"Saratoga City Council approved a new map that extends the boundary of the Wildland Urban Interface, or WUI, to encapsulate Cal Fire's changes to the city's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map. Cal Fire updated Saratoga's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map in June, classifying some southwestern portions of the city as moderate or high fire hazard zones. These zones are determined based on an area's physical characteristics, like slope, vegetation, winds and weather."
"Chief Building Official Aaron Yuma presented two options for extending the city's WUI boundary. Council approved the map that hugs the perimeter of the extended Cal Fire map, following Oak Place to Wildcat Creek to Douglas Lane to Fruitvale Avenue to Crisp Avenue to El Camino Grande to Montevista Drive. City staff recommended this option because it achieves a practical balance between aligning the city's WUI boundary with the latest Cal Fire hazard map and (maintains) community support."
"The second option stretched from Herriman Avenue to Montauk Drive Connection Trail to Montauk Drive to Fruitvale Avenue to San Marcos Road to Odd Fellows Drive to Chester Avenue to Sobey Road before joining at the existing WUI boundary. Yuma said staff was concerned that there wasn't enough data to justify a larger buffer. Vice Mayor Chuck Page said the first option makes the most sense for Saratoga and that expanding something arbitrarily doesn't make things safer, at least right off the bat."
Saratoga City Council approved an updated Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) boundary reflecting Cal Fire's June revisions to the city's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map. Cal Fire classified some southwestern city areas as moderate or high hazard based on slope, vegetation, winds and weather. The approved WUI boundary follows the perimeter of the extended Cal Fire map along Oak Place, Wildcat Creek, Douglas Lane, Fruitvale Avenue, Crisp Avenue, El Camino Grande and Montevista Drive. City staff recommended this option to balance alignment with the Cal Fire map and community support. A larger-buffer second option was rejected due to insufficient supporting data and safety concerns.
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