APPENDICES - Laserfiche WebLink

Introduction The City of Pleasanton (City) enjoys a varied character of urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods. This offers residents a diverse lifestyle and beautiful scenery. For the low-density suburban areas of the city on the slopes of the Pleasanton Ridge and in the hills along the south side of the City, this diversity of lifestyle and beautiful scenery is represented in low-density residential development intermixed with undeveloped open space and natural vegetation. The same attributes that make these areas so attractive to residents to live in also present some challenges. Namely, the residents and development in these areas are at greater risk of being impacted by a destructive wildfire due to the presence of vegetation and terrain near development. These areas require additional planning, resources, and maintenance from the city and residents, which are not required in the more built-up areas of the city in order to protect life and property from wildfire. The City and the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department (LPFD) understand that there are areas of elevated wildfire risk in the city. They are taking action to reduce the risk that a destructive wildfire, one that results in loss of buildings, infrastructure, and lives, occurs within the city limits. One of the planning efforts undertaken by the City is the inclusion of a wildfire section in the UFMP. The LPFD has an existing defensible space and vegetation management program for the areas of the city at the highest risk for wildfire. Both the city and fire department recognize that this wildfire section in the UFMP can complement their existing wildfire prevention programs by providing recommendations for tree management on both public and private trees that emphasize fire department defensible space recommendations and sound tree care practices. This Wildfire Section to the Pleasanton UFMP is intended to provide relevant information about the fire environment within the City and provide guidance to City urban forest managers as well as property owners on how to manage their trees to minimize the risk that it could contribute to the spread or intensity of a wildfire. This section of the UFMP summarizes the urban forest-related wildfire hazard presented by the combination of terrain, vegetation cover, and land use. This UFMP section describes the relevant state and local regulations that set the vegetation management requirements within areas designated as high risk for wildfire. This UFMP section provides specific recommendations for tree maintenance practices, including tree spacing, removal and replacement strategies for fire-prone tree species, and pruning standards for both private and public trees that will reduce the risk to the City’s urban forest, contributing to the spread of a wildfire. Finally, this UFMP section discusses economic considerations for implementing the recommended tree maintenance practices, opportunities to fund fire prevention work beyond the existing tree maintenance programs, and property insurance considerations. 5