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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWildfire Advisory Committee 2019-08-14 Agenda WILDFIRE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WEDNSDAY, August 14, 2019 AT 4:30 P.M. REGULAR MEETING SAN RAFAEL COMMUNITY CENTER, ROOM 4 618 B STREET, SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA AGENDA OPEN TIME FOR PUBLIC EXPRESSION 1. Public Comment from the audience regarding items not listed on the agenda. Speakers are to limit comments to 2 minutes each. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM August 1, 2019 MEETING 2. Recommended Action: Amend and/or approve as submitted. MATTERS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE If necessary to assure completion of the following items, the Chairperson may establish time limits for the presentations by individual speakers. 3. Matters Before the Committee: a. Discussion of items relating to emergency alerting and evacuation. Item numbers 24, 28, 29, 30, and 32 of the 38-point San Rafael Wildfire Prevention and Protection Action Plan) ADJOURNMENT 24. Improve the public’s fire risk awareness with sign improvements and installation ACTION SRFD and DPW program. Install new and improve existing signage at all open space access areas and along roads in high fire-risk areas. WHAT THIS MEANS Signs would be installed across City open space explaining fire danger and risks associated with being in the open space. New signage would be installed in areas of high fire risk to help keep public alert and avoid risky fire behavior. Staff would need to survey all open space access points, and high fire risk areas to determine sign needs. RATIONALE Educate public and visitors. Support increased enforcement. Provide consistent messaging. Improve aesthetics and readability of signs. CONCERNS Aesthetic concerns of signs in natural areas. Potential to create culture of fear. COSTS $$$ Additional funding would be needed to develop, produce, and install improved signage. @@ Current staff can complete the project with time reallocation or support of contractors. Total Cost for the City to implement is estimated between $15,000-$30,000. STAKEHOLDERS Fire Department, Public Works, Police Rangers, residents TIMELINE Survey work can be completed within 90 days. With funding, message and signs can be developed within 90 days, with installation to occur shortly thereafter. If funding is available, the project could be completed before the peak 2019 fire season. If utilizing grant funding, the project may be delayed, but would be completed before May of 2020. OUTCOMES Reduction in fire risky behavior by public due to increased awareness of wildfire risk. 28. Reduce fuels along roadways ACTION City program and policy. Develop a policy to clearly direct the enforcement of current State regulations and SRMC relating to vegetation clearance along public roadways. Updates to SRMC may also be needed to update, clarify and uniformly apply standards. WHAT THIS MEANS Stronger and more consistent enforcement and abatement of vegetation along roadways with a focus on pre-identified primary and secondary evacuation routes. Consideration would be given to shade and maintaining San Rafael as a “Tree City USA”. Fuel removal would target continuous fuels between the ground and canopy. Hardwoods and native trees would generally be excluded from these efforts. Highly flammable shrubs near roadways would require removal. RATIONALE Reduces the risk of fire ignition along roadways. Improves potential evacuation routes by limiting the fire fuel along roadways. Creates additional fuel breaks to stop and slow the spread of wildfire. Increased responder safety through improved visibility and decreased roadside fuel. Removing continuous fuels from along roadways would reduce potential fire tunnels and fire spreading from the ground into the canopy. CONCERNS Residents may be resistant to removing vegetation along roadways serving as a privacy fence for their property. Disposal of large amounts of woody biomass. COSTS $$$ Additional funding is needed to support community chipper days and support for property owners removing vegetation. @@ Policy can be developed with current staff reallocating time @@@ Additional staff time is needed to effectively enforce policy and support community chipper days. Total cost to the City would include support for homeowners and chipper support which may cost $50,000-$75,000 for the first few years, decreasingly significantly after maintenance is reached. STAKEHOLDERS Fire Department, Public Works, property owners TIMELINE A policy clarifying implementation of existing standards can be drafted within 60 days. Enforcement can begin immediately. Fall and Winter are slower times for vegetation inspections, allowing for a concentrated effort relating to clearance along roadways. Community support, including chipper days, cannot begin until additional funding is secured. Additional evaluation is needed to determine what, if any, SRMC changes may be needed. OUTCOMES San Rafael would have safe evacuation routes and less changes of roadside ignitions. 