1 City Council Special Meeting Agenda
June 20, 2025
NOTICE TO PUBLIC
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the City Council regarding any item on the open session portion of this agenda will be made available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s office located at 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California during normal business hours. These materials will also be made available on the City website at www.losaltoshills.ca.gov subject to Staff’s ability to post the documents before the meeting.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
LOS ALTOS HILLS CITY COUNCIL WILL BE HELD ON
FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2025, AT 9:00 A.M.
Meetings of the City Council are held in-person. As a courtesy, and in compliance with applicable state law, staff and members of the public may participate in the meeting in person at Town Hall or virtually via Zoom Video Conference. Members of the City Council may participate remotely from time to time in accordance with the provisions of Government Code section 54953.
To attend the meeting in person:
City Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 To provide Public Comment in person:
Members of the public wishing to speak are requested to complete a speaker card and submit it to the City Clerk at the meeting.
To participate in the meeting via Zoom Video Conference, please follow the instructions below:
Public comment will also be accepted via email at [email protected] prior to the start of the meeting. Written comments will be posted on the website and distributed to the Council.
If you choose to email your comments, please indicate in the subject line “FOR PUBLIC COMMENT” and indicate the item number.
If you wish to submit a public comment during the meeting, please use the following information. Before speaking, please identify yourself by name and where you reside. The City Council meeting will be live-streamed on the Town’s website and via Zoom at the following location:
https://bit.ly/June20MeetingCCLAH
Webinar ID: 859 2427 7975
Password: 94022
Town of Los Altos Hills
City Council Special Meeting Agenda
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road
Los Altos Hills, California
2 City Council Special Meeting Agenda
June 20, 2025
CALL TO ORDER (9:00 A.M.)
ROLL CALL
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
1. PUBLIC COMMENT (Public Comment is Limited to Items which are the Subject of the Special Meeting)
2. PUBLIC HEARING
City Council Ex Parte Contacts Policy Disclosure
A. Consideration and potentially Waive Reading and Introduce an Ordinance of the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills Designating Fire Hazard Safety Zones Pursuant to Government Code Section 51179 based on the CalFire Maps (Staff: J.
Bradford)
3. ADJOURN
Pursuant to Ordinance No. 506, the Council Meeting shall adjourn no later than 10:00 p.m., unless otherwise approved by a majority of the Councilmembers present.
ASSISTANCE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 650-941-7222. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.
Copies of all agenda reports and supporting data are available for inspection at Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road and the Los Altos Main Library 72 hours in advance of the meeting. A complete agenda can be found on the Town’s webpage: http://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov. A complete packet of information is available for inspection during the meeting at the table to the back of the Council Chambers.
The Council may take action on any agendized matter in any manner deemed appropriate by Council.
TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS June 20, 2025
Staff Report to the City Council
SUBJECT: Waiver of Reading and Introduction of an Ordinance to Designate Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the Los Altos Hills Local Responsibility Area.
FROM: Jay Bradford, Community Development Director
APPROVED: Peter Pirnejad, City Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council discuss, receive public comments, and waive reading and introduce an Ordinance (see Attachment 1) to designate Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) in Los Altos Hills as recommended by CALFIRE/State Fire Marshal.
BACKGROUND:
Building from the staff reports presented to the City Council on the April 17, May 15 and June 18, 2025, for which the links have been provided:
1. “Discussion Regarding the California Fire Marshal’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps in Los Altos Hills and Potential Amendment Options” from the City Council Meeting on April 17, 2025 https://losaltoshillsca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3886/files/attachment/12282
2. “Public Hearing and Introduction of an Ordinance to Designate Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the Los Altos Hills Local Responsibility Area.” form the City Council Meeting on May 15, 2025 https://losaltoshillsca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3884/files/attachment/12437
3. “Adopt an Ordinance of the Town of Los Altos Hills designating Fire Hazard Severity Zones pursuant to Government Code Section 51179, based on the map titled “Town of Los Altos Hills Fire Hazard Severity Zones”, which reflects CAL FIRE recommendations and local amendments. Properties are designated as moderate, high, or very high, with findings supported by substantial evidence for those reclassified to very high.” from the City Council Meeting on June 18, 2025 https://losaltoshillsca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3894/files/attachment/12489 At the June 18th adjourned regular meeting, the City Council received public comments regarding a draft fire hazard severity map ordinance schedule for potential adoption. After receiving public comments and further deliberation, a motion was eventually made to call a special meeting on June 20, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. for the purpose of considering the waiver of reading and introducing an Ordinance of the Town of Los Altos Hills designating Fire Hazard Severity Zones for the adoption of the CALFIRE base map and to further adjourn the adjourned regular of May 15, 2025 and June 18th meeting to June 24, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. The motion passed.
