Layton staff explain HB48-driven wildfire code change, map redraw and fireworks limits

City fire staff briefed the council on proposed code amendments required by House Bill 48 and on a recommended update to Layton’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) map.

Deputy Fire Marshal Gavin Moffitt said HB48 requires cities that participate in the state Cooperative Wildfire System (CWS) to adopt the Utah WUI code (2006) and to maintain a WUI map that aligns mitigation resources and risk. Participation in the CWS provides a state reimbursement mechanism for large fires when a city demonstrates prevention and mitigation work, Moffitt said.

Staff proposed narrowing the city’s current WUI map to better match development patterns and fire-risk data. They said the proposed map would reduce the number of households in the WUI area from a stated 5,242 to 3,409, which would also limit the number of homeowners subject to code requirements for home hardening and other WUI provisions. Staff described the severity assessment process in the code — a checklist that evaluates roof type, defensible space, building materials and required retrofits or protections based on score — and said jurisdictions cannot remove or weaken mandatory code provisions triggered by HB48.

A second consequence staff emphasized is fireworks restrictions: the Utah WUI code prohibits fireworks in WUI areas, and so the city is proposing to amend its fireworks map to avoid internal conflicts where possible. Staff said legal advice confirmed the city may make the WUI designation more stringent but may not make it less restrictive than state law requires; map refinements are therefore intended to match actual risk and to limit unnecessary prohibitions where feasible.

Staff said map edits were informed by county fire warden input, state wildfire risk data and local firefighting operations staff. Council members asked for clarifications about areas outside city limits (county or national forest) and timing; staff referenced a statutory constraint and said the effective change must be in place for January 1 compliance with state program rules.

The presentation concluded with staff noting the operational benefits of participation in CWS (training, mitigation projects and potential cost deferral for large suppression actions), and with an offer to provide the full code text and the proposed map to council and the public.