Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition: Hillside Fire Safety and State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations
HHA is sharing the following information from the Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition as a community resource. Statements, claims, and positions below are those of the coalition.
For five years, the Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition says the City of Los Angeles has failed to enforce state fire safety rules intended to protect residents who live in the state’s highest-risk fire zones.
Since July 1, 2021, the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations have applied to new construction in Los Angeles’ Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ). The regulations establish minimum standards for road width, slope, turning radius, dead-end length, and setbacks so residents can evacuate and fire apparatus can gain access during a wildfire.
The coalition says:
The City has not established the required process to apply the regulations, while Planning, Building and Safety, and the Fire Department continue approving new hillside construction.
The City stated in its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan that it would “ensure compliance with State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations.” The coalition notes that the plan qualifies Los Angeles for federal disaster funding and says the commitment was repeated in the City’s 2025 Safety Element.
The coalition filed a test-case appeal of building permits for a project before the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners. According to the coalition, Board staff indicated that the appeal has merit but proposed postponing the hearing for additional research.
The coalition is asking hillside residents to participate in what it calls a modern “bucket brigade” focused on City Hall.
Join the Bucket Brigade: Five Minutes Is All It Takes
The Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition is asking hillside residents to:
Learn more by watching and sharing its short video.
Send an easy-click letter to the City Council and the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners.
Read the coalition’s appeal to LADBS.
Forward the information to members of the news media.
Support the coalition’s lawsuit and LADBS appeal with a donation.
Why This Matters
The coalition points to the January 7, 2025 Palisades Fire, during which residents abandoned vehicles and fled on foot along narrow hillside streets while bulldozers moved vehicles from Sunset Boulevard to make room for emergency apparatus.
The coalition argues that the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations are intended to reduce this type of evacuation gridlock and contends that additional development can place more people and vehicles on hillside roads that may already have limited evacuation capacity.
Residents can review the City’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone information and map.
The coalition compares its campaign to the old-fashioned bucket brigades that communities formed before organized fire departments existed and is encouraging residents to participate in its effort concerning City compliance with the regulations.
Who They Are
The Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition describes itself as a group of residents and professionals from one of Los Angeles’ hillside communities.
The coalition says that for years its members have raised questions at City Hall concerning hillside safety. With assistance from attorneys, the group filed an environmental and pattern-and-practice lawsuit against the City involving a luxury residential project that it considers a test case for the City’s application of planning, environmental, and safety laws.
The coalition also reports that, through its litigation, it discovered that the City had configured Google Workspace to delete City employees’ Google Chat direct messages after 24 hours, including messages concerning City business. According to the coalition, after it threatened litigation regarding destruction of public records, the City changed that setting on January 14, 2025, and began preserving those messages.
Learn more on the Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition website.
The Test Case
The coalition reports that its lawsuit has not yet gone to trial, but the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety has issued building permits for the house involved in the case.
The coalition appealed those permits to the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners and made two requests:
First, that the permits be revoked.
Second, that the Board ask the City Council to establish a process for applying the Minimum Fire Safe Regulations, including CAL FIRE review.
According to the coalition, Board staff did not recommend immediate implementation of such a process and instead indicated that the upcoming hearing would be postponed while additional research is conducted.
The appeal remains open for public comment.
The coalition has posted its appeal online and says other communities may review its arguments when considering City approvals involving projects in the VHFHSZ.
How Residents Can Help
Watch the Video
The coalition’s video addresses its contention that the City told FEMA it would ensure compliance with the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations while, according to the coalition, not maintaining a program to enforce them.
The coalition also disputes statements made in public proceedings regarding whether the regulations apply to new development on existing roads.
Send a Letter
The coalition has created a letter page containing a form letter that residents can personalize with their own experiences involving wildfire, blocked streets, evacuation, and City actions.
Sign the Petition
The coalition is asking residents to sign its petition and to encourage Neighborhood Councils to consider the issue and transmit their positions to the City Council.
Share the Information With the Press
The coalition is also encouraging residents to share its materials and documentation with journalists.
Donate
The coalition reports that its costs associated with the test case have already reached several thousand dollars and is seeking donations to support the lawsuit and LADBS appeal.
The coalition states that donations may be tax deductible depending on individual circumstances.
What the Regulations Require
According to the coalition’s summary, since July 1, 2021, the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations have established steps that must be taken before issuance of a building permit or other approval for new construction on an existing road within a VHFHSZ.
The coalition states that the process includes notification to CAL FIRE so the agency can review and comment, as well as review of minimum standards relating to road width, turning radius, slope, dead-end road length, and 30-foot setbacks from property lines.
According to the coalition’s description, when a project cannot meet the standards, an applicant may seek an exception using alternative mitigation that provides the “same practical effect.” If the necessary findings cannot be made, the coalition says the project must be denied until compliance can be achieved.
Timeline
July 1, 2021
The State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations begin applying to new construction in the City’s VHFHSZ.
The coalition contends that Los Angeles has not established the administrative review and exception process necessary to implement the regulations and that City departments have continued issuing approvals.
May 15, 2023
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy sent a letter to City Planning Director Vince Bertoni and Building and Safety Permit and Engineering Bureau Chief Bihn Phan.
According to the coalition, the letter warned that the City was issuing permits without complying with the Fire Safe Regulations.
READ THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS CONSERVANCY LETTER
June–September 2024
The City submitted its five-year update of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan to FEMA.
The coalition notes that FEMA approval of the plan is required for federal pre- and post-disaster funding and that the plan identifies enforcement of the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations as a wildfire mitigation strategy.
January 7, 2025
The Palisades Fire occurs.
The coalition also references CBS journalist Jonathan Vigliotti’s book, Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A., which examines, among other subjects, how building separation and street infrastructure affected structures during the fires.
October 31, 2025
The City adopted its state-mandated update to the Safety Element of the General Plan.
According to the coalition, the update incorporated the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, including its reference to ensuring compliance with the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations.
The adopted document appears as an exhibit to the September 3, 2025 staff report in the City Council File 25-0987.
The coalition identifies the following pages:
p. 16 of 1073 (Page A1): incorporates the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
p. 23 (Page B5): lists Eric Garcetti as Mayor
p. 28 (Page B10): states that the plan “complies” with state and federal law for FEMA eligibility
p. 86 (Page B68): states that City policy is to “ensure that new development meets or exceeds Statewide minimums”
p. 636 (Page C513), Table 32-10, “Alternatives to Mitigate the Wildfire Hazard”: lists “Ensure compliance with State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations” as a City government responsibility.
Today
The coalition contends that the City continues to issue permits and approvals within the VHFHSZ without demonstrating compliance with the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations.
What the Coalition Believes the Record Shows
The Crane Boulevard Safety Coalition argues that the City has not established a process that could require denial or modification of certain hillside projects under the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations.
The coalition further contends that the City committed in documents associated with federal disaster funding to enforce the regulations while continuing to issue project approvals.
In the coalition’s view, each additional approval can add people, vehicles, and structures to the Wildland-Urban Interface and may increase evacuation and emergency-access challenges for both residents and firefighters.
