New Codes in Fire Areas Protested

Over the objections of some home builders, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to adopt stringent new building requirements and density limits in the mountains and foothill areas that burned or were threatened during last year’s wildfire disaster.

The new codes, which would take effect after 30 days if the board gives final approval next week, are designed to help protect homes in a region where the threat of wildfire remains high because of a drought and a beetle infestation that has killed thousands of trees.

The codes include provisions that would require builders to space homes farther apart than is now required, install double-paned windows under certain conditions and close eaves to prevent embers from floating into attics.

Fire victims who want to rebuild a destroyed home must meet new building requirements, but do not have to abide by new setback rules or density limits, officials said.

The density restrictions would limit the number of homes per acre, with the fewest homes allowed on the steepest slopes.

Planning officials said the new restrictions were not likely to increase home prices substantially because most of the land that could be developed in the mountains already has been.

Still, developers protested the density limits. Several mountain residents, however, urged the board to approve them, saying the county had allowed too much mountain development.

“I hope you folks don’t back down one inch,” Robert Nelson, a retired systems analyst from Summit Valley, told the board.

The move to adopt the density limits reflects a departure for the Board of Supervisors, which has a history of accommodating developers.

Board members acknowledged that the restrictions would upset some builders --particularly those who had already submitted plans for home projects in the mountains and foothills.

Similar debates have played out in other counties affected by the wildfires, where officials have struggled to balance efforts to improve fire resistance while helping people rebuild.

Hard-hit San Diego County, for example, has allowed owners of older houses to rebuild with property-line setbacks that are less than required under recent zoning code changes.

Andrew Bodewin, president of Hawarden Development Corp. of Riverside, told the board he supported the building code changes that attempt to make new homes more fire-resistant. But he said the new density limits would force him to reduce the size of a residential development he had planned in Lake Arrowhead.

Bodewin’s company has proposed building 58 homes on about 40 acres near Blue Ridge Drive. He said the density limit would force him to reduce the number of homes to 40.

Bodewin’s attorney and his project engineer also asked the board to exempt the project, or delay adoption of the density limits.

After the meeting, Mays said the new density restrictions would apply only to projects proposed after the new regulations had taken effect. He said he didn’t think the changes would affect the Bodewin project.