ORDINANCE --
AN ORDINANCE
OF THE IDYLLWILD FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT DECLARING CERTAIN WASTE AND/OR
VEGETATION (MATTER) A PUBLIC NUISANCE AND PROVIDING FOR THE ABATEMENT AND/OR
REMOVAL THEREOF
The Board of Commissioners
of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District ordains as follows:
ARTICLE I That
the health and safety of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District and the
residents thereof, it requires the incorporation of the following ordinance.
ARTICLE II A
majority of all native vegetation within the Idyllwild Fire Protection District
constitutes a seasonal and recurrent nuisance pursuant to the California Health
and Safety Code Section 14900.5.
ARTICLE III The
enactment of this ordinance is pursuant to the authority of the California Health
and Safety Code Sections 13861(h), 13879, Division 12, Part 5, Sections 14875,
et seq., and Division 12, Part 6, Section 14930.
ARTICLE IV AUTHORITY
TO PROMULGATE REASONABLE RULES AND REGULATIONS pursuant to Riverside County
Ordinance 695.3 Section 11. The Board of
Commissioners hereby reserves its right to adopt reasonable rules, regulations,
and resolutions consistent with this ordinance to enforce, interpret, and carry
out the provisions of this ordinance. Such rules may vary among different areas
within the District.
ARTICLE V ABATEMENT
OF CERTAIN VEGETATION AND WASTE MATTER
SECTION 1 Certain
vegetation and other items are declared a public nuisance.
(a) Any
vegetation growing upon the streets, sidewalks or upon private or public property within
the Idyllwild Fire Protection District which by reason of their size, type, manner of
growth, proximity to any building, or improvements
which, when dry, will with reasonable probability constitute a fire hazard, said vegetation or
other items are hereby declared to be a public
nuisance and shall be abated to the satisfaction of the Fire Chief or his authorized representative.
(b) Cultivated,
useful grasses and pasture shall not be declared a public nuisance. However, the Fire Chief or his authorized
representative shall determine
if a hazard exists to adjacent improved property from fire exposure,
should said condition occur, an adequate fire break may be required.
SECTION 1.1 Definition
- Abatement
Abatement
pursuant to this Ordinance shall be defined as the removal of the hazard or
nuisance as defined by this Ordinance.
It shall be
the responsibility of the property owner to insure compliance with the requirements
of this section particularly if the property is protected by an open space
easement or is subject to protection under the Federal endangered species
protection acts. Violations of the
Federal Endangered Species Protection Act shall be subject to penalties as
described therein.
SECTION 2 Waste
Matter Declared a Public Nuisance.
Waste matter
is hereinafter declared as matter, which by reason of its location and/or
character may hamper or interfere with the prevention or suppression of fire
upon the premises or adjacent premises.
The requirement to abate same as defined herein or by Section 1.1 is
hereby declared a public nuisance.
SECTION 2.1 Waste
Matter Defined.
Waste matter
is defined for this article as unused or discarded matter having no substantial
value and which is exposed to the elements not enclosed in any structure or
concealed from public view. These items
consists (without limitation or exclusion by enumeration) of such matter and/or
material as: rubble, asphalt, and any
combustible non functioning material.
SECTION 3 Notice
to Abate Hazard.
If
it is determined that a public nuisance as herein defined exists on any lot,
premise, sidewalk, parking lot or street adjacent to such areas, the Chief of
the Fire District upon discovery of such condition shall cause a courtesy compliance
order to be issued to self inspect and abate such nuisance allowing 30 (thirty)
days to comply with such order. If,
after the 30 (thirty) days has passed, a public nuisance still exists on such
lot, premise, sidewalk, parking lot or street adjacent to such area, the Chief
of the Fire District shall cause a notice to be issued to abate such nuisance,
allowing 14 (fourteen) days to comply with such notice. Such notice shall be headed: "NOTICE
TO ABATE HAZARD" and shall, in
legible characters, direct the abatement of the nuisance and refer to this
article and section for particulars. If,
after the 14 (fourteen) days has passed, a public nuisance still exists on such
lot, premise, sidewalk, parking lot or street adjacent to such area, the Chief
of the Fire District shall cause a final notice to be issued to abate such
nuisance, allowing 10 (ten) days to comply with such notice. Notices served by
means other than posting as provided by this article shall contain a description
of the property reasonably sufficient to identify the property and location of
the nuisance thereon.
