Larkspur Municipal Code Ch. 7 Referenced Standards

Chapter 7 is hereby amended to add the following language:

Chapter 7 Referenced Standards - ICC

CFC - 2025: California Fire Code

1.11.3.4, 1.11.9, 1.11.10, 102.8, 105.1, 201.3, 202, 402.1.1, 402.1.2, 402.2.1, 402.2.2, 403.2.4, 404.4, 404.5, 404.10.3, 606.1, 606.2, 613.3.2

APPENDIX A

Section A104.7.2 of Appendix A of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code is amended to read as follows:

Section A104.7.2 Permits. The Fire Code Official is authorized to stipulate conditions for permits. Permits shall not be issued when public safety would be at risk, as determined by the Fire Code Official.

Section A104.11 of Appendix A of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code is hereby added and shall read as follows:

Section A104.11 – Tracer Bullets, Tracer Charges, Rockets and Model Aircraft. Tracer bullets and tracer charges shall not be possessed, fired or caused to be fired into or across hazardous fire areas. Rockets, model planes, gliders and balloons powered with an engine, propellant or other feature liable to start or cause a fire shall not be fired or projected into or across hazardous fire areas.

Section A104.12 of Appendix A of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code is hereby added and shall read as follows:

Section A104.12 Explosives and Blasting. Explosives shall not be possessed, kept, stored, sold, offered for sale, given away, used, discharged, transported or disposed of within hazardous fire areas except by permit from the Fire Code Official.

Section A104.13 of Appendix A of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code is hereby added and shall read as follows:

Section A104.13 Apiaries. Lighted or smoldering material shall not be used in connection with smoking bees in or upon hazardous fire areas except by permit from the Fire Code Official.

(Ord. 1093 § 1, 2025)

A. Findings. The City Council of the City of Larkspur has determined and finds that the adoption of the 2025 Edition of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code with the above changes or modifications are needed and are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geologic and topographic conditions as described below.

B. Local Conditions. Local conditions have an adverse effect on the prevention of: (1) major loss fires, (2) major earthquake damage, and (3) the potential for life and property loss resulting from fires occurring within the City, making necessary changes or modifications to the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code in order to provide a reasonable degree of property security and fire and life safety in this jurisdiction.

Below are listed adverse local climatic, geologic and topographic conditions.

(1) Climatic.

(a) Precipitation. The weather patterns within the City of Larkspur are considered to be moderately affected by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay, which extends the year-round growing season of vegetation. The normal year’s rainfall is approximately 28 inches, while the summer condition, with its prevalent Pacific high cell, creates the morning and late afternoon fog normally associated with the San Francisco Bay.

(b) Relative Humidity. Humidity generally ranges from 50% during the daytime to 86% at night. It drops to

20% and lower during the summer months.

(c) Temperatures. While normal temperatures usually do not exceed 75-80 degrees during the summer months, little or no rain falls during the period between April and November. This combination often creates hazardous fuel conditions in the City. Drying winds in the summer and fall months reduce fuel moisture and relative humidity to the minimum levels, thereby creating ideal fire weather conditions. The normal afternoon winds that precede the fog can move a fire quickly in the hillside and open space areas of the City.

(d) Winds. Prevailing winds are from the northwest. However, winds are experienced from virtually every direction at one time or another due to the area's topography and location. Velocities are generally in the 5-15 mph range, gusting to 20-30 mph, particularly during the summer months. Extreme winds up to 50

mph have been known to occur.

(e) Summary. These local climatic conditions accelerate the speed, intensify the degree, and increase the size of fire in the community. Wood shake and shingle roof types proliferate within the City. Times of little or no rainfall, of low humidity and high temperatures create extremely hazardous conditions, particularly as they relate to wood shake and shingle roof fires and conflagrations. The winds experienced in this area can have a tremendous impact upon structure fires of buildings in close proximity to one another, commonly found in Larkspur. During wood shake and shingle roof fires, or exposure fires, strong winds, such as those regularly experienced by the City, can carry sparks and burning brands to other structures in close proximity, thus spreading the fire and causing conflagrations. In building fires, strong winds can literally force fires back into the building and can create a blowtorch effect, in addition to preventing "natural" ventilation and cross-ventilation efforts. These conditions make it difficult to stop a fire after it has begun, increases the need to rapidly reach the fire before it spreads or intensifies, and increases the risks of property damage, personal injury and loss of life resulting from the fire.

