DRAFT CITY OF SANTA BARBARA May 2020 Printed on 30% post-consumer recycled material. Table of Contents SECTIONS Acronyms and Abbreviations ..........................................................................................................................................................v Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................................... vii 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Purpose and Need ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Development Team ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Community Involvement ................................................................................................................................................. 3 1.3.1 Stakeholders ................................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3.2 Public Outreach and Engagement Plan ........................................................................................................ 4 1.3.3 Public Outreach Meetings .............................................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Funding/Grant Management ......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Signatories ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5 2 Plan Area Description ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Location ............................................................................................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Fire Hazard Areas ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2.1 State Fire Hazard Severity Zones ............................................................................................................... 11 2.2.2 City High Fire Hazard Area ........................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Climate ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.3.1 Climate Change ............................................................................................................................................ 18 2.4 Topography .................................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.5 Vegetation and Fuels .................................................................................................................................................... 21 2.5.1 Vegetative Fire Hazard ................................................................................................................................. 21 2.5.2 Vegetation Types .......................................................................................................................................... 25 2.5.3 Wildfire Types and Potential Fire Behavior ................................................................................................ 30 2.6 Fire History and Ignitions.............................................................................................................................................. 31 2.7 Development Patterns ................................................................................................................................................. 37 2.8 Existing Hazard Abatement/Fuels Treatment ............................................................................................................ 37 2.8.1 Defensible Space and Vegetation Management ...................................................................................... 37 2.8.2 City Vegetation Management Units ............................................................................................................ 38 2.8.3 Community Fuels Treatment Network ....................................................................................................... 39 2.8.4 Neighboring Jurisdictions Vegetation Management Areas ...................................................................... 39 2.8.5 City Wildland Fire Suppression Assessment District ................................................................................ 39 2.9 Evacuation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 2.10 Water Supply .......................................................................................................................................................... 46 3 Planning and Regulatory Environment .............................................................................................................................. 51 Page i 3.1 Fire Protection ............................................................................................................................................................... 51 3.1.1 Fire Protection Philosophy ........................................................................................................................... 51 3.1.2 Fire Protection Partnerships ....................................................................................................................... 52 3.2 City of Santa Barbara Codes and Standards ............................................................................................................. 52 3.2.1 City Fire Code ................................................................................................................................................ 52 3.2.2 City Building Code ........................................................................................................................................ 53 3.2.3 City of Santa Barbara General Plan ............................................................................................................ 53 3.2.4 City of Santa Barbara Local Coastal Program ........................................................................................... 53 3.2.5 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan ...................................................................................................................... 54 4 Wildfire Hazard Assessment ............................................................................................................................................... 55 4.1 Assessment Methods ................................................................................................................................................... 55 4.1.1 Field Evaluations .......................................................................................................................................... 55 4.1.2 GIS Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 55 4.1.3 Fire Behavior Modeling ................................................................................................................................ 61 4.2 Hazard Assessment Results ........................................................................................................................................ 65 4.2.1 Modifications to High Fire Hazard Area ..................................................................................................... 65 4.2.2 Modifications to Vegetation Management Units ...................................................................................... 66 5 Values at Risk ....................................................................................................................................................................... 73 5.1 At-Risk Community ........................................................................................................................................................ 73 5.2 Values at Risk ................................................................................................................................................................ 73 5.2.1 Life Safety ..................................................................................................................................................... 74 5.2.2 Homes, Structures, and Neighborhoods ................................................................................................... 74 5.2.3 Critical Infrastructure 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