District of Squamish plans to implement fire-resistant roofing, doors, windows, vents and gutters and regulate landscaping as it moves towards establishing a wildfire permit area in town.
The district is currently working on creating a Wildfire Development Permit Area (DPA) for Squamish.
The Wildfire Development Permit Area includes forests and properties that are at risk for wildfire.
Any development occurring within the Wildfire DPA would need to get a permit and meet guidelines that specify building materials and methods to limit vulnerability to wildfires and ember showers.
A district report notes the new rule would apply to most lands within the District of Squamish, given the large amount of forested areas and the close proximity of neighbourhoods to forests, and the strong winds that can spread wildfires and embers.
However, the district has two designated area types, a Primary Wildfire DPA and a Secondary Wildfire DPA designation. The primary designation applies to higher wildfire hazard areas, located in closer proximity to forested areas, while the secondary designation applies to lower hazard areas, located in the built-out/highly developed areas of the community.
Anyone whose property is within the permit area and is planning to do any construction, addition or alteration of a building or a structure, or doing a subdivision which would create two or more new lots, a Wildfire Development Permit would be triggered.
There are three key elements of the Wildfire DPA: Fire-resistant roofing; fire-resistant building components such as cladding, decks and balconies, doors and windows, eaves, soffits, vents, gutters, and chimneys; and landscaping.
The district plans to implement this bylaw in two phases. In the first phase, it will focus on fire-resistant roofing, while the second phase will include landscaping.
Phase 1, however, will focus on roofing material for multi-family and ICI (Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional) developments.
“At present, a significant amount of landscaping in Squamish’s single-family neighbourhoods does not meet FireSmart guidelines, which results in increased risk in the event of a nearby wildfire,” a staff report notes.
To address this, staff is also proposing a Wildfire Landscaping Management Bylaw that will regulate landscaping on private properties.
Some provisions of the bylaw could prohibit certain plants to be used in landscaping, such as Juniper, Cedar, and Yew.
The staff report to the council notes, however, that the district would need to plan for more staff and resources to create this additional layer of wildfire protection in the community.
—
