Zone 0 ordinances by city: what's in force in California

Can a city or county write its own Zone 0 ordinance?

Yes. AB 1455 (Chapter 731, Statutes of 2025) added subdivision (f) to Government Code 51182. It lets “a local agency responsible for fire protection” adopt Zone 0 requirements by ordinance, based on the Board of Forestry regulations. The agency may account for “local variations in local fire hazards, geography, development, and other conditions” and allow alternative practices, “if the alternative practices provide for substantially similar practical effects” as the Board’s rules. The same subdivision says it “does not preclude a local agency from adopting an ordinance designating defensible space requirements that are more stringent.”

AB 1455 also protects owners: a property owner who follows the local alternative “shall not be deemed to have violated” the state section. Under 51182(f)(3), that covers people who own or control an occupied building in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone designated by the local agency, in the Local Responsibility Area (LRA).

The Board’s August 2026 rule, adopted but not in effect, adds conditions in 14 CCR 1298.03. Local alternative practices “shall be approved by the city council, board of supervisors, or appropriate governing body,” backed by a finding from the local fire agency, and must give “at a minimum, substantially similar practical effects.” So a local rule can be looser in its details, such as allowing more plants, but it has to reach roughly the same result. It can also be stricter, as San Diego’s is on fences.

Which California cities have Zone 0 rules?

Status as of 10 November 2026:

The Board’s guidance says that when it was written, “local ordinances around defensible space Zone 0 were known to exist in the City of Los Angeles, the City of San Diego, the City of Berkeley, Shasta County, Ventura County, and South Lake Tahoe.” We confirmed San Diego and Berkeley from their own documents. Our search found no Ventura County Zone 0 ordinance, which conflicts with the Board’s list, and we have not yet checked Shasta County or South Lake Tahoe against primary text.

What are San Diego’s Zone 0 rules?

San Diego Fire-Rescue’s “Zone 0 Guidelines for Existing Structures” (Rev. 4/22/2026) implement Zone 0 under AB 3074, the California WUI Code and San Diego Municipal Code 512.0604, the San Diego WUI Code. They apply to “all structures located in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone within the City of San Diego.” The city’s 12 February 2026 news release put that at roughly 142,571 acres, “or two-thirds of San Diego property.”

Dates from the guidelines:

• New structures: Zone 0 applies to buildings “applying for a building permit on or after February 28, 2026.”
• Existing structures: from 28 February 2027, when enforcement begins. The guidelines say owners “are not required to take any action now.”
• Phased plan: education from 28 February 2026, debris and stored combustibles from 28 February 2027, vegetation from 28 February 2028, and full compliance from 28 February 2029. Owners “should attempt to achieve full compliance with Zone 0 regulations by February 28, 2029,” including “replacing fences and gates that do not comply.”

On fences, San Diego goes further than the state. It requires “a minimum 5-foot non-combustible transitional span” where an attached fence runs out from the house, and prohibits parallel combustible fencing within Zone 0 that “creates a continuous fuel pathway.” Our San Diego Zone Zero fence rules page covers section 4.6 line by line, including the vinyl and fire-retardant wood exceptions.

What are Berkeley’s Zone 0 rules?

Berkeley’s Zone 0 rules sit in Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 19.49, which adopted the 2025 California WUI Code with local amendments. The council took up the second reading on 2 December 2025. Section 604.3.2 applies “Effective January 1, 2026” to the Grizzly Peak and Panoramic mitigation areas. A September 2025 city report put that area at “just under 1,400 properties.”

The Zone 0 section requires the 5 feet around any structure, attached deck or stairs to be free of combustible material, with exceptions for small potted plants and hot tubs. On fences, the code text says:

• “Existing fences that are directly attached to a Building or Structure shall have a five foot (5 ft) non-combustible span at the point of attachment.”
• Existing fences within 5 feet that are not parallel to the wall need a noncombustible span “within the first 5 feet of the structure.”
• “Existing parallel fences that do not touch the structure are allowed.”
• “After the effective date of this regulation, no new or replacement sections of combustible fence are permitted within 5 feet of a building or structure including an attached deck.”

Berkeley is stricter than the state rule in one respect: it bans combustible “replacement sections” within 5 feet, while the state rule lets owners repair an existing fence with wood. On parallel fences it is more lenient than San Diego. Local News Matters reported on 22 September 2026 that the city had done about 600 to 700 Zone 0 inspections and had not yet issued citations.