If the ordinance is adopted at the June 24, 2025, adjourned regular meeting, the proposed ordinance would take effect thirty (30) days after adoption and would apply to any projects for which a development or permit application is filed with the Town as of the effective date of the ordinance.
ITEM 2A STAFF REPORT Page 1
This would align the Town’s ordinance and map adoption process with the state mandated deadline of June 24, 2025, for ordinance and map adoption.
DISCUSSION:
The attached ordinance implements the CALFIRE map only. There are a few related issues and questions that we are addressing for informational purposes only. These questions are as follows:
Question 1: What state law requires that a property with multiple Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) designations be assigned only the highest designation? Response 1: While no single law explicitly states that a property may have only one FHSZ designation, a collection of state laws—particularly Government Code Sections 51175 through 51189 and related provisions of the Civil Code—impose obligations according to the designation.
In practice, this means that the highest FHSZ designation will be deemed applicable if a property spans multiple zones. The County Fire Department also utilizes the same approach.
CAL FIRE’s mapping is based on geospatial models that assess topography, vegetation, and fire behavior, which do not follow parcel boundaries. As a result, some properties may include more than one zone. However, state-mandated processes for disclosure, compliance, and enforcement assume a single designation per parcel.
Government Code Section 51179(b)(3) prohibits local agencies from reducing CAL FIRE’s assigned designation. By statute, a local agency “may only”--meaning that it is only permitted to— increase the level of severity zone designations, and designations to Very High FHSZ will need to be supported by substantial evidence. When a parcel includes multiple zones, applying the highest designation aligns with this requirement.
In real estate transactions, Government Code Section 51183.5 and Civil Code Section 1103.2 require sellers to disclose whether a property is located in a Very High FHSZs as adopted by CALFIRE in the local jurisdiction area using the Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) form. The NHD form does not accommodate multiple designations. It presents a yes-or-no question regarding the presence of a Very High fire hazard severity zone in the local jurisdiction area, reinforcing the application of a single designation for legal and transactional purposes. CIV, Sections 1103.2, provides a model real estate disclosure form to illustrate this point. See the highlighted section below related to FHSZs and Wildland Urban Interfaces (WUI’S) disclosures.
Further, as applicable in Los Altos Hills, Civil Code Section 1102.19, enacted through Assembly Bill 38 in 2019, requires sellers of property in High or Very High FHSZs as adopted by CALFIRE to provide documentation of compliance with defensible space laws. This requirement applies to the entire property, not just the portion within a higher zone.
ITEM 2A STAFF REPORT Page 2
(Image 1) CIV, Sections 1103.2, model real estate disclosure form Question 2: Did the CALFIRE map adjustments proposed by staff at the May 15 City Council meeting increase any property CALFIRE FHSZ designations? Response 2: No. the CALFIRE map adjustments were made to show the highest designation CALFIRE applied to the property. Adjustments did not increase designations. Only local amendments increased designations beyond what was identified by CALFIRE.
Question 3: If my neighbor’s property was adjusted to reflect the highest CAL FIRE designation, will my property be adjusted too?
Response 3: No. Your property would only be adjusted if it had multiple CALFIRE designations.
In this case, the highest of those designations would be applied. No changes were made to CALFIRE's original designations.
Question 4: What kind of notification did the Town provide? Response 4: The Town went beyond the minimum notification requirements set by state law. In addition to standard legal notices, the Town participated in public workshops, committee meetings, stakeholder outreach, and public hearings. General advertisements were published, weekly updates ITEM 2A STAFF REPORT Page 3
were provided, and letters were sent to all property owners affected by the local amendments.
Furthermore, other agencies and organizations conducted broader public awareness campaigns about FHSZ map adoptions, which supplemented the Town’s efforts.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
An ordinance adopting FHSZ map and designations, as required by state law, is evaluated to be exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment, and where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. In this case, the proposed ordinance designating fire hazard severity zones does not have a potential for creating a significant environmental effect as it does not create any zoning or introduce any land uses, approve any development projects, or issue any entitlements, but are regulatory actions taken by the Town to implement state law requirements only.
