Fire Prevention Assessment District

By Virginia Lew

After the 1991 Oakland Hills Wildfire, a fire prevention assessment district was formed. The money was used to reduce the fuel load in the Oakland Hills in an effort to avoid another such catastrophe. The assessment district was for five (5) years and lapsed in 1997. Voters did not move to re-establish it, so during the years from 1997 through 2003, the City was able to maintain brush removal and inspections only through temporary and sundry sources of funding. In 2003, all sources of funding were exhausted, and with the State budgetary problems promising to divert property taxes away from local governments, fire (and police) services were going to be severely affected.

During 2003 a steering committee, which included several community representatives, drafted the proposal that a fire prevention assessment district in the Oakland Hills be formed for the purpose of supplementing fire prevention techniques above what is now provided by the City’s fire department. This would include stepped up inspections, public education, goat grazing, and brush removal. The committee compromised on an average assessment of $65 per single-family dwelling. Owners of multiple-family dwellings and large property owners (including the City and East Bay Regional Parks ) would pay assessments based on square footage and/or occupancy. Approximately $1.8 million per year would be generated, and the district would expire in 10 years. An oversight committee and an auditing firm would serve to ensure the funds were handled responsibly.

The City Council approved this proposal and mail-in ballots were sent out on November 6, 2003 to property owners in the proposed district. The ballots were due back by January 6, 2004 . During that 2-month interval, the Montclarion, San Francisco Chronicle, and Oakland Tribune provided articles and published letters to the editor on the subject of the proposed fire prevention assessment district. Community meetings were held and petitions were circulated. There were proponents and there were opponents, all vying to be heard. Approximately 50% of the ballots were mailed back to the City. The vote was solidly in favor of forming a new fire prevention assessment district. On January 20, 2004 , the City Council voted to establish the fire prevention assessment district.

The Oakmore Homes Association joined its sister neighborhood associations and community groups in the hill area to support the formation of this district. OHA’s Board of Directors believed that the fire risk to our neighborhood superseded the politics surrounding the assessment district. We felt it was prudent to help establish the district right away, then later on work to improve or enhance it. Comprehensive fire prevention requires a dependable source of funding above all else. The severity of the recent October fires in Southern California was due to the huge fuel load the region had incurred over the years. The images from that fire-ravaged area were a powerful incentive for supporting brush removal. Of course, the memories of our own 1991 hills fire were resurrected while watching Southern California ’s unfolding tragedy. Supporting the fire assessment is consistent with our Association’s mission to be concerned with safety, beauty, and maintaining property values.

Click on this link to learn more about the Wildfire Prevention District.

http://www.oaklandnet.co m/government/cmo/wildfireprevention.htm