Ventura will refund fire inspection fees, waive future charges
Ventura property owners will no longer have to pay about $40 for a wildfire inspection and those who have paid will get refunds.
The Ventura City Council voted unanimously on Monday to approve the actions during a special meeting. A billable fee for the city's fire hazard reduction program was approved last year and went into effect in March.
The Ventura Fire Department offers the program to help property owners establish defensible space, remove flammable brush and reduce vegetation density.
City officials decided Monday to waive the fee after the fire department received complaints from property owners, according to a staff report.
Prior to March, property owners were not billed for the inspection. The city contracted with Fire Recovery USA, a third-party service, to administer billing on behalf of the fire department.
Fire inspections are required annually. Property owners found in noncompliance with the inspections were "subject to additional inspections" and could be cited for subsequent fees, according to a March letter from the fire department.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, recently released updated maps that will change classifications of some properties and will likely increase insurance costs for owners. The maps are available for review and public comment at osfm.fire.ca.gov.
Discussions about the fee waiver and refund also included information about the new maps, said Ventura Fire Marshal Brett Reed on Tuesday. The city is trying to help with the rising costs, Reed said.
"The city recognizes insurance rates may be affected," Reed said.
The city's inspection program has been around for more than 20 years, Reed said, and it will continue after the fee elimination.
In response to the massive Thomas Fire, the city expanded the program. It went from inspecting 600 properties annually to more than 6,000 in August 2021.
“I absolutely support inspections and doing all we can to make all of our space defensible for the next time the wildfires occur,” said Councilman Doug Halter at the meeting. “But I do believe the right thing to do is to stop the fee and refund the money.”
The city estimates it will cost $184,000 to pay for the refunds. The money will come from the city's general fund.
Halter and Councilwoman Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios said residents had expressed to them their displeasure over the fees.
"Several of us heard from our community and directly from constituents who are not happy with this fee. If anything, this will show that we are listening and that we are at least trying to address an issue that many of our constituents are concerned about," Sanchez-Palacios said.
This year, about 60% of the more than 6,000 property owners who had the inspection paid the fee, Reed said.
More information about the fee refund and how it will be distributed will be available after the holidays, said Heather Sumagaysay, the city's spokeswoman, on Tuesday.
The decision to hold a special meeting Monday rather than wait for the council's first regular meeting in January was critical because every day, more people are making fee payments that will need to be refunded, said Akbar Alikhan, acting city manager.
Two speakers, including resident Glenn Overley, said they favored the change.
"Having citizens pay for those types of inspections — I don’t agree with it," Overley said.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura will refund fire inspection fee, waive future charges
