We homeowners and residents reject California’s proposed “Zone 0” landscape mandate as an ineffective, invasive, costly, harmful policy.
Zone 0 Didn’t Become An ‘Emergency’ Until Headlines Made Newsom Look Bad.
Zone 0 looks less like safety and more like presidential optics—theater first, due process and safety last.
The Legislature’s own analysis says media attention spurred Newsom's Executive Order (EO N-18-25) and AB 1455 requiring the Board of Forestry to rush through Zone 0 rulemaking regulations by the end of this year and give the Board of Forestry perpetual emergency rulemaking powers.
Real safety needs evidence, transparency, and fair costs—not shortcuts and surprise fees.
Meet The Men Behind Zone 0
Who they are, what they want, and why Los Angeles should care.
1. Zone 0 Does Not Make Us Safer
Science shows that homes burn because of close proximity to other homes. Zone 0 scapegoats our gardens instead of fixing unsafe building setbacks, underfunded fire departments and planning failures. Zone 0 shifts the burden to homeowners without delivering the protection it promises.
2. Zone 0 Takes Away Our Rights
Zone 0 tells us we cannot grow plants within five feet of our homes, stripping away privacy, shade and the ability to enjoy our yard. This mandate demands tens of thousands of dollars from ordinary families and removes property value. A rule this prohibitive will produce inequity, and widespread hardship.
3. Zone 0 Harms Communities
Our yards are more than “decorations”. Destroying them for a false sense of security sacrifices privacy, security, wildlife, shade, mental health, and our property rights. Zone 0 replaces living green cover with sterile hot and ironically more flammable yards.
4. Zone 0 Is About Protecting The Insurance Industry — Not People
Zone 0 was built on weak studies and demonstrations from the insurance industry, which stands to profit by shifting liability onto homeowners while continuing to underinsure or abandon high fire areas. The push for Zone 0 comes not from residents in the fire zones, even those who lost homes to fire, but from the insurance industry and politicians eager for an easy headline.
5. Zone 0 Criminalizes Your Yard
Zone 0 criminalizes your yard with stiff fines, invasive inspections, expensive forced clearances, property liens and even the threat of jail time, while letting regulators and insurance providers off the hook.
6. Zone 0 Does Not Guarantee Insurance
Don’t be misled: clearing your yard to meet Zone 0 rules will not ensure your home is insurable. Insurance providers are pulling out of high-fire areas regardless of compliance, and they can still raise rates, drop coverage, or refuse renewals after you strip the greenery around your house.