Nevada County Municipal Code Ch. 2 Wildfire Protection Standards, General Requirements

The regulations contained in this Chapter and the provisions in Title 12, Zoning Regulations, Title 13, Subdivision Regulations, Title 16, Roads including Street Addressing and Naming, and Title 14 Buildings, and County adopted road standards collectively provide the necessary minimum wildfire protection standards that will minimize public safety effects with the establishment of land uses and buildings within State Responsibility Areas (SRA) lands within the County of Nevada. These regulations are intended to mitigate effects of wildland fire exposure to such land uses within the State Responsibility Areas and they are further adopted to equal, exceed, or provide the same practical effect contained in the California State Board of Forestry's Fire Safe Regulations adopted on November 7, 1990.

The fire safety regulations contained in these chapters provide measures for emergency access, street name and building address signage, water reserves for emergency fire use, and vegetation modification.

These regulations are not to be applied retroactively to existing dwelling units as reflected on the official tax rolls as of October 10, 1991, or to any approved and unexpired entitlements (tentative maps, use permits, site plans, building permits, etc.). They shall be applied to all activities set forth in Section 4.02.020.

(Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

Activities affected by this Chapter include, but are not limited to:

A. Subdivisions.

B. Application for mobile home set-up permits and building permits for new construction, not related to an existing structure, filed on or after October 10, 1991.

C. Application for a use permit and all ministerial and discretionary site plans.

D. Road construction, including construction of a road that does not currently exist, or extension of an existing road, not including roads for agricultural or mining use solely on one (1) ownership, and roads used solely for the management and harvesting of wood products.

(Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

A. All projects subject to this Chapter shall be sent for review and comment to the appropriate fire district, to the California Department of Forestry Director (or designee) and/or any other designated fire official having expertise in wildland fire mitigation. Any conditions imposed by said fire agencies shall not be a substitute for or be less restrictive than the minimum requirements contained in these Chapters of the Nevada County Code.

B. All projects located on SRA lands shall be reviewed for compliance with all regulations in the Nevada County Code that provide fire safety requirements. No project may be authorized until the decision-making body or County agent has verified that all appropriate requirements have become a condition of project approval.

(Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

Any permittee or applicant who violates any provision contained in this Chapter shall be guilty of an infraction, as per Section 12.05.120.

(Ord. 1734.(09/10/1991); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

A. Inspections of the various fire safety regulations on SRA lands shall be completed by the County department under whose jurisdiction the fire safety standard exists and which has inspection authority. The Board of Supervisors may, by Resolution, authorize a different County department, division or officer with fire protection responsibility to perform all or part of such inspection duties.

B. Within local fire district boundaries, inspections established by this Chapter may be performed by district personnel with the approval of the California Department of Forestry Unit Chief.

C. All necessary inspections must be performed and approval obtained prior to final occupancy, map recordation or other authorization to occupy as applicable to the use or permit being finalized.

(Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2323. (07/13/2010); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

A. Unless otherwise provided in this Chapter, all exceptions or modifications to the stated standards not contained in the Title 12, Section 12.05.070 Zoning, Variances' in this Code shall be considered by the planning agency having jurisdiction over the land use entitlement. The planning agency shall consider all the facts associated with the requested exception and request for mitigated practices. In approving same, the hearing body must find that the substituted mean(s) provide the same overall practical effect. Such evidence shall be supported by the Director.

Exceptions or modifications to any portion of the Zoning Chapter shall be considered pursuant to Section governing Variances. In addition to the findings required to approve an area variance, any exception or substitution to the stated standards shall have the same practical effect as supported by the Director and by finding of the appropriate hearing body.

B. All requests for exceptions and area variances shall include the following information:

1. The specific section of the applicable chapter of the Nevada County Code that is being sought to be modified.

2. Material facts and reasons supporting the request.

3. Details of the exception and substitute standard being proposed along with a demonstration that the same practical effect is being achieved.

4. Site plan and/or other supporting documentation showing the location of the exception, proposed modifications and any mitigating factors that contribute to the exception request.

(Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2323. (07/13/2010); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

All appeals from this Chapter pursuant to Section 12.05.120, Administration and Enforcement Sections, within this Code. Appeals may only be filed from actions taken by the appropriate hearing body. No appeal may occur without first having it considered as an exception or an area variance.

(Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

All specified or referenced distances as to road lengths and vegetative clearing areas are measured along the ground, unless otherwise stated.

(Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

To ensure continued maintenance of properties in conformance with these standards and measures and to assure continued availability, access, and utilization of the defensible space provided for in these standards during a wildfire, provisions for continued annual maintenance shall be included in the development plans and/or shall be provided as a condition of the permit, parcel or map approval, in an emergency access covenant or similar binding agreement. The persons or entity responsible for maintenance must be designated in the development plans.

