Public Resources Code § 21080.49

This division does not apply to any of the following wildfire risk reduction projects, if the project is in compliance with all other applicable laws, ordinances, and zoning requirements:

(a)A project consisting of a prescribed fire or fuel reduction to reduce wildfire risk by reestablishing the fire return interval appropriate to the ecosystem for biodiversity or other benefits, excluding projects located on coastal sage scrub habitat or any other sensitive habitat. In order to qualify for the exemption established pursuant to this subdivision, all of the following requirements shall be met:

(1)The project shall not exceed 50 contiguous acres and shall be located within one-half mile of a

subdivision of 30 or more dwelling units.

(2)The lead agency shall consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure that, to the extent feasible, the project is designed to avoid or minimize impacts to (A) candidate, rare, threatened, endangered plants and wildlife; and (B) wildlife nursery sites, including nesting rookeries, spawning areas, fawning areas, and maternal roosts.

(3)The lead agency shall, to the extent feasible, design the project to avoid impacts to riparian areas and water quality through use of sediment and erosion control measures where there is ground disturbance for control lines.

(4)The lead agency shall identify and, to the extent feasible, protect tribal cultural resources that may be impacted by project. This paragraph may be met by reviewing existing records, including the

California Historical Resources Information System and Sacred Lands Inventory, or by engaging in consultation with relevant California Native American tribes on identification of tribal cultural resources and appropriate mitigation measures while maintaining confidentiality of sensitive records.

(b)A project consisting of “defensible space” fire clearance of up to 100 feet, as measured from the center line of the roadway, for a public roadway identified as an egress and evacuation route for a subdivision or community of 30 or more dwelling units, to remove flammable vegetation or trees of less than 12 inches in diameter as measured at chest height.

(c)A project consisting of the establishment or enhancement of residential home hardening or defensible space for wildfire risk reduction within 200 feet of a legal structure located in a high or very high wildfire hazard zone.

(d)A project consisting of a fuel break that extends up to 200 feet from structures, including the clearance of flammable vegetation and trees less than 12 inches in diameter as measured at chest height.