Politics & Government
RivCo 'Fire Mitigation Fees' Expected For Over 100 Homeowners
Cal Fire warned residents, served orders to take care of brush removal, then razed excess foliage for costs of up to $3,254 per property.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday set a July 18 public hearing to consider the Riverside County Fire Department's request to attach fire mitigation charges to the tax bills of more than 100 property owners, whom officials say have not paid the cost of abating weeds and other potential fire hazards around their parcels.
According to the fire department, 119 property owners in unincorporated communities countywide are delinquent and owe a total of $71,855 under the county's Fire Hazard Reduction Program.
The amounts, which range from $175 to $3,254 per property, stem from activity in calendar year 2022.
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The reduction program involves deploying contractors to clear weeds and related overgrowth that might otherwise fuel brush fires during wildfire season, which generally spans May to November. In most cases, the parcels that were mitigated were vacant or set off from main residences, according to the fire department.
Officials said property owners were served with orders to abate, or mitigate, the potential fire hazards, and when inspectors received no reply or saw that no action had been taken, contractors were sent to the locations under county authority to clear away the excess foliage.
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"The purpose of the Fire Hazard Reduction Program is to reduce or eliminate fire hazards created by vegetative growth and the accumulation of combustible debris, which poses a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the residents in the vicinity of any real property, as well as irreparable harm to sensitive habitat and species," according to an agency statement.
Properties in each of the five supervisorial districts have been identified by the department as delinquent on payments.
According to agency documents, property owners were billed to recover the county's expenditures, but the fire department received no response. A $254 administrative fee has also been folded into the final bill sent to the proprietors.
The charges would function as tax liens on the properties.
During the July 18 hearing, all those who received assessment notices will have an opportunity to challenge them and ask the board for relief.
