Big Bear proposes much stricter ordinance.
City meeting to focus on fire issues
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
BIG BEAR LAKE - Officials are encouraging residents to attend the next City Council meeting, which will focus solely on fire-related issues.
Included are two proposed ordinances aimed at thinning out stands of trees on properties and prohibiting wood shingle roofs.
The vegetation ordinance being proposed mandates, among other things, that:
Evergreen conifer trees eight inches or less in diameter shall not be located within 15 feet of another evergreen conifer tree.
Property owners thin out native brush by limiting the size of individual plants or groups of plants to no more than 10 feet in diameter.
Property owners remove juniper plants within 10 feet of a structure or deck.
Woodpile storage shall not be located within 15 feet of a structure or deck.
"The vegetation ordinance will literally affect everyone in the city," said city spokeswoman Cheri Haggerty, adding that officials hope to quell possible misconceptions about clear cutting (completely cutting down trees) around their properties.
"Clearly with this ordinance (clear cutting) will not occur," Fire Chief John Morley said. "This is just for trees eight inches in diameter or smaller. It's not for the deciduous trees that drop their leaves, not the fruit trees or the aspens or the Poplars. ..."
City officials will go over the proposed ordinances section by section to give residents a broad understanding of the laws being proposed and will answer any questions they may have and hear their concerns.
In addition, the council will discuss adoption of a revised wood shake shingle ordinance that would require all wood shake roofs be replaced by Sept. 1, 2012.
Area real-estate agents expressed concern with certain language of the ordinance regarding point of sale and transfer of property after its adoption on July 9.
So officials rewrote the ordinance with those concerns in mind.
Morley said the goal is two-prong - to reduce the fire risk and enhance tree health.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, he said, typically rates Big Bear Lake's fire risk as "very high," and the goal is to reduce that risk to "moderate."
"You can see what happened in Catalina; you can see what happened in Tahoe and currently in Montana. Things are burning all over," Morley said. "We need to do something to minimize the risk to our community because my opinion is if we had a devastating fire go through this area it would take decades to recover."
The next City Council meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Big Bear Lake Performing Arts Center, 39707 Big Bear Blvd.
An anticipated large turnout is the reason for the location shift from the City Council chambers.
The proposed ordinances will go before the City Council on Aug. 27 for a first read, and can be adopted as early as Sept. 10, unless revisions are requested.
