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ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
AMENDING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF CHAPTER
16.40 OF TITLE 16 OF THE ANAHEIM
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE
DESIGNATION OF VERY HIGH FIRE HAZARD
SEVERITY ZONES
WHEREAS, the State of California Legislature ("Legislature") has declared in Section 51175(a) of the California Government Code as follows: (i) that fires are extremely costly, not only to property owners and residents, but also to local agencies; (ii) that fires pose a serious threat to the preservation of public peace, health, and safety; (iii) that it is necessary that cities, counties, special districts, state agencies, and federal agencies work together to bring raging fires under control; and (iv) that preventative measures are needed to ensure the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; and WHEREAS, the Legislature has further declared in Section 51175(b) of the California Government Code that the prevention of fires is not a municipal affair, but is, instead, a matter of statewide concern; and
WHEREAS, on July 31, 1995, pursuant to Section 51178 of the California Government Code, the State Fire Marshal had previously identified areas within the County of Orange as very high fire hazard severity zones and were adopted by the City of Anaheim by Ordinance No. 5523; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 51181 of the California Government Code, the State Fire Marshal shall periodically review the areas in the state identified as very high fire hazard severity zones and as necessary make recommendations; and this review has been completed; and
WHEREAS, the creation of this map relied upon the use of current scientific methods which assessed vegetation, slope, fire history, weather patterns and significantly improved accuracy by establishing the impact of flames, heat, and flying fire embers; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 51179 of the California Government Code, the State Fire Marshal has published a new map depicting areas designated as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, and has recommended that local agencies adopt these zones through local ordinance; and Section 51179(a) of the California Government Code requires the City of Anaheim to designate by ordinance moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days after receiving the recommendations from the State Fire Marshal; and
WHEREAS, the 2025 Recommended Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map published by CAL FIRE depicting areas designated as moderate, high, and - 2 -
very high fire hazard severity zones within the City, shown on Exhibit A, is on file and can be viewed in the Anaheim Fire Department and the Office of the City Clerk during normal business hours and on the City’s website.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That Section 16.40.010 of Chapter 16.40 of Title 16 of the Anaheim Municipal Code be, and the same is hereby, revised and amended as follows:
“16.40.010 APPLICATION OF CHAPTER.
.010 The State Legislature has added Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Government Code Section 51175) to Part I of Division I of Title 5 of the Government Code and has amended Section 13108.5 of the Health and Safety Code (collectively the "statutes") providing for designation of areas in the state as moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity zones and identifying measures to retard the rate of spread and reduce the potential intensity of uncontrolled fires; and
.020 The California Director of Forestry and Fire Protection has recommended certain areas within the City of Anaheim be classified as moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity zones; and
.030 The statutes require the City of Anaheim to act upon these recommended classifications within one hundred twenty days of their receipt; and .040 In order to comply with the aforementioned statutes, and in order to correct existing conditions and prevent future conditions that are detrimental to the public health and safety and may result in serious injury, it is reasonably necessary for the City of Anaheim to adopt an ordinance establishing moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity zones within the City of Anaheim, including areas of the City of Anaheim governed by development agreements heretofore approved by the City pursuant to Section 65864, et seq, of the Government Code ("development agreements").
.050 The Fire Marshal's office of the City of Anaheim notified parties to development agreements of the proposed designation of said moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity zones and, where requested, conferred with parties to said development agreements in a good faith effort to address any questions or problems presented. Of all means reasonably known to the City which could feasibly correct or avoid the injurious or detrimental condition, designation of the zones and establishing those procedures set forth in Sections
16.40.040 and 16.40.050 are the most reasonable means to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.
.060 The City Council does hereby further find and determine that failure to adopt the provisions of this chapter and to make said provisions applicable to properties which are subject to existing development agreements would result in a condition injurious or detrimental to the public health and safety and that the provisions of this chapter are reasonably necessary to correct or avoid such injurious or detrimental condition. Consequently, the provisions of this Chapter shall apply to all property located within the moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity zones described in Section 16.40.020 of this chapter notwithstanding that said property may be the subject of a development agreement which became effective prior - 3 -
to the date of adoption of this chapter and which development agreement contains any provision to the contrary.
.070 It is also necessary for the City of Anaheim to designate those individuals from the City of Anaheim who will enforce the provisions of Government Code Sections 51175 through 51188 and Health and Safety Code Sections 13108.5, 13143.2 and 13143.5. (Ord. 5523 § 1 (part); October 3, 1995.)”
SECTION 2. That Section 16.40.020 of Chapter 16.40 of Title 16 of the Anaheim Municipal Code be, and the same is hereby, revised and amended as follows:
" 16.40.020 DESIGNATION OF ZONES.
The City of Anaheim designates those areas identified on the Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map published by the Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE), on file in the Anaheim Fire Department and the Office of the City Clerk, as Fire Hazard Severity Zones within the City in accordance with Section 51179(a) of the California Government Code.
The areas identified on the Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map published by CAL FIRE shall be subject to the requirements of Government Code Sections 51175 through 51188, inclusive, Health and Safety Code Sections 13108.5, 13143.2 and 13143.5, Public Resources Code Sections 4201-4204, California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 1280, as well as such additional requirements as may be established for fire hazard severity zones by the City of Anaheim or by State law."
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY.
The City Council of the City of Anaheim hereby declares that should any section, paragraph, sentence, phrase, term or word of this ordinance be declared for any reason to be invalid, it is the intent of the City Council that it would have adopted all other portions of this ordinance independent of the elimination of any such portion as may be declared invalid. If any section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one (or more) section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase had been declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. CERTIFICATION.
The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be printed once within fifteen (15) days after its adoption in the Anaheim Bulletin, a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the City of Anaheim. - 4 -
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force thirty (30) days from and after its final passage.
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Anaheim held on the ____ day of ______________, 2025, and thereafter passed and adopted at a regular meeting of said City Council held on the ____ day of ______________, 2025, by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
CITY OF ANAHEIM
By: __________________________________
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
ATTEST:
______________________________________
CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
155420/bmorley
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EXHIBIT A
(attached behind this page)