Community Involvement in Land Use Decisions

Impact of Inadequate Road Capacity

As both existing communities and new developments evacuate on existing roads, inadequate road infrastructure increases evacuation times - which, in turn, increases wildfire risk to lives, strains firefighting resources, and jeopardizes property insurance.

The report from the Committee Climate Insurance Report Titled, Protecting Communities, Preserving Nature, and Building Resiliency found:

“Land use decisions in the past are one of the causes of insurability problems today . . . housing that burns down is not an affordable or equitable option . . . ” 

Graph showing uninsured vs. insured losses from 1970 to 2020, highlighting increased uninsured losses over time, with a purple circle indicating 65% of economic losses caused by natural catastrophes over the past decade were uninsured.

SAFRR Advocates for Changes in Land Use and Housing Policy

The lack of adequate access for first responders, both while the public was evacuating and during the ongoing emergency, significantly contributed to the recent loss of lives and properties in California’s wildfires.

Local land use decisions are worsening the problem. Currently, 59 % of U.S. housing now lies within the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), and 95 % of wildfires are human-caused.

When development is permitted in fire-prone areas and roads relied on for evacuation are not improved, the risks of community burn overs, where entire towns are engulfed, increase. CalFire’s updated 2025 Top 20 Wildfire Tables document record-breaking losses in acreage, lives, and property. Of California’s 13 deadliest fires, 65% occurred after 2000.

Although California has been experiencing catastrophic wildfires for decades, the intensity and number of wind-driven firestorms (Red Flag Warnings) have led to communities challenging both land use decisions and the adequacy of the evacuation plans created by their local jurisdictions.

Community advocates must take a number of legally-required steps in their challenge:

  • Participate in all public hearings, write letters, and fund technical studies to build the administrative record.

  • Create a Court Case challenging administrative procedures, adherence to the California Environmental Quality Act or other laws, such as Nuisance Law: Hire legal representation and consulting firms to peer review or create technical studies.

  • Challenge in Court: Get a favorable ruling by a Judge as to the steps necessary to resolve impacts to the environment or the community, or deny the project.

  • Plaintiffs have the right to appeal the Court decision

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