Tougher regulations designed to prevent the spread of wildfire have come to Woodside.
The Town Council, with Councilwoman Sue Boynton absent, voted unanimously on Feb. 24 to incorporate state regulations on the use of ignition-resistant building materials and methods, known as Chapter 7A, for all new building projects with permit applications dated after May 1, 2009.
The council also applied Chapter 7A rules to replacement roofs, windows and decks throughout town. These rules take effect 30 days after they are adopted by a second confirming vote, which the council is expected to do at its March 10 meeting.
“We’re doing this because of all the communities that burned in California, and we don’t want to be one of them,” Councilman Dave Burow said before casting his vote. “Make no mistake, each one of us will have people in the community who complain to us because they want to put a (wooden) shake roof on their house.”
The new rules will be part of Chapter 150 of the town’s building code. A staff report summarizing the new rules is available at tinyurl.com/WS-fire, starting on Page 11.
The report states that replacement roofs will have to be fire-retardant; replacement windows will have to include at least one tempered pane or have a fire-resistance rating of at least 20 minutes; and replacement decks, stairs and landings within 10 feet of a home will have to be built using fire-resistant methods and materials.
A definition for “new building” is being worked on and will be a topic for a future discussion and decision, Town Manager Susan George said.
Chapter 7A includes language on fire-resistant landscaping, but the council plans to deliberate more before enacting regulations.
Meanwhile, the Woodside Fire Protection District will address fire-safe landscaping through annual safety checks on vegetation-based fire hazards, though such checks will not get around to every property every year, Fire Marshal Denise Enea has said.
Safer landscaping is often as simple as removing brush that threatens to ignite tree canopies, she said.
Responding to the council’s decisions, district Fire Chief Armando Muela applauded the changes. “We thank you,” he said. “We know it’s a hard decision to make and we hope that it works out.”
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