A fire recovery strategy takes shape in Santa Cruz County – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa Cruz – As the smoke fades, local officials are set to study a range of strategies to help families who lost their homes to fires in the complex rebuilding process.

CZU August Lightning complex fire destroyed 1,431 buildings in Santa Cruz County, 911 of which were homes. Dozens of other buildings were destroyed in the neighboring province of San Mateo. Hotspots are still burning in parts of the 86,509-acre burn area, and containment is listed at 86% as of Saturday afternoon.

A preliminary assessment estimates the cost of damage to the county at $ 340 million, including $ 30 million in infrastructure damage. In comparison, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused $ 433 million in damage to Santa Cruz County, or nearly $ 900 million in today’s dollars.

Although the Santa Cruz County rebuilding strategy continues to unite, it is a major step on the long road to recovery. It also raises a host of challenges, including the question of how to deal with the number of unlicensed homes that have burned in remote areas of the North Coast and San Lorenzo Valley.

Other issues before local regulators include the issue of permit fees – which can and should be reduced or waived? – The complex process of cleaning and mitigating damage to the environment, rules regarding temporary housing for rebuilding residents, and how to deal with rebuilding homes on parcels with geological hazards or whose septic tanks no longer comply with code.

On parallel tracks, county officials are considering removing the 30-day cap on hotel stays and vacations and a decree to further clamp down on price gouging, which was suggested by District Three Supervisor Ryan Connerty

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County is due to consider each of these pieces. The proposed rebuilding strategy comes in response to guidance provided by supervisors on September 3, co-authored by Connerty and Fifth District Supervisor Bruce Macpherson.

In this scaffold, supervisors directed planning staff to develop a rebuilding strategy that simplifies the process for homeowners “as far as legally possible” – by reducing or waiving fees, simplifying permit processes, and creating an online portal for mobility.

Asked if the proposed strategy meets this score, Connerti said Friday that he was still reviewing the details and listening to input from the affected population.

“But overall, I really appreciate that there was an effort to do what we wanted, which is to simplify the process, prioritize people who have lost their homes and reduce the cost as much as possible,” he said.

The rebuilding of hundreds of homes also promises to test the efficiency of county planning and allow bureaucracy to respond to the crisis.

“The planning process that we have undertaken in recent years and recent decades has not been seen as an all-out friendly process,” said Macpherson, who represents the San Lorenzo Valley.

“Basically, if they build the same footprint as they had before, and maybe with an updated sewage system – generally speaking, my idea is let’s go ahead and let it build.”

According to a report by county planning personnel, the estimated permit costs to rebuild a 2,000-square-foot model home in Pune Don are around $ 10,900.

This exemption from impact fees required for new developments takes into account but does not take into account permits for the new sewage system, new well, classification or geological review. The estimate also assumes that the house is “substantially equivalent” to the destroyed structure, eliminating the need to pay impact fees.

For the unclear number of fire victims who built without permits and may not have insurance – including in the last-chance fire-affected area on the northern coast – rebuilding is an even greater challenge. One option under consideration is for the grandfather to be in disallowed homes built before 1985, in part assuming that the county records prior to that year may be incomplete.

“In general, rebuilding the legal structures can and will be facilitated,” the task force report said. “It must be recognized, however, that the proposed reconstruction of previously impermissible / illegal structures will be subject to a different framework of regulations, permit requirements and costs.”

The report by Planning Staff describes the need to allow residents the flexibility to live in temporary housing while their homes are being rebuilt as “essential”. These temporary residences are located on the damaged property itself or adjacent property and include attached housing units and trailers.

“However, any site that is used for temporary housing must have a PG&E or restoration approved alternative energy source, available drinking water, and an acceptable method of wastewater disposal,” the task force report states.

Hazardous waste and debris removal must be completed before temporary permits are issued, and generators cannot be the primary energy source for the property, according to the report.

Rebuilding from fire promises to be a long and complex process never before seen in the unincorporated district – and one that is still in its infancy. After Tuesday’s meeting, county officials plan to return on October 6 to consider possible amendments to the law and other steps – and to return on November 17 with further measures to address unauthorized structures, in particular.

If there is a positive side to rebuilding, it is an opportunity to improve the status quo and better prepare for challenges such as fire safety, blackouts and water shortages, according to Connerty. It’s something he saw in the immediate aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which toppled the Santa Cruz library of the Connerti family, among other damages in downtown Santa Cruz.

“I think the rebuilding after the earthquake, Santa Cruz, and especially downtown, appeared to be safer in terms of earthquakes, but it was also more vibrant than it was before,” Connerty said. “And I think the same could happen here if we did it right.”

if you go

What: Santa Cruz County administrators should consider a range of strategies to support the rebuilding in the wake of the Lightning CZU Complex. When: 9 a.m. Tuesday, Where: Room 525, Government Center, 701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz. At santacruzcountyca.iqm2.com/citizens/default.aspx.

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