Establishment Of A Wildfire Resiliency Code Board

The bill establishes a wildfire resiliency code board (board) in the division of fire prevention and control (division) within the department of public safety (department) for the purposes of ensuring community safety from and more resiliency to wildfires by reducing the risk of wildfires to people and property through the adoption of statewide codes and standards. The board consists of 21 appointed voting members with specific government or industry qualifications and 3 non-voting members. The board is required to promulgate rules concerning the adoption and administration of codes and standards for the hardening of structures and parcels in the wildland-urban interface in Colorado, including rules that:

• Define the wildland-urban interface and identify areas of the state that are within it;
• Adopt minimum codes and standards based on best practices to reduce the risk to life and property from the effects of wildfires;
• Identify hazards and types of buildings, entities, and defensible space around structures to which the codes apply; and
• Establish a process for a governing body to petition the board for a modification to the codes and establish the criteria and process for the board to grant or deny an appeal from a decision of the board on a petition for modification.

The bill also creates the wildfire resiliency code board cash fund and continuously appropriates the money in the fund to the department to implement the provisions of the bill.

The bill requires a governing body with jurisdiction in an area within the wildland-urban interface to adopt and enforce a code that meets or exceeds the minimum standards of the codes adopted by the board. Enforcement of the codes is done in accordance with the rules and regulations for code enforcement adopted by the governing body. If the governing body does not have rules and regulations for code enforcement, the governing body may request support from the division to enforce the code.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)