Utah’s capital city is another step closer to adopting a new fire code for homes and properties next to areas most prone to wildfires.
However, Salt Lake City’s proposed zoning text amendment — required to comply with a new state law — is also stoking fears from homeowners who are concerned that insurance companies could drop coverage of their homes, or that management of public land next to them puts them at risk.
The Salt Lake City Planning Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve the proposed change, which requires certain building materials and defensible space regulations to reduce risks at hundreds of parcels across the city. The Salt Lake City Council has until the end of the year to finalize the map.
A state-mandated code
The measure follows code required through the passage of HB48 during this year’s legislative session. In Salt Lake City’s case, the new code would be applied to many properties in parts of the city that touch wildland spaces, such as the edges of the East Bench, Avenues and Capitol Hill neighborhoods, as well as some pockets of the city surrounding natural spaces within the city like Wasatch Hollow Park, said Nick Norris, the city’s planning director.
Utah lawmakers approved the bill this year in response to deadly and destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles and Denver areas over the past few years. It also went into law well before this year’s wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes and buildings across Utah, including one within the Salt Lake Valley that started on Salt Lake City land before burning down a pair of apartment buildings in Millcreek.
Firefighters used a statewide map that identified “high risk or above” parcels, and then whittled that down to identify 917 parcels that fit the new state requirements after conducting assessments at each property, said Salt Lake Fire Division Chief Tony Allred, during Wednesday’s meeting.
“(It) is kind of weighed a lot by what type of property it abuts, especially, for instance, those inland properties,” he said, adding that University of Utah parcels, while in the city, are not subject to the city’s building codes.
Residential concerns
But the measure also sparked plenty of concerns among residents caught in the middle of the proposed text amendment. Residents said they understand the issue but questioned how it could impact their insurance coverage and landscaping.
“The map creates a target on the backs of us property owners,” said Scott Rosenbush, whose Upper Avenues home is among the affected parcels, pointing out that it could make it difficult for properties to retain or afford home insurance as companies have canceled policies in other prone areas.
Many residents whose properties abut Red Butte, Emigration, and City creeks have “invested tens of thousands of dollars” in landscaping that could be put into jeopardy, said Rick Thornton, whose home is near one of the corridors. Christine Miller, whose home on the East Bench is included in the map, was brought to the verge of tears as she worries if she might need to move from the home she’s loved so dearly.
“It just breaks my heart,” she said. “I want to help, but now I’m worried about my taxes, and now I’m scared about insurance.”
Others said they’re frustrated by public land management decisions that they say put them in harm’s way. Several of the fires that sparked across the West in recent years originated from power lines. Rocky Mountain Power’s owner, PacifiCorp, dished out more than $1 billion in various wildfire-related settlements, largely from fires in Oregon five years ago.
Meanwhile, the Millcreek fire started on a Salt Lake City Public Utilities property that had been warned about overgrown weeds before the fire.
“This is an atrocious travesty of justice. The city is asleep at the wheel on this,” said Ian McCubbin, who lives near City Creek Canyon.
Ongoing mitigation efforts — and a new code
Local and state fire officials worked to quell the concerns. Wildfire reduction projects were completed at Allen Park, while Miller Bird Refuge and Nature Park, City Creek Canyon and Jordan River Parkway are all on the city’s radar, according to Salt Lake City Fire Assistant Chief Robert Stafford. Allred adds that residents aren’t necessarily required to remove all trees and vegetation to comply with the code, either.
HB48 aimed to help ensure homeowners aren’t dropped by insurance companies, while helping homeowners in high-risk areas “triage” their properties to lower their property risks, said Taiga Rohrer, deputy state fire management officer for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, who attended the meeting. It outlines that insurance companies must use the state’s determination of high-risk areas, but it doesn’t determine how they should use that assessment.
“Right now, the insurance companies use whatever they want. They use whatever risk models they want, plus their actuarial models,” he said. “We’re hoping the insurance companies pay attention to (HB48’s intent), and adjust their rates and their coverage accordingly.”
The new law also tasks counties with collecting new fees at the highest-risk properties. Fees would be assessed for areas with the “very highest risk” based on risk modeling, but he said the fee amount has yet to be set.
The commission ultimately voted to endorse the code proposal, as its members noted most of the concerns were out of the city’s control.
As for future changes, another concern brought up during the meeting, Allred said the map will likely change as the city does. The city anticipates conducting a 45-day public comment window every time a property is determined to qualify for the city’s new wildland-urban interface code. That likely won’t be needed if a property is no longer determined to be at risk.
“This is going to be a process that the fire department manages and constantly reevaluates,” he said.