REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on the 2018 Annual Report Related to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System
Report
BACKGROUND
The City has participated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) program since 2002. CRS is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community 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 resulting from the community activities meeting the three goals of the CRS:
1. Reduce flood damage to insurable property;
2. Strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP; and
3. Encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management.
The City is currently CRS Class 8, which means the City’s residents and businesses in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) are eligible for a 10% insurance premium discount, and others in the City not in a SFHA are eligible for a 5% insurance premium discount. The average flood policy premium in the City is approximately $850, and average insurance coverage is about $300,000. Due to participation in the CRS program, the estimated total flood insurance premium savings in the City is over $70,000 in 2018.
The City works closely with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District), whose participation in CRS dates back to 1998. The District’s participation in CRS allows them to document qualifying flood risk reduction activities they perform throughout the county. CRS credits for those activities are then transferred to each CRS participating community, including the City of Santa Clara, earning residents and businesses discounts on their flood insurance premiums.
The Program for Public Information (PPI) was introduced into CRS in 2013. The PPI encourages participating CRS communities to work together with local stakeholders to design a program for community outreach on flood risk reduction that best fits local needs. The District hosted the development of a PPI in 2013 and 2014 for all participating CRS communities in Santa Clara County.
The District was the lead agency in the development of the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional PPI 2015, which is a countywide collaboration outreach program to increase flood awareness. FEMA requires that an annual evaluation report on the Multi-Jurisdictional PPI be shared with the elected bodies that approved them. City Council approved the 2015 Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional PPI related to floodplain management on July 14, 2015. The Annual Evaluation Report for Fiscal Year 2016 (Year 1) and Fiscal Year 2017 (Year 2) were presented to the City Council on October 14, 2016 and May 8, 2018 respectively.
DISCUSSION
The third annual report to FEMA documenting PPI activities and accomplishments in Fiscal Year 2018 was released by the Water District in July 2018. The report is being provided to City Council as an informational item to satisfy the FEMA requirement. In addition to the general flood awareness message that FEMA wants all CRS communities to share, three additional messages were added for Santa Clara County based on input received through the PPI stakeholder process. They are (1) FEMA’s “Turn Around, Don’t Drown ®” which encourages people to stay out of flooded roads, whether driving or walking; (2) Download disaster apps; and (3) Make a family emergency plan before an emergency happens. The Annual Evaluation Report for Fiscal Year 2018 (Year 3), Attachment 1, is included for further information.
The PPI gives the City opportunities to earn extra credit points under the NFIP CRS program. Every 500 CRS points translates to a 5% discount on flood insurance premium for properties in the SFHA. A FEMA representative visits the City every five years to verify flood mitigation activities that have been implemented to determine the City’s new CRS Class based on the latest CRS requirements. In September 2018 the City had its latest verification visit which was based on revised, more comprehensive CRS requirements. Recent changes in the CRS program include encouraging communities to assess their current level of flood insurance coverage, identify where coverage needs improvement, and require staff to inform the City Council. The City of Santa Clara accomplished these goals through the agenda report on August 28, 2018, and earned credit towards the goal of maintaining a CRS Class 8 rating. Staff is awaiting feedback from FEMA regarding the results of the visit and once information is received on the latest CRS Class rating it will be shared with City Council.
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(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The staff time for the City’s participation in CRS is and has been supported by the General Fund. Since the outreach projects are set to repeat annually, the increase in staff effort due to implementation of PPI is insignificant and it is mainly for project documentation.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Finance Department and City Attorney’s Office.
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
Note and File the 2018 Annual Report for the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Program for Public Information related to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System.
Staff
Reviewed by: Craig Mobeck, Director of Public Works
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2018 Annual Report