SECTION 3.1 Notice
to Abate Seasonal and Recurrent Nuisances
In the case of
weeds/vegetation which have previously been declared to constitute a seasonal
and/or recurring nuisance, it is sufficient to mail a post card notice to the
owners of the property as they and their addresses appear upon the current
assessment roll.
The notice
shall refer to and describe the property and shall state "nuisance"
or dangerous weeds of a seasonal and recurrent nature are growing on the
property and that same constitutes a public nuisance which must be abated by removal.
If not removed by the property owner, the Fire Chief or his authorized
representative shall cause the abatement by removal. The cost of such removal shall be assessed
upon the lot and/or lands from which nuisance is removed. Such assessment will constitute a lien upon
such lots or lands until paid or collected through tax assessment.
SECTION 4 Service
of Notice to Abate Hazard.
The notice
required by Section 3 and 3.1 of this ordinance may be served by one of the
following:
1. By
personal service on the owner, adult occupant or adult in charge or control of the property.
-- OR --
2. By
regular mail addressed to the owner or person in charge and control of the property at the
address shown on the last available assessment roll. Service shall be deemed completed upon the deposit
of said notice, postage prepaid, in the United States mail
-- OR --
3. By
posting notice in a conspicuous place on the land or adjacent public right of way.
SECTION 5 Appeal,
right of, to the Board of Commissioners.
Within
ten days from the date of personal service, mailing or posting of the required "NOTICE TO ABATE HAZARD" referred to
in Section 3 of this Ordinance, the owner or person occupying or controlling
such lot or premises affected may appeal to the Idyllwild Fire Protection
District Board of Commissioners. Such
appeal shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Fire Chief. At the regular or adjourned meeting of the Board
of Commissioners, not less than five (5) days nor more than thirty (30) days
after receipt of such appeal, the board shall proceed to hear such appeal, and
the decision of the Board of Commissioners thereupon shall be final and
conclusive.
An
administration fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall accompany any appeal
filed. Said fee may be waived if
financial inability can be reasonably shown.
Application of waiver shall be in the form of a letter signed by the
owner or their appropriate delegate.
If the appeal
is not accompanied by the fee or application for waiver, (and acceptance
thereof by the Fire Chief) then the appeal will be administratively denied.
If the appeal
is successful in reversing the prior demand for abatement then the above
administration fee shall be refunded to the appellant.
SECTION 6 Abatement
of Nuisance by the Fire Chief.
If the owner
fails or neglects to abate the nuisance as herein defined within the time
specified, the Fire Chief shall cause such nuisance to be removed and/or abated
pursuant to Sections 14900 and 14901, of the California Health and Safety
Code. A report of the proceedings and an
accurate account of the costs of abating the nuisance on each separate property
shall be filed in the Fire Prevention Office.
SECTION 7 Cost
of Abatement and Removal.
Costs for
abatement shall include any and all administrative costs including, but not limited
to, costs of mailing, personnel time, computer retrieval, plus contractor's
abatement charges.
SECTION 8 Government
Code Provisions Adopted and Collection Assessments.
The provisions
of section 39580 through 39586 inclusive of the Government Code, and Section
14912 of the California Health and Safety Code, of the State of California are
incorporated by reference and made a part of this ordinance. The County Auditor
shall enter each assessment in the County Tax Roll opposite the parcel of
land. The amount of the assessment shall
be collected at the time and in the manner of ordinary municipal taxes; and, if
delinquent, the amount is subject to the same penalties and procedure of
foreclosure and sale is provided for ordinary municipal taxes.
If the Fire
District determines that it is in the best interest of the district and its
citizens, the Fire District may contract out the abatement process.
SECTION 9 Violation.
The owner,
occupant or agent of any lot or premise within the Idyllwild Fire Protection
District who shall permit or allow the unlawful continuance of a fire hazard
and/or public nuisance as defined in Section 1.1 of this Ordinance upon any lot
or premises owned, occupied or controlled by him/her, or who shall violate any
of the provisions of this ordinance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars ($1000.00), or to imprisonment
for a period not exceeding six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 10 Maintenance Requirements.
HOME IGNITION ZONE: WITHIN 30
FEET OF ALL STRUCTURES
All pine needles, weeds, leafs, and
debris will be cleared. (see optional expanded requirements)
Flammable chaparral species (like
Manzanita and Chamise) and dead trees will be removed. In certain cases, single specimens of
ornamental shrubs may remain.
Any tree branches (live or dead)
within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe will be removed.
Dead or dying tree branches that
touch or overhang a structure will be removed.
