Planning
Commission to discuss
secondary fire access at workshop
By Joe Naiman
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO COUNTY — The county’s Planning Commission will hold
an April 24 workshop to address the issue of alternatives to
secondary access fire safety requirements.
“I think it would be a very good workshop,” said
Planning Commissioner Bryan Woods.
“I think it’s a worthwhile use of our time,” Woods said. “I
think we need to understand the issue better.”
Such understanding would allow the Planning Commission
to review the adequacy of shelter-in-place plans for specific
projects. The workshop was set during the Planning Commission’s
March 13 hearing which denied a tentative parcel map for a
proposed four-home subdivision in Pala due to the lack of an
acceptable fire protection plan.
“There’s something that needs to be done in this area,”
said Hadley Johnson, who is an ownership partner in the Pala
property.
During a project issue resolution meeting on that
property, Johnson requested that a “shelter-in-place” plan be
accepted as providing the “same practical effect” of the
secondary access requirements. “We do have large parcels, so we
can create cleared areas,” Johnson said at the Planning
Commission hearing. “That’s the only option that we have at this
particular point in time.”
Both state fire regulations and the county’s fire code
limit dead-end access roads in areas with four-acre zoning to
1,320 feet from the first opportunity to evacuate in two
directions.
“It’s very difficult to meet that 1,320 foot
requirement,” Johnson said. “Even some of our county public
roads are running into this problem.”
Seven other property owners throughout the county
addressed the Planning Commission on the issue of
shelter-in-place as an alternative to secondary access
requirements. The Planning Commission opted to schedule the
April 24 workshop to address that issue.
County Department of Planning and Land Use deputy
director Jeff Murphy noted that two key elements were required
for a shelter-in-place plan. The first is education and
outreach. “It’s important that this stay in perpetuity,” he
said.
The second requirement for a successful
shelter-in-place program is enforcement for clearing brush to
ensure a safe area.
Woods noted that families would be in the homes after
the developer has left. “I want to make sure we take care of
them,” he said.
Ivan Fox, who lives in Fallbrook, was the only one of
the seven other landowners to address Johnson’s project
specifically. “We’re talking about people who want to live in
rural communities,” he said.
Fox and his wife evacuated from the Rice Fire in
October 2007, and despite the presence of multiple access
options he still encountered an inability to leave the area.
“Secondary access is not the catch-all,” he said.
Evacuation also requires a functioning vehicle with
enough fuel to reach the nearest gas station outside of the
evacuation area. Shelter-in-place does not require the presence
of a driveable car.
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