San Diego just fast-tracked new fire-safety rules for homes. Here’s what homeowners should know. Thousands of homeowners will soon have to comply with controversial ‘Zone Zero’ regulations that ban flammable material like plants within 5 feet of a home.
From the San Diego Union Tribune December 21, 2025: New fire prevention rules in San Diego will force thousands of city homeowners to begin complying with controversial “Zone Zero” regulations that prohibit flammable items like landscaping within 5 feet of a home.
The new rules and policies — which the City Council fast-tracked through approval last week with no public debate — also seek to boost firefighting by requiring a water supply at construction sites and by strengthening rules against dead-end streets in new developments.
But the Zone Zero rules — once scheduled to take effect statewide in 2023, before a series of delays prompted by public outcry — are expected to be the most impactful of the city’s fire policy changes.
They apply only in City of San Diego Very High Fire-Hazard Severity Zones, but the vast majority of San Diego — about two-thirds — is in such a zone.
That’s an excerpt. Read the entire report from the SD Union Tribune with this Gift Share Link (expires in 30 days):
San Diego just fast-tracked new fire-safety rules for homes. Here’s what homeowners should know.
See also CA Board of Forestry Defensible Space Zones – 0, 1, and 2: https://bof.fire.ca.gov/projects-and-programs/defensible-space-zones-0-1-and-2
Zone Zero rules are included on page 4 of the SD Fire Department Ready Set Go available at: https://www.sandiego.gov/fire/community-outreach/safety-tips/ready-set-go
