Everyone who loves the hillside behind Lowe’s will be delighted with the fire department’s plans for the rest of Prescott. Having already achieved the enactment of a “defensible space” landscaping code several years ago, they are at it again.
At a July 25 City Hall meeting, the Prescott Fire Department unveiled their proposed amendments to create more “defensible space” in Prescott. Within 10 feet of our homes they now want to prohibit: (1) any plants over two feet tall, (2) any tree branches lower than adjacent roof lines, (3) all native brush or grasses within three feet of all structures, and (4) all brush or shrub-like vegetation under or within 10 feet of a tree canopy. Within 30 feet of our homes they want to prohibit all tree limbs lower than six feet from the ground as well as all hedges and privacy screens over four feet tall. The rationale behind these more rigorous restrictions is to create larger “defensible spaces” around every home in Prescott that falls subject to the Prescott Fire Code.
PFD hopes to achieve its goal by creating the fear of a catastrophic fire consuming all non-code compliant Prescott homes. The July 25 meeting began with PFD Wildland Division Chief Duane Steinbrink proclaiming that wildfires have burned 1.6 million acres of forests and destroyed 66 structures. However, if one examines these figures and conservatively assumes each structure occupied one acre, the loss of structures per acre amounts to an inconsequential 0.004 percent. This hardly represents a catastrophic calamity when compared to non-wildfire structure losses. And the Associated Press recently reported, “Arizona wildfires this season burned the fewest acres since 2001. The state is on pace to have the third-fewest burned acres in a decade.”
When some citizens expressed alarm over the extremely restrictive nature of these proposed regulations, Steinbrink told them not to worry. He said these more onerous restrictions would pertain only to “new” construction. However, when asked how these new regulations would apply to structural improvements of existing residences, Steinbrink said the restrictions would apply only to “major” improvements. But then he said that a tiny, 144 square foot (12’x12’) addition is a “major” improvement. What he did not tell the audience was that any such addition would subject their entire property to the proposed regulations.
At the same meeting, Steinbrink stated there had been no fire control problems under the current Prescott Fire Code. If that’s true, then what’s the logic behind advocating an even stricter code? The only reasonable assumption is that PFD’s ultimate goal is to have every property in Prescott conform to their idea of a “fire-free” Prescott. I suspect they won’t be satisfied until all of Prescott mimics the current Lowe’s hillside and Prescott landscaping consists entirely of rocks, cement, and gravel. PFD has already eliminated much of Prescott’s environmental beauty in this questionable “defensible space” crusade. PFD’s continued demands to destroy more trees and vegetation will contribute to greater soil erosion, increased air pollution and local temperatures (like in Phoenix), and the loss of more wildlife habitats.
All Prescott citizens who believe these restrictions are an unwarranted interference with property rights should send a note or email to council members stating, “I want the council to reject any proposed amendments to the Prescott Fire Code that will further restrict my right to manage vegetation on my own property. I should be able to voluntarily create my own defensible space to defend my property from wildfire.”
(Paul Dunn is a retired attorney who moved to Prescott 25 years ago.)
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