Additionally, this ordinance is also evaluated to be exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15308 as the Town is required by and authorized under Government Code Section 51175 et seq. to take this action to designate fire hazard severity zones, which would either require or encourage/facilitate fire prevention and mitigation measures to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment by reducing wildfire and structural fire risks. As such, this ordinance is a regulatory action involving procedures for environmental protections.
2024-25 CITY COUNCIL WORK PLAN:
This is part of the 2024-25 City Council Work Plan as the FHSZ is a component part of the Home Ignition Zone efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact to the Town for the adoption and administration of the FHSZ maps.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Ordinance Designating FHSZ and CALFIRE base map.
ITEM 2A STAFF REPORT Page 4
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS
DESIGNATING FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 51179
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 51178 requires the State Fire Marshal (a part of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)) to identify areas of the state as Moderate, High, or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ), based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas; and
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 51179(a) requires local agencies to adopt by ordinance, designations of Moderate, High, and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 51179(b) authorizes local agencies to increase, but not decrease, the level of hazard severity recommended by the State Fire Marshal provided that any local amendments to increase a hazard severity designation to Very High must be based on findings supported by substantial evidence in the record that defensible space requirements in Government Code section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection in the area; and WHEREAS, Government Code section 51178.5 requires local agencies to, within 30 days after receiving a transmittal from the State Fire Marshal that identifies FHSZs pursuant to Section 51178, make the information accessible, understandable, and available for public review and comment; and
WHEREAS, Los Altos Hills contains uniquely sloped geography, narrow road withs, unpaved pathways and travel routes, and dense, highly flammable vegetation, including chaparral and heavy brush, which supports frequent and intense wildfire behavior and presents a substantial threat of catastrophic fires; and
WHEREAS, a portion of Los Altos Hills is also adjacent to the Rancho San Antonio Open Space, which also consists of highly flammable vegetation and terrain difficult to navigate, further increasing fire risk exposures. As a part of its commitment to fire prevention and hazard mitigation efforts, the Town is a participating jurisdiction in the 2024 Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP), which identifies wildfire as a significant threat to the community and recommends enhanced mitigation measures, including stricter fire hazard severity zone designations, to protect life and property; and
WHEREAS, the Town is a member of the Los Altos Hills County Fire District, which is subject to the Santa Clara County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), a regionally coordinating document for wildfire mitigation projects, programs and education. The 2023 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Annex 4 applies to the Los Altos Hills County Fire District, and highlights critical evacuation challenges within the Town of Los Altos Hills, such as narrow, winding roads with limited turnarounds and single-access routes serving large residential areas, which impede emergency response and evacuation efforts during wildfires; and WHEREAS, designation of FHSZs, as presented in the record before the Town of Los Altos Hills (“Town”), accounts for different geographical, weather, fire history, evacuation access, and other ITEM 2A ATTACHMENT 1 Page 1
attributes to facilitate risk evaluation and, where appropriate or required, defensible space and other fire hazard mitigation measures to reduce fire risk; and WHEREAS, the Town received the recommended Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps from CAL FIRE on February 24, 2025, and published them on the Town’s website on March 26, 2025, along with several options for potential local amendments to the CAL FIRE FHSZ maps, for public review and comment in compliance with Government Code Section 51178.5; and WHEREAS, on April 17, 2025, the City Council conducted a public meeting to discuss and consider the CAL FIRE FHSZ maps and potential local amendments thereto, received staff report and presentation from Town staff and third party experts regarding the Town’s geographical, topographical, and other community characteristics exposing it to fire hazards, as well as fire prevention considerations, took numerous comments from the public, and provided direction to Town staff; and
WHEREAS, the City Council conducted a duly noticed public hearing on May 15, 2025 and a subsequent duly noticed public meeting on June 18, 2025, to discuss, receive public comments, and consider introduction of an ordinance adopting a map and designating FHSZs for Los Altos Hills; and
WHEREAS, the Town has reviewed the CAL FIRE FHSZ maps and the potential options for local amendments, considered all public comments received on these maps to date and as a part of the foregoing public meetings, and intends to designate the Fire Hazard Severity Zones as recommended by CAL FIRE as shown on Exhibit A to this Ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills does hereby ORDAIN as follows:
Section 1. General and CEQA Findings.
