County may adopt codes for wildfire protection

“It’s a cultural shift…”

[  By Katherine Nettles  ]

Gunnison County officials will be considering some building code adjustments in the next month to strengthen wildfire hazard mitigation within the wildland-urban interface throughout the Gunnison Valley. The county’s Community and Economic Development Department presented potential changes mostly aimed at new development to the Gunnison County Planning Commission earlier this year and the commission approved of a recommendation last Thursday, July 7. If approved by county commissioners, the code could tighten up regulations over things like landscaping, roofing and siding materials that would be allowed and how decks are constructed.

Gunnison County commissioners reviewed how these recommendations to adopt the 2021 International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) and related amendments to the Gunnison County Land Use Resolution would impact the valley’s building industry, homeowners, community planners and emergency workers among others. Commissioners will be holding a public hearing in August or September before deciding on the proposed code adoption and officials seem to recognize there will be an increased demand on the county’s personnel if the code is passed.

The Community Development Department has worked with various regional and state level agencies and fire-related organizations since it received grant funding in 2019 for wildfire planning assistance. The Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) program prepared a report and recommendations, and in collaboration with local fire professionals and stakeholders updated wildfire mapping throughout Gunnison County.

Assistant county manager for community and economic development Cathie Pagano and building official Crystal Lambert presented an overview of the proposed code changes and how they could help make the Gunnison Valley better prepared in the event of a wildfire in a commissioners work session on Tuesday, July 12. According to the CPAW team findings, new home builds using traditional—and in many cases flammable—materials are comparable in cost to those using fire resistant materials. Retrofitting homes can prove much more costly, but the code recommendations would be optional for existing homes unless they applied for a permit to make alterations. The recommendations approved by the planning commission were also designed to offer homeowners a variety of ways to comply with tighter fire protection codes, such as using more defensible space or creating a vegetation management plan for the entire property. 

The proposed amendments would adopt wildland urban interface definitions, update local wildfire hazard maps, use the IWUIC code, require that any new developments address wildfire prevention standards in the protective covenants, and require that they also comply with WUI water supply requirements. It is also recommended that any proposed vegetation management plans should comply with WUI code, although that recommendation is expected to take an additional toll on county staff.

Sean Caffrey, CEO of the Crested Butte Fire Protection District attended the work session with much of his fire protection team and said the CBFPD is prepared to help in the transition to a new code. “We have people who are lined up and excited to help make progress on this front,” he said. “It’s been an amazingly collaborative process with our partners in the emergency response community as well as with Cathie and her team and with the planning commission.”

Caffrey emphasized that fire code changes today will pay off later. 

“What you’re really doing by adopting this code is creating a generational shift in how we approach buildings in the wildland urban interface. And that’s probably not going to pay off tomorrow, and there’s going to be a bunch of things that bother us about it in the near term. But in 20, 40, 60, 100 years I think it is very much going to pay off just by starting the process now,” he said. 

Jamie Gomez with West Region Wildfire Council said the code is part of a national strategy. “As the county contemplates adopting this, it should also consider the personnel needed to support it,” he said. “The science is simple…but translating that information to builders and homeowners is exceptionally difficult.” 

Gomez described the overall national wildland fire management strategy’s three components: providing for safe and effective wildfire response; ensuring landscapes are resilient to climate change and wildfire; and creating fire adapted communities. He said this county is not ready for a wildfire, but this code will help. 

“Adopting this code is a piece to this puzzle of getting toward what we call fire adapted communities,” he said.   

Andy Sovick, vice chair of the Gunnison County planning commission, spoke on behalf of the commission. “We worked on this for nearly six months,” he said, and admitted that although he is resistant to adding more codes in general, he realized it was a major missing component to what exists. “You can’t get a certificate of occupancy if your toilet is too close to the wall, but you can put cedar chips next to cedar siding all day long…” he offered. “It’s a cultural shift.”

Sovick said it had been a lot to grapple with but seemed overdue considering the wildfire hazards. “It’s not just about protecting people’s homes, it’s a social responsibility. And I think the benefits outweigh the consequences.”

He likened the code to a dial system, in which there are many tools to choose from in order to manage fire hazard ratings.

 “What’s cool about this code is if you really want wood siding, you can probably have it, you just need to have defensible space. If you want your trees closer together, you might need to do different siding, or a metal roof etc. You can adjust things,” said Sovick. But he recognized that recommending new homes have a vegetation management plan done by a homeowner and not a professional may overwhelm county staff.

“It might be a mistake, and if it is then we’ll adjust it.”

Pagano agreed that implementation may be rocky, and there will be a learning curve. Lambert said she thought it would be feasible to hold some training sessions if the code were adopted, to ease the transition as well.

The three commissioners expressed their readiness to move forward with scheduling a public hearing, which will likely occur in late August or early September.