Latest news with #EMBER
CBS News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Berkeley passes EMBER proposal, creating strict fire safety regulations
While there was heavy opposition, the Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to implement one of the strictest fire safety regulations in the state. The EMBER proposal would force residents to clear any vegetation within 5 feet of a home, and it would go into effect at the end of this year. But a group of Berkeley hills residents said they are contemplating pursuing legal action. The talk high above Grizzly Peak in the Berkeley Hills is all about the EMBER proposal. George Perez Velez with the Alliance for Practical Fire Solutions was disappointed with the council's vote. "I was not surprised," said Perez Velez. "I was heartbroken. I knew that the city had already made its mind up." Perez Velez feels the proposal is overreaching and puts a financial burden on homeowners who can't afford to comply with the new regulations. He said the alliance is talking about what the next steps should be. "I think that some members within the alliance are exploring the possibility of taking legal action in certain aspects of the proposal," he said. The public comment on the EMBER agenda item took hours. Some commend the council for taking action before the state announces its regulations in 2029. "We cannot wait for the state because fires don't wait," said resident Dara Schur. The council promised to review and make changes to EMBER as it gets ready to roll out the ordinance in the next year. Some residents said the tougher regulations couldn't come soon enough. "This ordinance may not be perfect," said Schur. "It might need some tweaking, but it is better to act now to protect our homes and preserve insurance than it is to wait." Some fellow neighbors disagree. They feel like there's too much ambiguity with EMBER, making it difficult to comply with all the rules. "I think it's a flawed, ineffectual, incomplete action," said resident Fred Bamber. The Alliance for Practical Fire Solutions has 30 days to decide whether to take legal action. Perez Velez said the entire community is committed to keeping the area safe from the next big fire. The question is, what's the best way to make that happen. "Is this really necessary," said Perez Velez. "Is this proposal going to accomplish what they say it is going to accomplish."
CBS News
29-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Berkeley working to implement new fire mitigation rules, but cost issues remain
With temperatures expected to heat up, fire danger is top of mind in some Bay Area communities, especially in the Berkeley Hills, where there is a heated debate on how to best fireproof homes. George Perez Velez has lived in the Berkeley Hills for 22 years. He said every year, he's complied with every rule to keep his home safe from the next big fire. "We believe in fire mitigation," said George Perez Velez. "We believe and respect firefighters. We understand their job is hard, and we believe in having a shared responsibility for public safety. But when someone says this is allowed, this is not allowed, the kind of disconnect of what we're getting, it's not there." Perez Velez is referring to the EMBER proposal which is in the process of being voted in by the Berkeley City Council. EMBER stands for Effective Mitigations for Berkeley Ember Resilience. It would require residents to clear anything flammable within 5 feet of homes, including trees and plants. Perez Velez feels the city didn't do enough to get feedback from the community and doesn't have a plan to pay for it. "The assumption that a fixed-income person or retiree or anyone can pay out of pocket $5,000 to pay for a fire break for the city without creating a mitigation fund to help folks, it's quite disingenuous," he said. Berkeley Councilmember Brent Blackaby said he hears the concerns of the residents in his district but has to weigh those concerns with how best to protect roughly 1,800 homes in the high fire severity zone. "We know the next fire when it comes is going to start in the park and come over to the homes here," said Councilmember Brent Blackaby. Blackaby said that with the state passing Proposition 4 last year, it will invest a billion dollars in fire prevention over the next 12 months. The city has also secured a million dollars from Cal Fire and is working on a transfer tax credit system to offset the costs. "People know if we're going to do this right, we need to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to participate and financing it is a big part of that," Blackaby said. But after seeing the devastation of the fires in Southern California, he felt the city needed to find a way to give firefighters a better chance to save homes. "This is going to take some time," he said. "No one says instantaneously you need to have sort of everything fixed but it's a journey. It's a process. And it's time to start moving towards to process to achieve the safety that we need." Perez Velez has started an organization called the Alliance for Practical Fire Solutions to find what he calls sensible new regulations. "For 20 years we had fire inspections," he said. "For 20 years, they told us do this, do this, do this, and you're in compliance. Now all of a sudden, all that doesn't work."