The general recommendation is to limb any alive branches that touch or
overhang a structure be removed to provide additional protection for your home.
The roof of any structure will be free of leaves, pine needles
or other dead materials.
Chimneys will be covered with wire screen: the mesh of the
screen will be ½ inch or less.
Excessively small mesh may cause clogging.
Firewood piles within 10 feet of a house will be covered with
a tarp. This includes firewood piled
against a house or under a deck. We do
not recommend stacking firewood against your house. Firewood may also be stored in a covered
shed.
All dead grass, weeds, and non-ornamental plants will be cut
to ground level.
WILDLAND FUEL REDUCTION ZONE: WITHIN 100 FEET
OF ALL STRUCTURES
Pine needles, weeds or duff will not exceed a
depth of 3 inches.
All live trees will be limbed up.
Please note this applies to native trees, not brush or chaparral.
For brush and chaparral, the
distance between crowns (tops) will be equal to the widest adjacent plant. All dead limbs and twigs will be removed from
the remaining plants.
Any dead tree will be removed; this includes the removal of
slash material.
OTHER
REQUIREMENTS
Street addresses will be posted in numbers at least 3 inches
high and clearly visible from the public street.
Piles of flammable waste in any yard, vacant lot or open space
will be removed. This includes piles of
plant trimmings, grass, weeds, construction debris, and rubbish or litter of
any kind.
Private easements need to be cleared to provide access for
fire equipment.
All owners of property (this also includes vacant land) will
provide fire clearance for adjacent neighbors if the adjacent property includes
a structure AND if that structure is within 100 feet of the common property
line.
All weeds, brush,
trash or other combustible material shall be cleared a minimum of 10 feet in
all directions from all LP gas tanks or containers.
OPTIONAL EXPANDED REQUIREMENTS
WITHIN 30 FEET
OF ALL STRUCTURES
a. All noxious or dangerous vegetation of a
seasonal and recurrent nature including but not limited to grass, weeds, and
non-ornamental plants, that create a hazard or
nuisance will
be cut to ground level and removed.
b. All pine needles, leaves or any other dead
materials will be cleared from the roof, eves, and gutters of any structure.
c. Excess pine needles, leaves, duff, etc. will
be cleared to no more than 2”. Take care not to disturb the 1”-2” duff layer of
dark decomposing needles and duff, leaving bare, un-vegetated soil without
mulch unless otherwise desired or necessary.
WITHIN 100
FEET OF ALL STRUCTURES
a. It is recommended that a 30’ wide area for
fuel break be maintained for protection around the property.
b. It is recommended that live trees should be
thinned to approximately one tree every 500-1100 sq ft. (22-33 ft apart on
center, 40-80 trees/acre)
These
requirements are covered in an addendum which will outline different methods to
protect natural trees and vegetation around your dwelling and still maintain a
fire safe perimeter.
ADDENDUM TO THE OPTIONAL EXPANDED
REQUIREMENTS
The optional
Expanded Requirements shall be used in their entirely, with the following:
To properly
satisfy all of the requirements, the property owner or agent, must submit a
forester plan similar to the one developed by the Forest Care Program, or a
plan developed by you, an arborist, or a landscaper.
There must be
a plan to show a reasonable effort to manage one’s property, and maintain a
fire safe area on your property.
For more info,
go to www.sbnfa.org/resources.php
for information on the Forest Care Program. This program also works with the
1038c exemption standards.
ARTICLE VI That
the Board of Commissioners hereby declares that facts exist pursuant to Section
36937 of the Government Code of the State of California constituting an
urgency, to wit: That in order to
promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of
the Idyllwild Fire Protection District by reason of certain vegetation and
other items constituting a potential health and fire hazard, requiring immediate
regulation and control by the Fire District; that the Board of Commissioners
does hereby determine that such facts constitute an urgency, that the passage
of this Ordinance is urgent due to the severity and frequency of vegetation
fires within the District, and shall take effect immediately upon adoption,
pursuant to Section 36937 of the Government Code of the State of California.
ARTICLE VII The
Board of Commissioners hereby declares that should any section, paragraph,
sentence or word of this ordinance or of the Codes or Ordinances referenced
herein be declared for any reason to be invalid, it is the intent of this Board
that it would have adopted all other portions of this Ordinance independent of
the elimination therefrom of any such portion as may be declared invalid.
PASSED this day of ,
200_ by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
Glen
McWilliams, Board President
ATTEST:
Janice
Coopersmith, Board Secretary
ADDENDUM(s)