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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />26 <br />building or overhang the roof in WUI areas. Insurance companies have their internal processes for evaluating and <br />determining risk and may not consider the tree condition, maintenance history, City tree permit criteria, or fire <br />department vegetation management standards. State regulations (PRC 4291 and GC 51182) permit insurance <br />companies to require fuel modification, including tree trimming or removal, that is greater than what is required by <br />the fire department. <br />Property owners receiving a requirement to remove a tree on their property from their insurance companies can be <br />in a situation that ultimately does not benefit anyone. For the property owner, acquiescing to the insurance <br />companies can incur tree removal costs that can be several thousand dollars for large trees or face the loss of <br />property insurance coverage. For the City, the insurance company demands that removing a tree can pit property <br />owners against City staff who have to enforce the City’s Tree Preservation Ordinance. These demands can force <br />property owners to spend money and effort on removing a tree that the fire department standards do not require <br />and take away from vegetation management efforts that would minimize the risk of wildfire spread on the property. <br />Finally, these demands from the insurance company do not consider the environmental services and benefits <br />contributed by the tree that hold real economic value for the City. <br />Conclusion <br />Reducing wildfire risk in the WUI areas of the city can be accomplished through a combination of vegetation <br />management around buildings and along roads, ignition-resistant construction, and early detection and response <br />to new ignitions. Tree maintenance plays an important role in the vegetation management category by reducing the <br />risk of extreme fire behavior, including crown fires. The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department has published <br />vegetation management standards that guide property owners on how to maintain the vegetation on their property <br />to reduce the risk it ignites nearby buildings and provide space for firefighters to work safely. The City of Pleasanton <br />prioritizes urban forest management, including conserving healthy, low-risk trees that provide a variety of benefits <br />to property owners and the community. To ensure the health of the City’s urban forest, the Public Works Department <br />performs routine maintenance on public trees. It enforces the City’s tree preservation ordinance on trees on private <br />property. <br />This UFMP section intends to provide the City with information to strike a balance between the fire department's <br />objective of minimizing wildfire risk in the WUI areas and the public works goal of improving the urban forest. Both <br />the fire department and public works’ goals can be accomplished through regular tree maintenance that includes <br />ensuring adequate clearance between trees and the surrounding vegetation, nearby buildings, and roads. <br />Thoughtful planting of new trees can help improve the urban forest and ensure that the new generation trees do <br />not contribute to overall wildfire risk in the WUI areas.