(Ord. 2474. (01/14/2020); Ord. 1734. (09/10/1991); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))

A. Accessory Building means any building used as an accessory to residential, commercial, recreational, industrial or educational purposes as defined in the California Building Code, 1989 Amendments, Chapter II, Group M, Division 1, Occupancy that requires a building permit.

B. Agriculture means land used for agricultural purposes as defined in a local jurisdiction's zoning ordinances.

C. All Weather Surface means an asphalt or concrete surface designed and certified by a registered professional engineer to carry the imposed weight load of a legally loaded forty thousand (40,000) pound vehicle.

D. Building means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy that is defined in the California Building Code, 1989 Amendments, Chapter II, except Group M, Division 1, Occupancy. For the purposes of this Section, building includes mobile homes and manufactured homes, churches and daycare facilities.

E. CAL Fire means California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

F. California Fire Code (CFC) means California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 9, or as amended.

G. Defensible Space means the area within the perimeter of a parcel, development, neighborhood or community where basic wildland fire protection practices and 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 Chapter, 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.

H. Development, as defined in Cal. Gov't Code § 66418.1.

I. Director means the Director of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or their designee.

J. Driveway means a vehicular access that serves up to two (2) parcels with no more than two (2) residential units and any number of non-commercial or industrial buildings on each parcel.

K. Exception means as alternative to the specified standard, requests by the applicant that may be necessary due to health, safety, environmental conditions, physical site limitations or other limiting conditions such as recorded historical sites to provide mitigation of the problem.

L. Fire Valve. See hydrant.

M. Fuel Modification Area means an area where the volume of flammable vegetation has been reduced, providing reduced fire intensity and duration.

N. Gate means a means of vehicular entrance or exit to a parcel or dwelling, including an opening in a wall, fence, or driveway abutments. A security gate is defined as a gate that is manually or electronically secured.

O. Greenbelt means 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.

P. Hammerhead/T means a road or driveway that provides a "T"-shaped, three-point turnaround space for emergency equipment, being no narrower than the road that serves it.

Q. Hydrant means a valved connection on a water supply or storage system having one (1) two-and-a-half (2.5")-inch outlet with a cap for pressurized systems or a four-and-a-half (4.5")-inch to two-and-a-half (2.5")-inch reducer with a cap. Outlets shall be male American National Fire Hose Screw Threads (NH) used to supply fire apparatus and hoses with water.

R. Local Jurisdiction means any county, city/county agency or department or any locally authorized district that issues or approves building permits, use permits, parcel maps or tentative parcel maps or has authority to regulate development and construction activity.

S. Occupancy means the purpose for which a building, or part thereof, is used or intended to be used.

T. One-Way Road means a minimum of one (1) traffic lane width designed for traffic flow in one (1) direction only.

U. Residential Unit means any building or portion thereof which contains living facilities, including provisions for sleeping, eating, cooking and/or sanitation for one (1) or more persons. Manufactured homes, mobile homes, and factory-built housing are considered residential units for the purposes of mandatory measures required in Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14 § 1270.01(c).

V. Roads means vehicular access to more than two (2) parcels; more than four (4) residential units; or access to any industrial or commercial occupancy. Includes private streets and lanes.

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

X. Roadway Structures means bridges, culverts, and other appurtenant structures which supplement the roadway bed or shoulders.

Y. Same Practical Effect, as used in this Chapter, means an exception or alternative with the capability of applying accepted wildland fire suppression strategies and tactics and provisions for fire fighter safety including:

1. Access for emergency wildland fire equipment.

2. Safe civilian evacuation.

3. Signing that avoids delays in emergency equipment response.

4. Available and accessible water to effectively attack wildfire or defend a structure from wildfire.

5. Fuel modification sufficient for civilian and fire fighter safety.

Z. Shoulder means roadbed or surface adjacent to the traffic lane.

AA. State Board of Forestry (SBOF) means a nine-member board, appointed by the Governor, which is responsible for developing the general forest policy of the State, for determining the guidance policies of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and for representing the State's interest in federal land in California.

BB. State Responsibility Areas (SRA), as defined in Cal. Pub. Res. Code §§ 4126—4127.

CC. Structure means that which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner.

DD. Subdivision means as defined in Cal. Gov't Code § 66424.

EE. Traffic Lane means the portion of a roadway that provides a single line of vehicle travel.

FF. Turnaround means a roadway, unobstructed by parking, which allows for a safe opposite change of direction for emergency equipment. Design of such area may be a hammerhead/T or terminus bulb.

GG. Turnouts means a widening in a roadway or driveway to allow vehicles to pass. Minimum twelve (12') feet wide and thirty (30') feet long with a twenty-five (25')-foot taper on both ends.

HH. Vertical Clearance means the minimum specified height of a bridge or overhead projection above the roadway.

II. Wildfire, as defined in Cal. Pub. Res. Code §§ 4103 and 4104.

(Ord. 2323. (07/13/2010); Ord. 2531. (10/24/2023))