29. Establish a residential hillside “parking box” program ACTION Ordinance change and City project. Establish a residential hillside “parking box” program on narrow roadways in hillside areas. Parking would only be permitted in “boxed” areas which are established in areas that allow emergency vehicles safe access and public safe egress. WHAT THIS MEANS An ordinance change would establish the parking box program and require that in designated areas, street parking would only be permitted in designated parking boxes. A fire engine would drive through high problem areas to determine where street parking can safely be designated. DPW then would mark the parking boxes, and enforcement would occur via parking tickets and/or towing. Parking would only be permitted on roadways with a clear space of 10’ for access and a parking area that is a minimum of 8’ wide by 15’ in length. In designated areas, the parking box ordinance would replace the six feet from center parking ordinance. Ways to support property owners attempting to build off-street parking pads in the impacted areas would be considered, such as waived permit fees or exemptions. Parking for open space would also be reviewed to assure parking areas are adequately defined to assure emergency access and egress. RATIONALE SRMC section 5.40.080 currently prohibits parking on narrow streets unless six (6) feet from center is maintained unobstructed. This standard is confusing, hard to enforce, and does not guarantee fire engines and other large vehicles can safely access all areas of San Rafael. The “parking box” concept is easy to observe and understand for both residents and visitors. The program would assure emergency traffic can respond to daily calls for assistance and in a large-scale emergency. The easy to understand system would also make enforcement, particularly on red flag days, easier. CONCERNS Loss of parking spaces in impacted areas. Traffic congestion during implementation. COSTS $$$ Implementing and program maintenance would require additional funding. Simplified regulations would support strong enforcement may result in increased ticketing revenue. @@ The ordinance and program can be implemented with existing staff reallocating time. Contractors may need to be considered based on other concurrent priorities. Total cost to the City is estimated to be $10,000-$25,000 initially, and $1,500 to repaint every three years. STAKEHOLDERS Fire Department, Public Works, Parking Enforcement, Residents TIMELINE Within 180 days, a draft ordinance and proposed pilot project would be developed. Implementation would be dependent on funds, staff, and project prioritization. A full implementation could be completed in FY 2020. 30. Improve public emergency alerting capabilities and policies ACTION City project and County policy. In coordination with Marin County, develop a proactive policy for the use of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) during emerging situations. Establish templates that clearly communicate risk, requested action, and sources for follow-up information. Enhance internal capabilities. WHAT THIS MEANS Currently, the City of San Rafael relies on Marin County for non-opt-in messaging. The City’s internal ability to message is limited to SRPD’s Nixle subscription, which only reaches those who opt-in for messaging. This item has two interacting parts; 1) a clear policy for when and how San Rafael can request the County to issue emergency alerts on its behalf and; 2) Staff’s recommendation to upgrade the internal ability to send messages that do not require users to opt-in. In both situations, policies, templates, and coordination would be needed. Considerations would also be given to other alerting methods including NOAA weather radios, sirens, or coordinated community efforts. Sirens may be considered to alert residents in open space of an active threat. Sirens are not designed to be heard indoors and therefore would not be considered for citywide implementation as a primary alerting tool. Plans and policies would be developed to better inform the public of red flag and high fire risk days and any associated access changes, such as closures of open space. Plans would also improve coordination between alerting authorities and all news providers, including TV, Radio, and print. Expansion of Neighborhood Response Groups would strengthen connections and peer-to-peer communication. RATIONALE Assure policy and templates in place empower WEA message to be sent if threat exists. Reduce the likelihood that a message would be delayed or won’t be sent. Reduce risk of loss of life. WEA messaging was NOT issued during the North Bay fires of 2017 or the Butte County Camp Fire in 2018. Internally the City needs to improve its messaging capabilities, including access, training, and policies, to assure communication with residents in time of crisis. While broad-based alerting tools, such as sirens or coordinated church bell rings can be considered, it is imperative that each individual register for alerts and have a local alerting redundancy, such as a weather radio. Improvements to emergency notifications and Red Flag warnings is a consistent theme in the 2017 Lessons Learned report. Senate Bill 833 and Assembly Bill 1877 established new alert, warning, and planning requirements for State, county, and local officials. CONCERNS Over-messaging can reduce the impact of an essential message. Incomplete or inaccurate messaging may cause panic or undue traffic congestion during