(2) Geologic.

(a) The fire environment of a community is primarily a combination of two factors: the area's physical geologic characteristics and the historic pattern of urban-suburban development. These two factors, alone and combined, create a mixture of environments which ultimately determines the area's fire protection needs.

(b) Landslides have also been experienced in the City. While stabilization of hillsides can sometimes be achieved, heavy rainfalls have caused failures. These slides can close roadways, making accessibility to

many locations in the City impossible until properly cleared.

(c) The relatively young geological processes that have created the San Francisco Bay Area are still active today. The district sits between two active earthquake faults (San Andreas and the Hayward/-Calaveras) and numerous potentially active faults. One hundred percent of the City is in the strong to violent seismic hazard zones.

(d) Fire following an earthquake has the potential of causing greater loss of life and damage than the earthquake itself. The majority of the City's industrial complexes are located in the highest seismic risk zones. The highest seismic risk zone also contains the largest concentration of hazardous materials. Hazardous materials, particularly toxic gases, could pose the greatest threat to the largest number, should a significant seismic event occur. The City's resources would have to be prioritized to mitigate the greatest threat, and may likely be unavailable for smaller single-dwelling or structure fires. The greater risk of earthquakes results in a higher likelihood of a fire which could lead to substantial damage or loss of life within the City.

(3)Topographic.

(a) Because of the differing topography of Larkspur, the characteristics of the fire environment changes from one location to the next. Therefore, the City has not one, but a number of fire environments, each of which has its individual fire protection needs.

(b) The service area of the Larkspur has a varied topography and vegetative cover. A conglomeration of bay plains, hills and ridges make up the terrain. Development has occurred on the flat lands in the central portion of the district. Development in the hillside areas on the west and North sides of the City is predominantly limited to residential remodeling and additions.

(c) Many of the buildings in Larkspur were built long before present code requirements existed. Consequently, many of these structures do not meet even minimal standards for fire protection and life safety. Wood frame construction of older buildings, especially those in mountainous areas, creates an adverse exposure problem, not only in being easily ignited by an adjacent structure fire, but also in contributing to the extension of fire to other buildings through radiation, actual physical heat conduction and flying embers. Fire history in the City has shown flying embers will start secondary fires after blowing in the air.

(d) Much of the City is characterized by precipitous hilly areas where escape opportunities from residential structures are limited to one side of the home only. The steepness and uneven nature of the land often hinders, and sometimes prevents, the erecting of rescue ladders at the side of a home on a hillside parcel.

(e) Vehicular access within the City is affected by steep, hilly terrain and many secondary ridgelines. Many streets are narrow and winding, restricting the speed at which fire apparatus may safely respond and also increasing the time lapse between fire detection and apparatus arrival, during which time a family will face the fire or other emergency on their own. The City has many dead-end streets, and in Madrone Canyon, there is one main access route in or out of the area. Dead-end streets can restrict the ease of relocating fire and rescue equipment from one location to another, even though actual separating distance between two areas may be minimal. In addition to restricting access routes for fire apparatus, the dead-end streets also limit egress opportunities for residents.

(f) The City is accessible from the outside by two primary thoroughfares on the South side and two on the North side. Speed limits of twenty-five miles per hour, by virtue of the narrow and twisting configuration of the roads, do not allow quick responses to emergencies. The Highway 101 corridor runs directly adjacent to the city. The two overpasses at Sir Francis Drake and Tamalpais that may or may not withstand an earthquake present another problem.

(g) There is much diversity in slope percentages. Madrone Canyon slopes run from nearly level to over seventy percent.

(h) Larkspur's semi-arid Mediterranean-type climate produces vegetation similar to that of most of Marin County, with specific growth locales as a result of topography and prevailing wind. The south facing exposure is primarily rye grass, highly flammable brush, with occasional clumps of bay and oak trees in the more sheltered pockets. The north facing slopes are heavily wooded from lower elevations to ridge with oak and bay trees and minor shrubs of the general chaparral class.

(i) Historic development of the residential community extended into areas of heavier vegetation and has

resulted in homes existing in close proximity to dense natural foliage. Often such dwellings are completely surrounded by highly combustible vegetation compounding the fire problem from a conflagration point of view. Of particular recent note is the increase in dead down fuel and litter accumulation directly associated with the dead oak syndrome, which has heightened the risk of fire being caused and spreading in many areas of the City.

