REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on a Resolution Adopting all of the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, Volume 1, and the Volume 2 City of Santa Clara Annex
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure
BACKGROUND
The Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management (SCCOEM) was awarded a grant to complete the update of the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP), since the current plan was due to be updated at the end of 2022.
In November 2022, the City of Santa Clara participated in a coalition of Santa Clara County cities and special districts that embarked on a planning process to prepare for and lessen the impacts of specified natural hazards by updating the Santa Clara County Operational Area (OA) Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The partnership 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.
This effort represents the fourth comprehensive update to the initial hazard mitigation plan, approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in November of 2005. The updated Plan complies with the requirements outlined in FEMA’s Local Mitigation Policy Planning Guide (April 2022), the requirements of which apply to all plans seeking agency approval on or after April 19, 2023. The result of the organizational effort will be a FEMA and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) approved multi-jurisdictional, multi-hazard mitigation plan.
Fourteen (14) jurisdictions and three (3) special districts within the Santa Clara County OA-defined as the unincorporated county, incorporated jurisdictions, and special districts within the geographical boundaries of Santa Clara County-participated in the MJHMP prepared in early 2023 by the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management with support from the consulting firm, IEM (Innovative Emergency Management).
Locally, a 19-member City of Santa Clara Local Planning Team, led by the City’s Office of Emergency Services, collaborated to review and develop the plan. All participating local jurisdictions were responsible for assisting in the development of the hazard and vulnerability assessments and the mitigation action strategies for their respective jurisdictions and organizations. The Plan presents the accumulated information in a unified framework to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated plan covering the entire Santa Clara County OA planning area. Each jurisdiction has been responsible for the review and approval of their individual annexes of Volume 2 of the Plan. Additionally, the plan has been aligned with the goals, objectives and priorities of the State’s multi-hazard mitigation plan.
Internal and community stakeholders and residents were also invited to contribute by sharing local knowledge of their individual area’s vulnerability to natural hazards based on past occurrences. Public involvement has been solicited via a comprehensive public outreach campaign that included listening sessions, town hall meetings, digital surveys in multiple languages, and social media updates. Finally, the public was provided the opportunity to review and provide input on the draft hazard mitigation plan.
Plan development followed a phased approach:
Phase 1: Schedule of Work
Phase 2: Determine the Planning Area and Resources
Phase 3: Build the Planning Team
Phase 4: Create an Outreach Strategy
Phase 5: Review Community Capabilities
Phase 6: Risk Assessment
Phase 7: Develop a Mitigation Strategy
Phase 8: Draft Local Hazard Mitigation Plan with Public Input and Maintenance Procedures
Phase 9: Develop Final Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
Phase 10: Submit for State and Federal Review
Phase 11: Adopt Final Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
DISCUSSION
Hazard mitigation is defined in this context as any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from a hazard event. Mitigation planning is the systematic process of learning about the hazards that can affect the community, setting clear goals, identifying appropriate actions, and following through with an effective mitigation strategy. Mitigation encourages long-term reduction of hazard vulnerability and can reduce the enormous cost of disasters to property owners and all levels of government. Mitigation can also protect critical community facilities, reduce exposure to liability, and minimize post-disaster community disruption. Hazard mitigation planning is the foundation for mitigation investments, and hazard mitigation plans are required to be updated, approved, and adopted every five (5) years to maintain eligibility for multiple federal mitigation grant programs. Through the update process, mitigation actions are developed as a part of a community-based, risk-informed decision-making process
The hazard identification and profiling in the hazard mitigation plan addresses the following hazards of concern within the planning area:
1. Earthquake
2. Flood
3. Dam and Levee Failure
4. Severe Weather
5. Drought
6. Climate Changes
7. Wildfire/Smoke/Air Quality
8. Tsunami
9. Landslide/Mass Movement
The most recent City of Santa Clara’s Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) was adopted by the City Council on December 19, 2017, as Annex L of the City’s Emergency Operations Plan. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determined Volume 2 of the HMP to also be the City’s Floodplain Management Plan during the 2018 audit of the City’s National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS). Consequently, an Annual Evaluation of the HMP is required by FEMA as part of their annual audit of the City’s CRS.
The CRS is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. Flood insurance premium rates for residents and businesses are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk. The City is currently designated as CRS Class 7, which means the City’s residents and businesses in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) are eligible for a 15% insurance premium discount, and others in the City not in a SFHA are eligible for a 5% insurance premium discount.
The County Board of Supervisors adopted Volume 1 the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2023 Update (MJHMP) on December 12, 2023. Volume 1 encompasses the entire Operational Area (OA), and the Volume 2 annexes are specific for each City.
Once the hazard mitigation plan is adopted, the City will become eligible to apply for federal hazard mitigation project funding from both the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM) and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
There are no known disadvantages to adopting the plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate fiscal impact. The City will have the ability to apply for federal mitigation grant funds cited above which would potentially decrease the financial burden on the City after Council adopts the plan. Failure to approve the plan will make the City continue to be ineligible for federal hazard mitigation grant program funding.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office, City Manager’s Office, Communications, the Office of Emergency Services, Silicon Valley Power, and the Community Development, Finance, Fire, Police, Public Works, and Water & Sewer Utilities departments.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Adopt all of the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, Volume 1, and the Volume 2 City of Santa Clara Annex
Staff
Reviewed by: David Flamm, Emergency Services Officer
Approved by: Jovan D. Grogan, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution Adopting all of the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, Volume 1, and the City of Santa Clara Annex
2. Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, Volume 1
3. City of Santa Clara Annex, 2023
4. 2017 Annex L, Hazard Mitigation Plan, Volume 1
5. 2017 Annex L, Hazard Mitigation Plan, Volume 2