evacuation. Messaging may overreach to nonimpacted areas. Coordination between County and City alerting authorities is necessary. Develop plan and strategies to meet the needs of those with Access and Functional Needs (AFN) to include mobility limitations and communication or language barriers. COSTS $$$ To allow San Rafael the direct ability to message, without requiring a user opt-in, an annual $6,000 increase in SRPD’s Nixle subscription is expected. Cost share program between the City and residents to obtain NOAA weather radios should be considered. @@ Efforts can be accomplished with existing staff reallocating time. The objective would require coordination between San Rafael PD, San Rafael Fire, and Marin County. Total Cost to the City is expected to be about $6,000 annually for the advanced Nixle technology and a $2,000 one-time cost help low-income residents obtain weather radios. STAKEHOLDERS County OES, MCSO, SROES, SRPD, SRFD, Residents TIMELINE In progress. A streamlined policy would rely on agreement from Marin County Sheriff’s Office. Updating the Nixle subscription can be done within days of an identified funding source. OUTCOMES San Rafael has ability to message all residents in the event of an emergency. 32. Review and expand evacuation plans, incorporating areas of refuge, and support neighborhood evacuation drills. ACTION City project. Review Countywide evacuation plans and expand existing plans to address San Rafael’s unique needs, neighborhoods and resources, including possible water evacuations. WHAT THIS MEANS Additional evacuation planning would establish additional redundancies and potentially reduce the burden on a single egress artery during an emergency. These efforts would consider evacuating to areas of refuge during a fast-moving wildfire. Maps of evacuation routes and potential safe areas would be shared with residents. Expanded plans would better address the unique needs of the AFN community, to include limited mobility, communication and language limitations, and transportation independence. Coordination with Waze, Google Maps, and other GPS providers would be considered. City resources, including the Fire Department, Police Department, and OES would help neighborhoods develop individuated evacuation plans and support community organized evacuation drills. RATIONALE San Rafael has multiple areas with limited egress options, due to water, open space and narrow roads. San Rafael should review alternate options for evacuation, including establishing agreements with Golden Gate Transit and Dutra to support a water evacuation. Providing residents with more detailed information about existing and expanded evacuation plans would allow residents to be better informed and prepared. CONCERNS Evacuations are dynamic and situation dependent, making comprehensive planning ineffective. Efforts may create false sense of security or avoidance of individual planning. COSTS $$$ Creating an evacuation annex to the City Emergency Response Plan would require a contractor or additional staff. Support of evacuation drills would require addition Police Department staff time. @@@ Efforts would require additional staff time. Total Cost to the City is estimated to be $50,000 one-time costs, and reoccurring costs of $10,000 annually. STAKEHOLDERS Fire Department, Police Department, Golden Gate Transit, Dutra, Marin County, Residents TIMELINE Planning efforts are ongoing. Water evacuation planning can be established throughout 2019 with collaboration from partners. Updated evacuation plans would be incorporated in the City Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). OUTCOMES Improved public awareness of evacuation routes and areas of refuge. WILDFIRE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 AT 4:30 P.M. REGULAR MEETING SAN RAFAEL COMMUNITY CENTER, ROOM 4 618 B STREET, SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA MEETING MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT: Maribeth Bushey, Councilmember Romeo Arrieta Kevin Hagerty Larry Luckham Sandra Luna Stephen Mizroch Tom Obletz Gregory Poulos Rich Rusdorf Tom Unterman Thomas Vogl Lauren Withey Brian Waterbury MEMBERS ABSENT: Gary Phillips, Mayor; Gina Daly; Lisa DelGallo; Paula Kamena; Robert Chatham, Alternate OTHERS PRESENT: Cristine Alilovich, Assistant City Manager Quinn Gardner, Emergency Manager Coordinator, Staff Liaison Robert Sinnott, Deputy Fire Chief Christine Foster, Digital Services Don Jeppson, Chief Building Official COMMUNITY MEMBERS: Stan Burford, Mary Stevens, Margaret Diener; Raya Hanlon INTRODUCTION Quinn welcomed and thanked committee and members of the public in attendance. Councilmember Bushey joined by phone for the first 15 minutes until arriving in person. