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Fire
Prevention Partnership
A working partnership between property owners, their neighbors and the City of Pasadena is
the best defense against disastrous fires.
Pasadena's Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance is
designed to minimize fire danger by controlling the density and placement of flammable
vegetation.
It does not recommend indiscriminate clearing
of native chaparral and other vegetation that ploys an important role in erosion control
and fire hazard reduction which can be achieved if all members of the Fire Prevention
Partnership do their part.
The ordinance requires property owners to:
Remove all dead trees and keep grasses and
weeds mowed within 100 feet of any building (including those on adjacent property), and
within 10 feet of any roadway used for vehicular travel. This does not apply to ornamental
shrubbery, trees or cultivated ground cover. In extremely hazardous areas, distances up to
200 feet from a structure and 50 feet from a fence or roadway may be required by the Fire
Department.
Remove leafy foliage, deadwood, combustible
ground cover, twigs or branches within three (3) feet of the ground from mature trees
located within 100 feet of any building or within 10 feet of any roadway used for
vehicular travel.
Remove dead limbs. branches and other
combustible matter from trees or other growing vegetation adjacent to or overhanging any
structure.
Remove any portion of a tree which extends
within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe. Trim and maintain all vegetation away from
curbline up to a height of 13.5 feet to accommodate emergency vehicles.
Maintain five (5) feet of vertical clearance
between roof surfaces and any overhanging portions of trees.
These minimum standards are established to
provide reasonable measures of controlling both fire and erosion hazards and to protect
lives and property. Pasadena Fire Department personnel may introduce greater protection
levels in high danger areas.
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Enforcement
The goal of the Pasadena Fire Deportment is to establish a fire-safe community through
voluntary compliance of informed property owners and residents.
Fire inspectors look at property to
determine hazard levels.
Owners of property on which hazardous
vegetation condition exists are asked to correct the problem.
If a property owner does not comply with the
ordinance, a contractor will be hired to complete the necessary work.
Inspection and administration fees will be
charged and the cost of correcting the hazard will be recovered as stated in the
ordinance.
Enforcement involves several steps. They are:
INSPECTION & NOTIFICATION
Where a hazard exists, the Pasadena Fire Department issues a notice to the owner of record
requiring an abatement within 30 days. The notice will be posted on the property and
mailed to the owner if a mailing address is available. No fee will be charged for this
initial inspection .
REINSPECTION
In the event that the violations identified to the property owner are not abated within
the allotted time period, the property owner shall be charged, in addition to the initial
inspection fee of $61.00, a reinspection fee of $298.00 which shall compensate the city
for two reinspections, evidentiary photography as well as processing of misdemeanor
charges and of necessary documentation and follow-up by the fire prevention inspector.
Should more that 2 reinspections of a parcel be necessitated by the failure of the
property owner to comply with the provisions of this chapter, an additional fee of $142.00
will be assessed for each such additional inspection.(Ord. 6444 § 2 (part), 1991)
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Emergency
Enforcement
The Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance provides that where the Fire Chief or his designee
determines that the condition of a structure or property poses an immediate hazard to life
or property, emergency action may be taken.
In such cases, efforts will be mode to contact
the property owner and to request voluntary removal of the hazard at least 24 hours before
abatement work is done.
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Hazardous
Vegetation Program
Pasadena residents and property owners con not ignore the fact that dry. poorly maintained
vegetation creates an extreme fire danger to their homes.
Well-placed, well-maintained vegetation
beautifies and controls erosion in residential neighborhoods. Poorly maintained vegetation
is a natural, volatile fuel for fast-spreading wildfire - an invitation to disaster.
Property owners and residents can help protect
their homes by joining in partnership with their neighbors and the City to assure
compliance with the City's Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance, as outlined here.
The goals are to maintain trees and vegetation
that beautify and benefit a property, and to remove hazardous vegetation that provides a
combustible fuel supply for wildfire. This is important to every resident of Pasadena,
where the fire season is year round.
The Pasadena Fire Department wants to work
with you to create the most fire-safe community possible. Department personnel welcome
your questions and invitations to discuss vegetation management and other fire-related
issues with organizations or individuals. Call: (626) 744-4668 or (626) 744-4655 for
additional information or to arrange for a meeting with a Fire Department representative.
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