval from the local jurisdiction and with mitigations to provide for same practical effect.

[CCR, Title 14 §1273.03]

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)

Section 403.1.6 of Chapter 4 of the Kern County Wildland Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

403.1.6 Turnarounds.

(a) Turnarounds are required on driveways and dead-end roads.

(b) The minimum turning radius for a turnaround shall be forty (40) feet, not including parking, in accordance with the figures in 14 CCR §§ 1273.05(e) and 1273.05(f). If a hammerhead/T is used instead, the top of the "T" shall be a minimum of sixty (60) feet in length.

(c) Driveways exceeding 150 feet in length, but less than 800 feet in length, shall provide a turnout near the midpoint of the driveway. Where the driveway exceeds 800 feet, turnouts shall be provided not more than 400 feet apart.

(d) A turnaround shall be provided on driveways over 300 150 feet in length and shall be within fifty (50) feet of the building.

(e) Each dead-end road shall have a turnaround constructed at its terminus. Where parcels are zoned five (5) acres or larger, turnarounds shall be provided at a maximum of 1,320-foot intervals.

(f) Figure A. Turnarounds on roads with two ten-foot traffic lanes.

(g) Figure B. Turnarounds on driveways with one ten-foot traffic lane.

[CCR, Title 14 §1273.05]

(Ord. No. G-9359, § 13, 11-4-25)