Does Oakland have a Zone 0 ordinance?

We found no Oakland Zone 0 rule in force as of 10 November 2026. The city’s Zone 0 web page would not load when we checked that day, and we have not seen an ordinance text.

The city’s Wildfire Prevention Commission, in a draft report dated 14 May 2026, wrote that “Oakland is waiting for the state” and recommended that once the state finalizes its rule, Oakland “promptly establish Zone Zero regulations that are as strong or stronger than the state regulations.” We found no Oakland fence or gate standard.

Does Los Angeles have its own Zone 0 rules?

Not that we could confirm as final. On 10 December 2025, the City Council’s Public Safety Committee approved a motion (Council File 25-1428) instructing LAFD, with the City Attorney, “to promulgate its own Zone 0 rules” based on Option 4 of the vegetation options and Option 2 of the tree options in the Board’s October 2025 draft language. The motion would allow potted plants and other vegetation, and well-maintained trees with branches 10 feet from chimneys. It does not mention fences or gates. The committee report is marked “not official until council acts.”

The Board’s guidance lists the City of Los Angeles among places with a local ordinance. We could not find the final ordinance or council vote, so LA owners should treat the state rule as the baseline until the city publishes its text. Any LA alternative would have to give “substantially similar practical effects” to the state rule under AB 1455.

What about Marin, the Bay Area hills and other counties?

Marin. Fire Safe Marin’s page, updated 14 September 2026, says each city council and fire district board will decide on Zone 0 and that it “will update this page as local decisions are made.” It names no local Zone 0 ordinance.

Moraga and Orinda. KQED reported on 8 July 2026 that “some cities are moving faster, including San Diego, Berkeley and Orinda-Moraga.” Lamorinda Weekly reported on 11 March 2026 that Moraga (11 February) and Orinda (3 March) had ratified the Moraga-Orinda Fire District’s 2026 fire code and WUI code ordinances. In that story a district deputy chief said Zone 0 rested with the Board of Forestry process and would be up to the district board to adopt or amend later. We have not found a district Zone 0 ordinance.

El Dorado County. In a Mountain Democrat story of 28 October 2026, a county official described the existing Vegetation Management Ordinance and the county’s plans to educate residents about Zone 0. The story names no county Zone 0 ordinance.

No local ordinance found in our search (as of 10 November 2026): Ventura County, Santa Barbara, Malibu, Orange County Fire Authority, Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Santa Cruz and Sonoma. In those places the state rule will apply once it takes effect: to every building in the State Responsibility Area, and to occupied buildings in Very High zones in the LRA.

What applies if my city has no Zone 0 ordinance?

The state rule, once it takes effect. As of 10 November 2026 it has not. The Board adopted it 8 to 0 on 19 August 2026 and filed it with the Office of Administrative Law on 28 August 2026 (file 2026-0828-03E), then withdrew it on 8 September 2026 before OAL ruled. On 10 November 2026, OAL’s list of emergency regulations under review had no Board of Forestry entry. A Board staff member told the Mountain Democrat (28 October 2026) that the soonest effective date would be late November or early December 2026; that estimate is unconfirmed.

Once effective, the rule gives existing homes 3 years for the fence provisions and related items in LRA Very High zones, or up to 5 on a local timeline (14 CCR 1298.04(c)(4)), and 5 years in the SRA, or not less than 3 on a CAL FIRE Director timeline (14 CCR 1299.03(e)(4)). For what that rule says, see Zone Zero law in California and is the Zone Zero law in effect. For fences under the state text, see Zone 0 fence requirements.

Which rule wins when a city and the state differ?

The local one, if it meets AB 1455’s test. A city may be stricter than the state, and an owner who complies with a valid local alternative is treated as complying with the state section. San Diego’s parallel-fence ban is stricter than the state text. The LA committee’s approach to plants would be looser. In practice, your local fire agency is the inspector in the LRA, so its rule is the one you will be checked against. If you are planning fence or gate work, ask your fire agency which version applies to your parcel, then follow the steps in how to comply with Zone Zero.

What is still unknown about local Zone 0 rules?

• The state effective date, and whether the Board approved changes at its 5 November 2026 meeting.
• Los Angeles’s final rule, if one has been adopted, and whether it says anything about fences.
• Oakland’s standards, which its Wildfire Prevention Commission wants set once the state rule is final.
• Shasta County, Ventura County and South Lake Tahoe, which the Board lists as having local ordinances. We will add them once we have read the text.