1. The foregoing Recitals and true and correct and made a part of this Ordinance. The Exhibits and attachments hereto are incorporated herein by this reference.
2. Based on the entirety of the record before it, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby finds that this ordinance is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment, and where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. In this case, the proposed ordinance designating fire hazard severity zones does not have a potential for creating a significant environmental effect as it does not create any zoning or introduce any land uses, approve any development projects, or issue any entitlements, but are regulatory actions taken by the Town to implement state law requirements only. Additionally, the City Council also finds that this ordinance is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15308 as the Town is required by and authorized under Government Code Section 51175 et seq. to take this action to designate fire hazard severity zones, which would either require or encourage/facilitate fire prevention and mitigation measures to assure the ITEM 2A ATTACHMENT 1 Page 2
maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment by reducing wildfire and structural fire risks. As such, this ordinance is a regulatory action involving procedures for environmental protections.
Section 2. Fire Hazard Severity Zone Designation.
1. The Town of Los Altos Hills hereby designates the Fire Hazard Severity Zones as recommended by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection/State Fire Marshal pursuant to Government Code Section 51178.
2. The map adopted by the Town of Los Altos Hills, as shown in Exhibit A, is hereby incorporated and entitled “Town of Los Altos Hills Fire Hazard Severity Zones”.
3. Said adopted map is also located electronically on the following website:
https://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/640/Fire-Hazard-Severity-Zone-Maps.
Section 4. Severability.
If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this ordinance, including the application of such part or provision to the other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence clause, or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable.
Section 5. Effective Date; Publication; Transmittal to the State.
This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after adoption. Within fifteen (15) days after the passage of this ordinance the City Clerk shall cause this ordinance or a summary thereof to be published once, with the names of those City Councilmembers voting for or against it in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Los Altos Hills, as required by law. Within thirty (30) days of adoption of this ordinance, the City Clerk shall transmit a copy of the ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
INTRODUCED: _______________, 2025
PASSED: _______________, 2025
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT:
ITEM 2A ATTACHMENT 1 Page 3
BY:
_________________________
Kavita Tankha, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
Arika Birdsong-Miller, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
Steve Mattas, City Attorney
ITEM 2A ATTACHMENT 1 Page 4
EXHIBIT A
FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONE MAP
ITEM 2A ATTACHMENT 1 Page 5
City and County boundaries as of 10/22/24 (CA Board of Equalization) CAL FIRE State Responsibility Areas (SRA25_1)
CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZSRA23_3, FHSZLRA_25_1) Data Sources:
Daniel Berlant, State Fire Marshal, CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Joe Tyler, Director/Fire Chief, CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Wade Crowfoot, Secretary for Natural Resources, CA Natural Resources Agency The State of California and the Department of Forestry and Fire Gavin Newsom, Governor, State of California Protection make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy of data or maps. Neither the State nor the Department shall be liable under any circumstances for any direct, special, incidental, or consequential damages with respect to any claim by any user or third party on account of, or arising from, the use of data or maps. and other relevant factors including areas where winds
have been identified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as a major cause of wildfire spread.
statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones shall be based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, Government Code section 51178 requires the State Fire
Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent Waterbody
Unzoned LRA
Incorporated City
Projection: NAD 83 California Teale Albers
Scale: 1:31,000 at 11" x 17"
Km 0 1 2
Mi 0 1
Very High High Moderate
Very High High Moderate
Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) in Local Responsibility Area (LRA), as Identified by the State Fire Marshal
Los Altos
Hills
280
UNINCORPORATED
SANTA
CLARA CO.
UNINCORPORATED
SANTA CLARA CO.
CUPERTINO
LOS ALTOS
PALO ALTO MOUNTAIN VIEW
PALO ALTO
February 24, 2025
As Identified by the
State Fire Marshal
Local Responsibility Area
Fire Hazard Severity Zones
CITY OF LOS ALTOS HILLS – SANTA CLARA COUNTY
Fire Hazard Severity Zones in State Responsibility
Area (SRA), Effective April 1, 2024
ITEM 2A ATTACHMENT 1