County News

By Roger Baker
County Manager

02/22/2007 - Since there was no meeting of the Gilpin County Commissioners this Tuesday, I can again take some time to talk about an interesting public hearing we have slated for our next meeting, February 27^th.

  There’s been a lot of information - and, I think, some misinformation, about the movement toward defensible space requirements. That’s a requirement that homeowners remove flammable vegetation - grasses, trees, etc. - for a specified distance from their homes.

  Pressure for this really began the summer of the Hayman fire here in Colorado, and it’s just continued. Some of it comes from the volunteer fire departments. They have limited resources, and if a major wildland fire breaks out, they may not be able to save every house. So there’s a movement to at least identify those homes and structures that are more easily protected. Some fire districts have gone further, and gotten counties to put in place regulations that mandate defensible space requirements; those are sometimes pretty strict, and some of them have ended up in court.

  On the other hand, there is pressure from the private sector, and particularly the insurance industry, to do the same sort of thing; not too long ago there was an article in one of the Denver newspapers about Allstate insurance doing a test program in the Colorado Front Range to determine how widespread dangerous conditions are among their policy holders. They were sampling homes by random zip codes, and 80403 - which includes much of unincorporated Gilpin County - was one of those selected for review.

  At 10 o’clock, Tuesday the 27^th, at the old Courthouse, the Commissioners will discuss a proposed change to the County’s building code that will require a certain amount of defensible space be created around all new homes, and older homes or structures which require a building permit for some alteration. The amount of defensible space will be tied to the wildland fire risk level for any particular area, which will be determined from a map prepared specifically for Gilpin County by the Colorado School of Mines.

  The actual requirements are derived from Section 603 of the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code and recommendations from the Colorado State Forest Service. Basically, they would necessitate removal of all vegetation within 3 feet of a building, and all evergreen trees and shrubs within 15 feet of a building. Grasses near the building would also have to be kept at a height of 6 inches or less.

  Further away from the building - in an area that would extend from 30 feet to 100 feet, depending on the wildland fire risk level - evergreen tress and shrubs would have to be no closer that 10 feet apart at the crown, and the lower limbs trimmed to a height of 10 feet, with grasses kept no taller than 8 inches.

  These are pretty stringent requirements, and ones that won’t necessarily be well received by folks who like living right in the midst of the forest canopy. And while we get debate on fire bans, which are designed to prevent fires that can get out of control and put others’ property at risk, these defensible space measures are intended to protect an individual’s own property. Is this something that government should be involved in? Should we leave this up to the private sector, and figure that if individuals want to pay higher insurance premiums for the right to have pine branches brushing up against the windows, they should be able to?

  These are interesting questions, and I imagine we’ll get some interesting responses. If you wish to submit a comment, but won’t be able to attend the public hearing, feel free to email comments to pubcomment@co.gilpin.co.us and we’ll have your remarks entered into the official record of the proceedings.