From:Robert Leiter
To:Jenna Stein; Chris Hazeltine; Brian Mitchell; Ellis Webster; Steve Vaus Subject:Comment on Agenda Item #11 on Tonight"s City Council Agenda ref. Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map Date:Tuesday, May 6, 2025 1:43:42 PM
Importance:High
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EXTERNAL EMAIL
Honorable Mayor, City Council Members and Staff:
I would like my correspondence with Jenna Stein, the City's Disaster Preparedness Coordinator (see e-mails below) to be placed in the public record and hopefully to be considered by the Council in conjunction with your public hearing tonight on this item. To summarize my comments below, my wife and I are seriously concerned that the revised FHSZ map could cause us significant economic loss by dramatically reducing the market value of our house at 14520 Victoria Estates Lane both now and upon resale, and by possibly leading to significantly increased fire insurance costs.
I discussed this matter with Jenna Stein this afternoon, and I now have a better understanding regarding how the City staff is interpreting the State laws pertaining to this matter. However, since we will not be able to attend the public hearing tonight, we want to make sure that our concerns are noted in the record of this hearing.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Bob Leiter
Phone #: 619-261-6321
From: Jenna Stein
Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 12:40 PM
To: Robert Leiter
Cc: Chris Hazeltine; Brian Mitchell
Subject: Re: FHSZ Comment Form
Hi Bob,
To clarify, the City does not have the choice to follow up with CAL FIRE. Government Code 51179 specifically states that the local agency shall not decrease the level of fire hazard severity zone as identified by the OSFM. We are required to send OSFM a copy of the ordinance adopting the recommended FHSZ and will be including all public comment received with that communication.
Respectfully,
Jenna Lee Stein | Disaster Preparedness Coordinator
City of Poway | Fire Department
(858) 668-4474
[email protected]
From: Robert Leiter
Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 10:57 AM
To: Jenna Stein
Cc: Chris Hazeltine; Brian Mitchell; Steve Vaus
Subject: Re: FHSZ Comment Form
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EXTERNAL EMAIL
Hi Jenna,
Thanks for getting back to me on this.
Unfortunately, my wife and I have been travelling over the past two months and were not able to review the City Council report on this matter until last Sunday. If I am interpreting your response correctly, the City Council and staff have decided that they will not follow up with Cal Fire to try to correct the numerous errors that I and many other Poway residents have identified. If this the case, we are seriously concerned that the revised FHSZ map could cause us significant economic loss, by dramatically reducing the market value of our house both now and upon resale, and by possibly leading to significantly increased fire insurance costs.
Please let me know as soon as possible if I am interpreting your response correctly, and if so, whether I need to testify at tonight's City Council Public Hearing on this matter.
Best regards,
Bob Leiter
14520 Victoria Estates Lane, Poway CA 92064; Phone #: 619-261-6321
From: Jenna Stein
Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 7:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FHSZ Comment Form
Hello Mr. Leiter,
Thank you for reaching out via the Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) Comment form. We understand your concerns regarding the increase in area identified as a FHSZ. The map was created by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) using decades of weather data, fire history, topography, and vegetative fuel loading to determine the probability of an area burning and the expected fire behavior in that area. Much of the OSFM's process was focused on ember spread from open space areas, like the Twin Peaks open space, to neighborhoods like Victoria Estates. The OSFM model did not utilize parcel or jurisdiction boundaries to determine the FHSZ area.
We thank you for your comment and your interest in this matter. Unfortunately, the City is not able to make any reductions in the FHSZ areas identified by the OSFM.
Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. Respectfully, Jenna Lee Stein | Disaster Preparedness Coordinator
City of Poway | Fire Department
(858) 668-4474
[email protected]