"They've always been a very high fire hazard area," Cathedral City Fire Chief Bill Soqui said.

The designation mostly affects new construction, which will face higher fire-protection building standards.

"This is not a fire code requirement," Soqui said. "This is a building code requirement."

The Fire Department is working on a brochure on defensible space and will do surveys of homes in the area.

Residents living in the high hazard areas are required to maintain 100 feet of defensible space - clear land 30 feet around structures.

"It doesn't mean you can't have vegetation," Soqui said. "It means that you have the right kind of vegetation and enough space."

He also stressed the need to break up "ladder fuels" - don't have grass leading to brush leading to trees with branches hanging over a home.

"It's those perimeter houses (in the cove) that are the first line of defense," Councilman Paul Marchand said after the council meeting Wednesday that approved the designation of maps.

Insurance rates should not be affected by the new designation, Soqui said.

Though much of the area is already built out, new construction would face tougher safety standards meant to prevent buildings from being ignited by flying embers.

The proposed Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center project at the corner of Date Palm and East Palm Canyon Drives would fall in the Very High Hazard Zone, but high standards were already incorporated into the design, City Manager Don Bradley said.

Despite the designation of a high fire hazard, houses in the cove are in a favorable position because a fire would typically burn up the hill and away from homes, Soqui said.