(4) Summary. The above local climatic, geologic, and topographic conditions serve to increase the magnitude, exposure, and access problems characteristic of fire hazards existing within the City of Larkspur.

Other special circumstances that may tend to increase and intensify the fire hazards facing the City are:

(a) The buildings in Madrone Canyon, many of which were constructed 50 or more years ago, are serviced by minimal water main sizes. The lack of adequate water supply in this area, along with winding streets, creates a unique fire problem. The generalized water shortage in Marin County results in occasional inadequate water volume and pressure for firefighting purposes in certain areas of the City.

(b) The extent of isolation experienced by City residents in the event that a fire or other catastrophe beginning a fire causes the bridge and/or freeway overpass to collapse;

(c) The extent of roadway damage and/or amount of debris blocking the roadways of the City in the event of a fire;

(d) Climatic conditions (hot, dry weather with high winds which increase the risk and spread of fire;

(e) Time of day will influence the amount of traffic on roadways which would present an obstacle to timely responding to a fire and could intensify the risk to life during normal business hours when traffic is busiest. The City of Larkspur covers approximately three square miles including a population estimated at twelve thousand eight hundred persons. Many City residents commute to work in other cities which increases the traffic within the City.

(f) The availability of timely mutual aid or military assistance is an important factor in the ability to respond to fires. The City depends heavily on mutual aid resources for even a single-dwelling structure fire. In a widespread disaster, those resources would be unavailable.

(g) The close proximity of residences and a large portion of dwellings with wood shingle roof coverings within wildland-urban interface fire areas could result in conflagrations that spread rapidly from residence to residence.

(5) Conclusion. Local climatic, geologic and topographic conditions impact fire prevention efforts, and the frequency, spread, acceleration, intensity and size of fire involving buildings in this community. Further, they impact potential damage to all structures from earthquake and subsequent fire. Therefore it is found to be reasonably necessary that the 2025 Edition of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code be adopted as amended herein to mitigate the effects of the above conditions.

Current wildfire research shows that structure loss in the WUI is driven primarily by embers igniting vulnerabilities within 0 to 30 feet of the home, especially within Zone Zero. Most homes ignite from embers entering vents, catching combustible attachments or materials alight, or from nearby structure- to-structure fire spread. Suppression resources cannot prevent destruction once ignition cascades begin in dense neighborhoods. Therefore, local defensible space and home hardening requirements must be enforced consistently and clearly to reduce community-scale risk.

(Ord. 1093 § 1, 2025)

Whenever the Fire Code Official disapproves an application or refuses to grant a permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions of the code do not apply or that the true intent and meaning of the code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the decision of the Fire Code Official to the City Council in writing, within thirty (30) days from the date of the decision appealed. The City Council shall render decisions and findings in writing to the Fire Code Official, with a duplicate copy to the appellant. (Ord. 1093 § 1, 2025)

A. Any person who violates any of the provisions of the California Fire Code, as adopted and amended herein, or any other section, subsection, or provision of this chapter, or fails to comply therewith, or who violates or fails to comply with any order made thereunder, or who builds in violation of any detailed statement of specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken, or who fails to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the Fire Code Official, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within the required time, shall severally for each and every such violation and noncompliance, respectively, be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than one hundred eighty (180) days or by both such fine and imprisonment. The prosecuting authority may, however, in its discretion charge or reduce any violation to an infraction punishable as stated by Government Code Section 36900(c). The imposition of one (1) penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue; and all such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations or defects within a reasonable time; and, when not otherwise specified, each ten (10) days that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate offense.

B. Violations of the California Fire Code or this chapter shall be subject to administrative fines as set forth in Larkspur Municipal Code Chapter 9.24.

C. The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions. (Ord. 1093 § 1, 2025)

All former ordinances or parts thereof conflicting or inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or the code hereby adopted are hereby repealed. (Ord. 1093 § 1, 2025)

By adoption of this chapter the City Council does not intend to create, establish, or impose any mandatory duty or liability on the part of the City, its officers, employees, or any other person acting on its behalf, notwithstanding the use of “shall,” “will,” “must,” or similar terms within this chapter. (Ord. 1093 § 1, 2025)

Specific boundaries of natural or man-made features of wildland urban interface areas shall be as shown on the wildland area interface map as delineated in Attachment “A” of the ordinance codified in this chapter and is on file with the City Clerk. (Ord. 1093 § 1, 2025)