REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Al Zelinka, City Manager
VIA: Scott M. Haberle, Fire Chief
PREPARED BY: Brevyn Mettler, Emergency Services Coordinator
Subject:
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Adopt Resolution No. 2022-79 approving the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan enabling the City to be eligible for pre- or post-disaster hazard mitigation funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
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Statement of Issue:
City Council approval of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) is requested.
Financial Impact:
Not applicable.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Adopt Resolution No. 2022-79, "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach Approving the Updated Huntington Beach Local Hazard Mitigation Plan."
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Alternative Action(s):
Do not approve the recommended action and direct staff accordingly.
Analysis:
FEMA mandates, through the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, that any public agency that wishes to apply for pre- or post-disaster hazard mitigation grants must have an approved local hazard mitigation plan. Over the past 25 years the City of Huntington Beach has received approximately $18 million in disaster mitigation grants. Currently, the City’s Heil Flood Control Pump Station is being funded with a LHMP Grant. This updated LHMP has been prepared to ensure compliance with FEMA requirements.
The mission of the Huntington Beach Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is to promote sound public policy designed to protect citizens, critical facilities, infrastructure, private property, and the environment from natural hazards. This plan provides the first step toward accomplishing these goals by increasing public awareness, documenting the resources for risk reduction and loss prevention, and identifying activities to guide the City of Huntington Beach toward building a safer, more sustainable community. City Council adoption of the attached resolution assures that this public policy is implemented.
City Council approval of the LHMP is requested. If the LHMP is not approved, the City will not be eligible for pre- or post-disaster hazard mitigation funds from FEMA. If the LHMP is not approved, an existing $2.7 million dollar grant from FEMA would be forfeited upon expiration of our current LHMP.
Environmental Status:
The adoption of the Hazard Mitigation Plan is categorically exempt pursuant to Class 6, Section 15306, of the California Environmental Quality Act, which states that basic data collection and research, which do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource, is exempt from further review. Additionally, the Hazard Mitigation Plan is only a study that identifies, among other things, mitigation strategies that the local jurisdiction has not yet approved, adopted, or funded.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Financial Sustainability, Public Safety or Other
Attachment(s):
1. Resolution No. 2022-79, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach Approving the Updated Huntington Beach Local Hazard Mitigation Plan,” Exhibit A - Hazard Mitigation Plan referenced, but not attached - available for Public Review in the City Clerk’s Office
2. PowerPoint Presentation on the LHMP