The City of Chico is updating its 2030 General Plan Safety Element to comply with state laws requiring cities and counties to address natural hazards, climate change, and emergency evacuation planning. State law requires local jurisdictions to periodically review and update their General Plan Safety Elements to incorporate new hazard information, evaluate community vulnerabilities, and establish policies and strategies that protect public health and safety. This update fulfills those requirements and ensures the City's General Plan remains consistent with applicable state law.

Several pieces of state legislation establish the requirements addressed through this update. Senate Bill (SB) 379 requires local governments to assess vulnerabilities to climate change and incorporate climate adaptation and resiliency goals, policies, and measures into their Safety Elements. SB 99 requires cities to identify residential developments in hazard areas that do not have at least two emergency evacuation routes. Assembly Bills (AB) 747 and AB 1409 require the identification and evaluation of evacuation routes, including their capacity, safety, and viability, as well as potential evacuation locations under different emergency scenarios.

The update also incorporates the State Fire Marshal's Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps, which identify areas within the City as Moderate, High, or Very High fire hazard severity zones. Developed by CAL FIRE using factors such as vegetation, topography, and weather conditions, these maps identify areas with varying levels of potential wildfire hazard and help inform local wildfire prevention, preparedness, and public safety planning. The City Council adopted the updated Local Responsibility Area (LRA) FHSZ maps in 2025, as required by state law.

The City's Moderate, High, and Very High FHSZs are generally located near the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), primarily along the City's eastern boundary. FHSZ designations also inform applicable building construction and property development requirements. In particular, development within designated Very High FHSZs in a Local Responsibility Area must comply with more stringent state Fire Safe Standards addressing vegetation management, defensible space, fuel modification, emergency vehicle access, evacuation, water supply, and street and building identification. Many of these standards are implemented during the building plan review and permitting process.

To address these requirements and the City's identified hazard vulnerabilities, the Safety Element Update incorporates new and revised goals, policies, and implementation actions focused on wildfire risk reduction, emergency preparedness, and climate change adaptation and resilience. Wildfire-related provisions address development within designated FHSZs through applicable fire safety and building standards, preparation of fire protection plans, emergency vehicle access and evacuation, defensible space, vegetation and fuel management, and fire-safe site and building design. Additional policies emphasize coordination with CAL FIRE, Butte County, and other relevant agencies; continued maintenance of hazard mitigation and wildfire protection plans; and opportunities to improve emergency access and reduce risks to existing development.

Additional project information and related resources are available through the links below.