Santa Cruz community pushes for answers on fire regulations
(WorldNews Environment)

SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz County community members and officials are weighing in on Board of Forestry fire safety regulations that — if formalized — could set forth new rules some fire survivors and landowners would need to follow to develop their property. As the state board’s draft rules stand, those who live off particularly narrow, steep or dead-end roads could be restricted in rebuilding post-fire, or in some instances from developing their property. Those standards may include communities accessed by roads that are less than 14 feet wide, or that have a greater than 20% grade. Critics say the rules would put a burden on property owners in more rural areas to make...