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JUNE 19, 2019 MEETING Quinn noted the adjustments she had received via email. Additional changes included removing “to implement the plan” as a summary of goal of the committee, specifying that the group had not reached a consensus on what the specific distance of vegetation enforcement should be, and defining abbreviations WPPAP and WUI. The group asked for the guidelines to be included with the minutes. Quinn summarized changes. Romeo made a motion, Mizroch seconded, with no opposition the adjusted minutes were approved. OPEN TIME FOR PUBLIC EXPRESSION Mary Stevens shared that she has been a resident for several years and has some concern, partly due to her science background, about some of the species going extinct. She realizes the danger of fire and worries about the scope of the list of things and speed of implementation not giving critters enough time to react. She hopes someone on the committee is taking the ecosystem into account. Sister Margaret shared that she works with Bonnie Morris. She believes we are bio-dependent on nature. She agrees with Morris’ assessment of a need for an integrated approach and multilateral, not, unilateral. Sister Margaret also believes that no preparation is enough if a wildfire were to come through San Rafael. Councilmember Maribeth Bushey thanked the public for their comments. She emphasized how critically important to have well maintained and well water plants. She believes we can strike the balance between complete vegetation removal and safe maintenance. MATTERS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE #2: Citywide standards Quinn summarized the item and the intent to create citywide standards to reduce risks and address growing risks associated with climate change and forest health. Luckham expressed that it only makes sense that we have standards that focus on fire standards. The group discussed the various nuisances and had some confusion over the goal and outcome of the discussion relating to item 2. Chief Building Official, Don Jepsen, provided an overview of recent discussions at the state level relating to building codes and wildfire mitigation. Discussion included explanation of why different standards for the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and areas outside the WUI may be appropriate. A member noted that zoning ordinances address differences and that vegetation standards should compliment the zoning ordinances. Moving forward Quinn asked the group to consider if their recommendations are specific to WUI areas or apply citywide. #17: Increase use of fire-resistant materials Don provided an overview of current Building Codes and how the City uses 7A. In San Rafael building materials must only meeting 7A standards for new construction in the WUI. The group generally agreed that adopting a state standard limited future abilities to adjust or provide input on changes. Likewise, given the current review at the state level the group felt it may be too early to make a recommendation on what aspect of the Building Code could be applied to more homes in San Rafael. The group discussed potential cost implications associated with requiring specific building materials. Generally the group agreed that with some changes in building codes, overtime, more buildings would become fire resistant. A member asked that information regarding the safety of exposure to chemicals used to make materials fire resistant be considered. #18: Eliminate shake and wooden roofs. Quinn summarized the point and mentioned that the City will monitor the success Novato has in applying for mitigation grant money to help residents needing to replace shake and wooden roofs. The City estimates about 200 such homes still exist in San Rafael. On behalf of the Marin Relators Association, Romeo expressed concern about using time of sale as a means to require the roofs be replaced. The group discussed timing and the need for variances for low income individuals and disclosure of replacement requirement to potential home buyers. Quinn asked the group to vote on removing the resale requirement but shortening the time until all the roofs must be replaced. The committee voted in favor of 2025 as a cut off, with Greg and Romeo opposed. Romeo proposed a later date such as 2027. #21: Increase the number of hardened homes in San Rafael. Group was largely in favor of additional educational opportunities to help people learn how to harden their homes. Greg expressed concern about cost duplication. Group shared outreach ideas including Farmers Markets, points of sale, building off existing workshop programs, and other areas. #36: Garage door battery backup Quinn explained the concern with people not being able to open their garage during a power outage. New state law will require any new garage have a back up system. The group generally believed retrofits should be optional for residents, but that education, helping people understand their options and testing their ability to manually lift would be beneficial. #37: Two Gates on fences in designated areas. Quinn summarized the item and the intent to avoid entrapments. The group was generally not very concerned with the item, and questioned how many homes it would impact. Romeo wanted to assure that the rule would not be applied at time of resale. Sandra commented that this would benefit areas in Gerstel Park and raising the issues of “flag” properties, surrounded by homes with a driveway easement. Additional clarification on item 2 was requested. Quinn clarified that citywide application vs WUI or other specific application should be considered with each item. Greg reiterated his perspective opposed to global standards and in favor of nuanced approaches and WUI application review. Future meeting dates were set for August 14th, August 28th, and September 19th at 4:30pm at 618 B street. Meeting Adjourned at 6:14 P.M.