Brody Hessin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Journal of Science Policy & Governance | Volume 18, Issue 01 | March 24, 2021

Policy Memo: Mitigating California Wildfire Impact Through Zoning and Housing Policy

Conner S. Philson (1), Lauren Wagner (2), Ria Nawathe (3)
  1. University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Los Angeles, CA
  2. University of California, Los Angeles, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, Los Angeles, CA
  3. University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA

Corresponding author: cphilson@ucla.edu
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https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG180112
Keywords: wildfire; housing crisis; climate adaptation; urban-wildland interface; up-zoning; buyout
Executive Summary: Since 1970, California has been facing the worst affordable housing crisis in the United States. In an attempted solution, government subsidies have driven housing development into untouched wildlands across the state. However, these developments are increasingly subject to destruction by wildfire due to global climate change and historical mismanagement of public lands. Since 1990, 41% of new housing across California has been developed in known fire zones. Wildfire prevention, combat, and damage costs approximately $18 billion annually, with $10 billion attributed to property damage. During 2020, California’s worst fire year on record, more than 4.4 million acres burned with costs to personal property estimated to exceed $20 billion. Therefore, residential zoning and housing policy are critical components to mitigate wildfire impact. To do so, we propose the implementation of a multipronged approach over the next decade: discontinue development in extremely high-risk fire zones, increase government buyouts in these high-risk areas to move people out of harm’s way, increase urban up-zoning to generate affordable housing, and increase retrofitting of existing at-risk homes to enhance structural and resident survival. This will be a historic economic, legislative, and logistic undertaking. However, despite the large up-front costs, an estimated $350 billion and 1,500 lives can be saved over the next decade through this approach. The consequences to life and property because of wildfire in California are too great for inaction or incremental progress. Swift and foundational change is required over the coming decade.

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Conner S. Philson is a Ph.D. Student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA studying the evolution and consequences of social behavior using the yellow-bellied marmot population at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Colorado. His science policy work focuses on combating climate change, environmental degradation, and loss of biodiversity by communicating science to voters and policy makers. He plans to pursue a career in science policy/diplomacy.
 
Lauren Wagner is a doctoral student of Neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she uses fMRI, genetics, and behavior to understand the neural bases of language development. She is currently the Secretary of the Science Policy Group at UCLA and is interested in science diplomacy and linguistic equity within the global scientific sphere. Lauren received her bachelor’s degrees in Neuroscience and Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin.
 
Ria Nawathe is a pre-medical undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she is majoring in Psychobiology. Her research work has involved studying the molecular mechanisms behind microgravity-induced skeletal muscle atrophy using ‘omics and cell culture models at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Currently, she is a member of the Science Policy Group at UCLA and is interested in the intersection of policy and social justice.
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