Boulder set to require fire-resistant materials, plants for new homes
In an effort to reduce wildfire risk, the Boulder City Council on May 15 unanimously approved a new set of building and landscaping rules for properties in fire-prone areas, requiring fire-resistant materials and landscaping around new homes. The ordinance is part of a broader push to prevent flames and embers from spreading house to house during a wildfire.
The new standards take effect Aug. 1 and apply only to new construction and certain remodels within Boulder’s designated wildland-urban interface (WUI). This is an area where homes often border flammable landscapes and are considered to be at higher risk, based on fire behavior modeling.
The ordinance also expands the boundaries of the WUI, increasing the number of affected properties from about 4,600 to more than 16,000, according to city officials.
Under the ordinance, new homes in the WUI must have a five-foot buffer of noncombustible material around the structure. Even irrigated turf, food crops and plants in clay pots are prohibited, according to city officials. New fences and gates within eight feet of the home must be made of noncombustible materials. New deck surfaces must be constructed with fire-resistant materials. Landscaping between five and 30 feet from the new home is restricted to low-flammability plants in the highest risk areas of the WUI. Juniper plantings, considered highly combustible, are banned.
The ordinance still requires final approval.
Some Boulder councilmembers have suggested that limiting the rules to new construction will be insufficient. Several have floated ideas such as requiring homeowners to meet wildfire safety standards within a certain number of years or at the time of property sales or rental license applications. That’s because even if one home in a neighborhood isn’t fire-hardened, it can ignite during a wildfire and threaten every surrounding home — even those that meet safety standards.
“It’s clear that we are lacking a clear strategy in dealing with the fire risk posed by hundreds of properties in our community,” Councilmember Matt Benjamin said in a May 15 Hotline post. “We have no plan for how to deal with the properties that currently pose an unmistakable life and safety threat to themselves, neighbors, and our community as a whole.”
The changes mark the latest step in Boulder’s efforts to adapt to year-round wildfire conditions intensified by climate change. Insurance costs have already gone up, and some homeowners within city limits have lost coverage due to increasing wildfire risk. The 2021 Marshall Fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes, spread rapidly through dry vegetation and wooden fences, underscoring the dangers of flammable materials near structures and home-to-home ignition.
Boulder is at a greater wildfire risk than 97% of U.S. communities, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Another wildfire is all but certain to ignite within city limits. In recent years, the city has already seen several close calls.
The new rules follow other recent updates to Boulder’s building code requiring permits when replacing siding or windows to ensure the materials are ignition-resistant. Additional regulations on landscaping are expected later this year.
The city does not keep publicly available data on how many homes are hardened against wildfires, in part because there is no official city definition of what qualifies, according to Jamie Barker, a spokesperson for Boulder Fire-Rescue.
However, through a curbside home assessment program launched in 2019, the city provides risk scores based on factors such as vegetation, fencing, roof debris and siding material. Residents can also request a more detailed home assessment, but the city is currently booking appointments at least a month out due to demand, according to the city’s website.
The city has evaluated about 900 properties for wildfire risk under the curbside home assessment program, according to a preliminary analysis of city data by Boulder Reporting Lab. Most assessed homes scored at the low end of “moderate risk,” according to the analysis. But at least 23 properties were designated as high risk, often due to junipers, unmanaged grasses, wood fences or other flammable features near the home.
Currently, property owners are not required to act on the results of the assessments. The database is public, allowing residents to see how their neighbors’ homes rank. While some cities, like Berkeley, have considered applying wildfire codes retroactively to existing homes, those efforts have faced pushback from homeowners.
When it comes to existing homes, city officials have said that mandating retroactive compliance could present legal challenges and require additional resources to enforce. Officials said they plan to return to council in July with an analysis of the staffing demands.
The proposed changes have received mixed reviews from some residents.
Jan Burton, a former city councilmember, urged the council to apply the ordinance to existing homes. She said two of her friends spent thousands on wildfire mitigation but still live next to a neighbor who refuses to remove junipers along their property line.
“Please do us the decency of putting some teeth in an ordinance,” Burton said.
Claudia Hanson Thiem, a Planning Board member who lives in North Boulder’s Holiday neighborhood, said the rules would prevent residents in multifamily homes on smaller lots from growing food or having trees for shade. She said the city council needs to balance wildfire safety with other city goals.
“The proposed landscaping rules will outlaw many of the design elements that make our city neighborhoods good places,” she said.
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