PREPARED BY: ELIZABETH DUNN DATE OF MEETING: 11/05/18
SUBJECT:
TITLE
CONTINUE THE ITEM REGARDING AN AMENDMENT TO THE SAFETY AND NOISE ELEMENT OF THE CITY OF SAN PABLO GENERAL PLAN TO ADOPT ALL OF VOLUME 1 AND THE CITY OF SAN PABLO PORTION OF VOLUME 2 OF THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY OPERATIONAL AREA HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN (HMP) UPDATE
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Approve by Minute Order
Body
Compliance statements
FY 2018-21 Council Priority Workplan Compliance Statement
All Hazard Mitigation Plan/Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, Administration/ Operation under Infrastructure section is an adopted policy item under the revised FY 2018-21 City Council Priority Workplan, effective November 1, 2017.
CEQA Compliance Statement
Continuation of this item is not considered a project pursuant to Section 15306, Information Collection, of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This exemption allows basic data collection, research, experimental management, and resource evaluation activities which do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. These may be strictly for information gathering, purposes, or as part of a study leading to an action which a public agency has not yet approved, adopted or funded.
BACKGROUND
In November of 2016, a coalition of Contra Costa County cities and special districts embarked on a planning process to prepare for and lessen the impacts of specified natural hazards by updating the Contra Costa County Operational Area Hazard Mitigation Plan (“HMP"). Responding to federal mandates in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 1 06-390), the coalition was formed to pool resources and to create a uniform hazard mitigation strategy that can be consistently applied to the defined planning area and used to ensure eligibility for specified grant funding success.
The hazard identification and profiling in the HMP addresses the following hazards of concern within the planning area: dam failure, drought, earthquake, flood, landslide, severe weather, tsunami and wildfire. Climate change is incorporated as a summary assessment of current and anticipated impacts for each identified hazard of concern. With the exception of dam failure, this HMP does not provide a full risk assessment of human-caused hazards.
The HMP presents the accumulated information in a unified framework to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated plan covering the entire Contra Costa County Operational Area planning area. The federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires all cities, counties, and special districts to adopt a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan to receive disaster mitigation funding from FEMA.
The City of San Pablo City Council adopted the HMP in April 2018 as a policy document. On August 15, 2018, the City of San Pablo received a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stating that the City now complies with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Attachment A).
On October 23, 2018, following a duly noticed public hearing, the Planning Commission considered the proposed General Plan amendment and recommended approval by the City Council. Incorporating the HMP into the Safety and Noise Element of the City of San Pablo General Plan allows the City to be eligible to apply for specified grants for disaster mitigation funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, additional staff time is needed to prepare the appropriate guiding and implementing policies as part of the proposed amendment to the Safety and Noise Element of the City of San Pablo General Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.