Chino Hills, CA Environmental Rules: Defensible Space (2026)

045. 1 requires that hazardous vegetation and fuels be managed to reduce the severity of wildfire exposure to buildings and the risk of fire spreading between structures, and ties compliance to whatever fire protection plan and fuel modification plan the property was approved under, enforceable through the code's Section 109 process or by direct notice to the owner or the owner's agent. 2 defines which properties this applies to: land in a State Responsibility Area, land the Chino Valley Independent Fire District designates a Very High Fire Hazard Zone, and land a city or local agency ordinance designates a wildland-urban interface area, plus any property separately covered by the District's own Vegetation Management Ordinance.

2 fire protection plan requirement calls for a minimum 100-foot fuel modification area around each structure, addressing state defensible-space law under Public Resources Code § 4291 or Government Code § 51182, and that fuel modification area has to be written into the project's entitlement documents before it is built. A preliminary fire protection plan goes to the Fire District for review before the final plan is submitted, and the fire protection plan itself must be prepared by a registered design professional, qualified landscape architect, qualified fire safety specialist, or similar specialist acceptable to the fire code official.