Council Adopts Tougher Law on Brush Clearing

The City Council decided Tuesday to get tougher on property owners who fail to clear hazardous brush from their land, adopting an ordinance that would allow the city to bill scofflaws for the costs of fighting fires involving their parcels.

About 800 owners have not complied with brush clearance orders, a concern to firefighters worried about the threat from widespread dry brush on hillsides, Los Angeles city officials said.

The council also directed city administrators to open talks with state officials about seeking the California National Guard to help clear brush from government-owned property.

City Councilman Hal Bernson said the ordinance should give property owners added reason to clear brush and trim trees within 200 feet of any structure and 10 feet of any road, as required by city rules.

“It’s a strong incentive for people to do the job and get their brush cleared,” said Bernson, who represents the northwest San Fernando Valley, where a fire burned 465 acres over the weekend.

The bills for brush fires can be steep, because fires often occur in remote areas requiring the assistance of helicopters and airplanes.

Deputy Fire Chief Jimmy Hill said Tuesday the city easily spent more than $100,000 fighting last weekend’s Porter Ranch fire with 34 engine companies and air support from Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Last May, the state sued Southern California Edison for the $1.8-million cost of fighting an April 1996 wildfire near Fillmore that scorched 11,000 acres. The lawsuit alleges that an Edison power pole sagged into a tree, igniting a fire. The utility denied any involvement in the blaze.

If signed by the mayor, the ordinance will take effect well before this year’s round of brush clearance notices are scheduled to go out beginning in April, Hill said.

The ordinance supplements existing state laws that establish liability for property owners who fail to properly maintain their land, according to Assistant City Atty. Claudia McGee-Henry.

To recover costs under the new ordinance, the city would have to prove that a fire started on uncleared property or that a fire was “associated with” the property.

Arson investigators would fix a fire’s origin and burn pattern, and the Fire Department would determine the extent to which uncleared properties contributed to the spread. That determination will be used in assessing financial responsibility.

McGee-Henry said the Fire Department will have to develop criteria for assessing responsibility, especially in cases where there are several properties that are out of compliance. No limit is placed on the amount a property owner can be billed.

“I hope it will make everybody more responsible, because they are not only going to be charged for clearing the brush but they will be held responsible for damages,” Bernson said.

Councilman Mike Hernandez said he was concerned that the ordinance allows the city to collect from private property owners but exempts government agencies, including the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

McGee-Henry said state law establishes that the conservancy and other state agencies are not subject to city ordinances.

City Councilman Mike Feuer said last month that there were 1,300 public properties owned by the city, state and conservancy that were out of compliance.

On Monday, Hill said the city has brought almost all of its properties into compliance, but he could not estimate how many other public lands have not been cleared.

“These properties pose a serious year-round threat to the public safety,” Feuer said.

At Feuer’s request, the City Council voted Tuesday to direct City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie to open talks with the Department of Defense and Gov. Gray Davis about establishing a program in which California National Guard volunteers would help clear brush from public properties.

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Protecting Your Home

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday moved to get tougher on property owners who fail to clear brush that could spread wildfires. Brush clearance is one among several precautions homeowners can take to prevent a major fire, many property owners don’t obey the city’s brush clearance ordinance that requires brush and grass be cleared within 200 feet of any structure and 10 feet of a roadway.

Source: Los Angeles Fire Department; Los Angeles County Fire Department.