Highland, CA Fire Regulations: Propane Storage (2026)

Highland Municipal Code § 16.44.200 regulates vehicle fueling stations in the City of Highland, and item 13 of its minimum development standards covers Noncommercial Propane Tank Rental/Exchange. Outdoor storage and display of the tanks and their racks or shelving belongs on an improved surface abutting the structure. Two limits apply: the tanks cannot impede pedestrian or vehicular movement, and they cannot necessitate the removal of required landscaping.

The section applies to all new fueling stations. It also reaches existing stations once they come before the city for an expansion of 25 percent or greater in floor area, a remodeling, or other development costing more than 50 percent of the value of the improvements on the parcel, excluding land value. Item 15 of the same section keeps retail-related activities and operations entirely within an enclosed building, with exceptions for dispensing fuel, water and air from pump islands, replacement service items such as wiper blades, fuses, radiator caps and lamps, and permitted automotive washing. Propane exchange is not on that exceptions list; it has its own item 13.

Other station standards shape where a rack can sit. Fueling stations must be separated by a minimum of 250 feet. Buildings and structures sit no closer than 30 feet to a right-of-way line or 20 feet to an interior parcel line, and a minimum of 15 percent of the site must be landscaped. Hours of operation are set by the conditional use permit. Item 18 requires a station to be operated so as to avoid and minimize hazards from explosion, contamination, or fire, and item 19 requires a security plan approved by the police department and the community development director before a building permit is issued.

Separately, § 16.48.050 requires any operation involving the storage of flammable or explosive materials to have adequate safety devices against the hazard of fire and explosion and adequate firefighting and fire suppression equipment, in accordance with the requirements of the fire code official and adopted fire code. The city fee schedule in Chapter 2.36 also lists an LPG storage/use initial permit and an annual renewal among its fire items.