HomeMy Public PortalAboutPublic Comment - Kevin McKechnieFrom:Steve Kessmann
To:Yumie Dahn; Planning Division
Cc:Jenna Gatto; Denyelle Nishimori; Kevin McKechnie
Subject:RE: Town of Truckee Draft 2040 General Plan + Downtown Truckee Plan Released
Date:Monday, June 20, 2022 3:36:10 PM
Attachments:image001.png
Yumie,
I just wanted to make sure that the comments from the Fire Department were memorialized in the general plan
comment process. My boss Kevin, responded back in March (see below) and never received a confirmation
email that the comments were received. I just wanted to reach out and make sure that these were recorded in
the process. Thanks for including us in the rollout.
Steve Kessmann
Battalion Chief/Fire Marshal
Truckee Fire Protection District
Office (530)-582-7855
From: Kevin McKechnie
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 4:48 PM
To: Yumie Dahn <YDahn@townoftruckee.com>
Cc: Denyelle Nishimori <DNishimori@townoftruckee.com>; Jenna Gatto <JGatto@townoftruckee.com>
Subject: RE: General Plan Update - Safety and Noise Element
Hi Yumie,
I looked over the Safety and Noise Element and in general it looked really good to me. It seems that many of
our local hazards have been captured and addressed at the current standard.
Here’s some comments:
Wildfire:
The National Fire Protection Association has started a new program called Outthink Wildfire, wildfire action
policies. Here is a link to the website: https://www.nfpa.org/outthinkwildfire . The program is “A Call to End the
Destruction of Communities by Wildfire in 30 Years” Outthink wildfire is rooted in two realities: Wildfires are
going to happen and the fire service will never be able to save all property in the path of a wildfire. There are 5
tenets of Outthink Wildfire Wildfire Action Policies: 1. Retrofit Existing Homes and Communities, 2. Codes,
Standards and Land Use Planning, 3. Training and Equipment for Local Fire Departments, 4. Landscape
Management, and 5. Public Education.
To be completely honest with you, California and our local area typically comes out as pretty progressive when
measured against these national initiatives. We have chapter 7A of the building code for home hardening and
we have been relatively progressive when it comes to defensible space and fuels management. However, based
on recent fire behavior, I think it is fair to say we are still not doing enough. I was really happy to see that the
defensible space, non-combustible zone, 0-5 feet around the structure was included in the plan. Thanks for
including that. It is our understanding that, that zone will become State law next year. I also liked seeing the
requirement for the fire protection plan on new developments.
There are some fuels management zones that should be considered for policy action. We often refer to the
WUI Defense Zone and the WUI Threat Zone as a perimeter of fuels modification that would surround a
community. Here is a weblink that has some pretty good definitions for these zones:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/cleveland/landmanagement/planning/?cid=fsbdev7_016495 . Additionally, the
WUI threat and defense zones are addressed in our 2016 CWPP. Fuels treatment in the WUI threat and
defense zones can generally be considered to extend roughly two miles away from the development. This
distance is adjusted for fuel type, topography, anticipated fire behavior and ultimately the desired fire
conditions. As part of our Measure T Wildfire Prevention Program, we hope to continue fuels treatments in
these zones. Much good work has been completed but more needs to be done. I would recommend that fuels
treatment and ongoing maintenance in the WUI defense and threat zones be a requirement of new and existing
developments. This is probably a big ask but our understanding is that these treatments likely saved many
homes in the South Lake Tahoe area from the Caldor fire.
We will be updating our CWPP this year as part of Measure T: Wildfire Prevention Program.
Hazardous Materials:
Good job identifying the hazardous materials threats to our community. Specifically, the railroad, freeway and
Kinder Morgan pipeline. A concern of mine is whether we are sufficiently aware and adequately prepared for
these hazards that transit our community. Especially with the new developments adjacent to the railroad and
pipeline at Coldstream and at the old lumber mill site. As you are likely aware, the volumes of hazardous
materials by rail can be quite large and the fact that these materials don’t find a local destination might leave us
unprepared and under equipped in the event of a spill. From our office, we see that the UPRR expends
considerable resources keeping the rails well maintained and serviceable, but we are in an area with mountains,
canyons, steep grades and severe weather that could pre-dispose us to a catastrophic event. I would ask that
our hazardous materials exposure specifically related to materials that transit our community, be studied in
more depth. Here is a link to a timeline of oil train derailments: https://www.sightline.org/2021/02/26/a-
timeline-of-oil-train-derailments-in-
pictures/#:~:text=The%20Northwest%20dodged%20a%20bullet,lasted%20a%20full%20eight%20hours.
Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery:
I see that the Truckee Fire Protection District is responsible with Truckee PD on the development of a mobile
application for streamlining transportation and emergency response (SN-6.G). That sounds reasonable to me,
but I’m not sure specifically what our role will be, happy to participate though.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment. I’m happy to continue to participate in the process if needed.
Kevin McKechnie
Deputy Chief
Truckee Fire Protection District
(530) 582-7855
From: Yumie Dahn <YDahn@townoftruckee.com>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2022 11:37 AM
Cc: Jenna Gatto <JGatto@townoftruckee.com>; Denyelle Nishimori <DNishimori@townoftruckee.com>
Subject: Town of Truckee Draft 2040 General Plan + Downtown Truckee Plan Released
Good morning, This email is to inform you that the Town of Truckee Draft 2040 General Plan + Downtown Truckee Plan have beenRELEASED! You can find the documents at the following link: https://www.truckee2040.com/documents At this link you’llfind the draft documents, summaries of each Element, and public comment forms and directions. You may also submitpublic comment by emailing PlanningDivision@townoftruckee.com. Please note that the Town Council and Planning Commission will be holding joint meetings over the next few months toreview each component of the document:
Public comments can be received up to the day of adoption (which is anticipate in fall of this year); however, it would behelpful to receive public comment prior to each relevant Council/Commission joint meeting scheduled above. Please notethat the Draft EIR has not yet been released for review. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, --Yumie Dahn, AICPSenior Planner530-582-2918