Zone Zero Regulations for Bel Air Homeowners
The three laws behind Zone 0
Zone Zero did not appear overnight. It was built statute by statute over five years, each one a response to fires that ignited homes from the first few feet.
AB 3074
Created the ember-resistant zone. Added Zone 0, the first 5 feet around structures, to California's defensible space law for Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.
SB 504
Set the implementation machinery. Directed the Board of Forestry's rulemaking and clarified how Zone 0 phases in for existing homes versus new construction.
AB 1455
Tightened timelines and enforcement structure, keeping local authorities like LAFD at the center of how the rules reach individual parcels.
The current text: April 17, 2026 draft
The Board of Forestry's April 17, 2026 draft is the most current version of the Zone 0 regulations. It keeps the 0-5 ft ember-resistant zone, phases requirements for existing homes, makes new-fence and rebuild rules immediate at adoption, and directs an education-first approach to enforcement. Final adoption is expected late 2026.
The state writes the floor. LAFD writes the specifics.
Bel Air is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, which makes the Los Angeles Fire Department your Authority Having Jurisdiction. LAFD already runs one of the largest defensible space programs in the country: its Brush Clearance Unit inspects every Very High FHSZ parcel in the city annually, starting each May.
When Zone 0 rules finalize, they layer onto that inspection cycle. The Phase 2 deadline for replacing built items like combustible fences is set locally, up to 5 years after state adoption. What LAFD decides matters more to your parcel than any Sacramento press release.
The 2025 CAL FIRE hazard remap expanded Very High zones across Los Angeles. Bel Air's canyon and ridgeline parcels sit squarely inside them.
Regulation questions, answered
Which law actually requires me to clear the first 5 feet?
AB 3074 (2020) created the ember-resistant zone, the first 5 feet around structures in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. SB 504 and AB 1455 refined how and when it takes effect, and the Board of Forestry's April 17, 2026 draft supplies the working details.
Are the regulations final?
Not yet. Final regulations are expected late 2026. The April 17, 2026 Board of Forestry draft is the most current text, and this site is updated against it. Details can still change before adoption.
Does the City of Los Angeles add its own rules on top of the state's?
Yes, that is how the framework is designed. The state sets the floor and LAFD, as Bel Air's Authority Having Jurisdiction, sets local specifics such as the Phase 2 timeline and how Zone 0 checks fold into existing brush clearance inspections.
Is anyone in Bel Air exempt?
Exemptions follow the maps, not the neighborhood. If your parcel is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, Zone Zero applies. Given Bel Air's terrain, owners should assume they are covered until their parcel says otherwise.
Get a plan matched to the actual rules
A CSLB-licensed contractor walks your property against the current draft regulations and tells you what applies, phase by phase. 100% free.