Stop Mandating Building in Fire Hazard Zones
Demand Legislation Suspending Housing Mandates in High Fire Zones
Former Mill Valley Mayor John McCauley is leading an effort to convince state legislators to modify California laws that currently mandate housing development in fire hazard zones. The recent, tragically catastrophic fires in Southern California demonstrate the folly of these mandates that aggravate the potential loss of life in Marin and other high fire risk, hard-to-evacuate locales. McCauley started an online petition calling upon state legislators to act urgently to implement common sense changes to state housing laws. Please read read McCauley’s op-ed call to action in the Marin Independent Journal (excerpt included below) and sign the petition by clicking the link below. Time is short to get legislation passed this season. Sign the petition NOW!
Please share this message and the petition with your contacts and post it on social media. Contact your elected state representatives TODAY to demand action. Click on the links to contact Marin’s Assemblymember Damon Connolly and Senator Mike McGuire.
Marin Voice: California growth mandates in fire hazard zones must stop
By John McCauley
PUBLISHED: February 7, 2025 at 12:57 PM PSTGiven recent tragic wildfires in Los Angeles and Maui, fire danger is naturally on everyone’s mind. Evacuation readiness planning was a top priority during the nine years I served on the Mill Valley City Council.
In its zeal to promote more housing, the California Legislature passed numerous laws taking away local control of housing-development decisions irrespective of fire danger. Local jurisdictions like Mill Valley must comply with new state building mandates that appear to ignore fire risk.
Working with Google researchers, Mill Valley officials participated in a groundbreaking simulation of a full evacuation of all greater city and county families living west of Highway 101. Actual street configurations and garage locations were used. This work was published in a peer-reviewed academic journal in 2023.
There is a sobering impact in understanding specific evacuation times, which vary greatly by neighborhood. Although we have indisputable data for Mill Valley, this is an issue for all communities in California with housing in zones with high fire risk and challenging evacuation routes.