SB 1478 Summary

• Cities and towns must enact ordinances requiring property owners in wildland-urban interface areas to remove hazardous vegetation, natural fuels, trash, and other wildfire hazards within 30 days of written notice.

• Counties must enact similar ordinances compelling private property owners to remove wildfire hazards in wildland-urban interface areas located within their jurisdiction.

• Property owners who fail to comply face petty offense charges, with fines deposited into city/county general funds; at least 50% of fines must be used for defensible space creation in wildland-urban interface areas.

• Cities, towns, and counties may establish local wildfire hazard removal matching funds to receive dollar-for-dollar state matching grants administered by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

• $1,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2019-2020 to support the state matching grant program for wildfire hazard removal.