New rules could help fireproof more land

Alicia Robinson

City officials want to fireproof Buck Gully, Morning Canyon and the

surrounding homes, and their strategy entails new regulations that

would outline the kinds of plants and irrigation systems residents

can use.

Newport Coast already has some “fuel modification” regulations,

which say slopes must be planted with fire-resistant plants that

don’t grow too large. Those precautions, already in place when

Newport Coast was built, can keep a wildfire from reaching houses at

the top of canyons and bluffs.

The city sent out 6,000 notices, inviting residents to a study

session on the proposed regulations. That session will take place at

4:45 p.m. today in the council chambers. Council members will hear a

proposal for two sweeping new ordinances that would extend the fuel

modification rules to the older part of Buck Gully, from Spyglass

Hill to the coast, and would create a special irrigation zone to cut

down on runoff from the area.

“In some sense the city would become more restrictive on that, but

I think it’s to the benefit of the property owners, because we’re

addressing a fairly significant fire hazard in Buck Gully, and the

slopes are starting to fail somewhat because of excessive water,”

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said. “We think the folks out there

will actually save money if they’re cutting down on their

irrigation.”

Fuel modification regulations have been an effective way to manage

vegetation in Newport Coast, Newport Beach Fire Chief Tim Riley said.

The Buck Gully area has never experienced any big fires, but

Laguna Canyon didn’t have a history of big fires before the 1993

wildfire that scorched 10,000 acres and more than 350 homes, Riley

said.

“Most people would say, ‘Well, it’s just a problem with the houses

in Buck Gully,’ but that’s not really the case,” he said. “If and

when we ever get a fire in Buck Gully, it’s not just Buck Gully that

would be impacted, but all of Corona del Mar has a potential of being

impacted by a fire in Buck Gully.”

The irrigation ordinance would require residents to use irrigation

systems that sense moisture or weather instead of using automatic

timers to turn on and off. Because of over-watering, the ground in

Buck Gully is often saturated, causing erosion and sending fresh

water into an environmentally protected area of the ocean off Little

Corona, Kiff said.

A study the city conducted over the last year with the Irvine

Ranch Water District found an average of 350 gallons per minute of

fresh water are flowing into the ocean every day from Buck Gully.

“That’s a lot of water, and that’s a lot of water wasted,” Kiff

said.

The city will pay for any projects stemming from the new

regulations with a $1.2 million grant from the State Water Resources

Control Board, and residents would likely share some costs.

If the city council passes the ordinances, it will be the first

time it has applied such regulations retroactively in an existing

neighborhood.

“I think some people are going to welcome it because they

recognize the fire risk that’s out there today,” Kiff said. “Other

people that are attached to the heavy, intense landscaping are going

to oppose it.”

The study session on proposed fuel modification and irrigation

rules for Buck Gully and Morning Canyon is scheduled for 4:45 p.m.

today in council chambers at Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport

Blvd.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.