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The Legal FrameworkZone Zero Regulations for Agoura Hills
The laws behind Zone 0, in order
AB 3074 (2020). Created the ember-resistant zone: the first 5 feet around structures in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones must be kept free of combustible material. Added Zone 0 to Public Resources Code 4291.
SB 504 (2024). Directed the Board of Forestry to finish the Zone 0 regulations and clarified how the rules extend to local responsibility areas like Agoura Hills, where the state maps but the local agency enforces.
AB 1455 (2025). Refined the implementation timeline and phasing structure: existing homes get a runway, while new construction and rebuilds comply immediately at adoption.
Board of Forestry draft, April 17, 2026. The current working text. It phases requirements, scales back some blanket vegetation removal in favor of maintained plantings, and directs an education-first enforcement posture.
New fences and rebuilds
No new combustible fencing within 5 feet of a structure, and any new construction or fire rebuild meets Zone 0 from day one.
Movable combustibles
Mulch, firewood, dead vegetation, furniture cushions, and stored items leave the 0-5 ft zone. Estimated 2027-2028 for existing homes.
Built structures
Attached combustible fences, gates, and similar built items get replaced on a schedule the local jurisdiction sets, up to 5 years after adoption.
How Zone 0 lands in Agoura Hills
The state framework is the floor. The Los Angeles County Fire Department is the headline. As the city's contracted fire authority, county fire handles the defensible space inspections that Zone 0 will ride on, and it will set the local Phase 2 schedule.
The trigger for your parcel is the map, not the address. Agoura Hills' Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone territory expanded in the March 2025 CAL FIRE remap, and the city publishes the current zone viewer on its website. Streets backing Ladyface Mountain, Liberty Canyon, Old Agoura, and the Cornell corridor should assume they are in scope until the map says otherwise.
The city also maintains a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which is where local priorities like evacuation corridors and fuel treatment get set on top of the state rules.
Regulation questions, answered
Which law created the ember-resistant zone?
AB 3074, signed in 2020, created the ember-resistant zone as the third defensible space zone in Public Resources Code 4291. SB 504 (2024) and AB 1455 (2025) refined how the rules get written and applied, and the Board of Forestry's April 17, 2026 draft is the most current regulatory text.
Is Zone 0 law in Agoura Hills today?
The statute exists, but the detailed regulations are still in draft. Final adoption is expected late 2026. Once adopted, the new-fence and rebuild rules apply immediately, and existing homes get a phased runway.
Does the state or LA County write the rules I have to follow?
Both. The state sets the floor: what Zone 0 is and the minimum standard. The Los Angeles County Fire Department, as Agoura Hills' Authority Having Jurisdiction, handles inspections and sets the Phase 2 schedule for built structures, up to 5 years after adoption.
What if I just rebuilt or remodeled after Woolsey?
Homes rebuilt after the Woolsey Fire were already built to modern wildfire codes for the structure itself. Zone 0 is about what surrounds the structure: fencing, mulch, plantings, and stored combustibles still have to meet the new standard.
Not sure which rules hit your parcel?
A CSLB-licensed contractor checks your zone status and walks the first five feet with you. Free.