TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Michael Lang, Interim Fire Chief
Amanda MacLennan, Emergency Preparedness Administrator
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution for the City of Manhattan Beach 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) (No Budget Impact) (Interim Fire Chief Lang).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 25-0011
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 25-0011, the City of Manhattan Beach 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. The California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have approved the City’s 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) pending the City Council’s adoption of the plan. The LHMP Planning Committee (including the public) reviewed the LHMP prior to the submission to CalOES and FEMA.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The recommended action will have no direct impact to the City’s General Fund. Adoption of the LHMP allows the City to be eligible for pre- and post-disaster FEMA mitigation funding.
BACKGROUND:
In 2000, Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA 2000), which requires local governments to reduce risks from natural hazards through mitigation planning to be eligible for pre- and post-disaster FEMA funding. A LHMP identifies risks, vulnerabilities, and long-term strategies for protecting people, property, and environment.
The purpose of the LHMP is to develop and adopt pre-disaster mitigation measures to help minimize property damage and the risk to public health and safety that could result from the effects of natural hazards. The LHMP also outlines the steps taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risks to human life and property as defined by FEMA, including the identification of hazards, assessment of impacts and vulnerabilities, setting of mitigation goals, and the selection and prioritization of mitigation strategies for implementation. The LHMP also documents the planning process, details the hazards and vulnerabilities faced by the City, and outlines the strategies to reduce these vulnerabilities and increase the City’s resilience and sustainability.
Local Hazard Mitigation Plans must be updated every five years to continue to qualify for certain grant funds in accordance with the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390). The City of Manhattan Beach adopted its first LHMP in 2008. The last LHMP was updated and adopted by the City Council in 2019; therefore, it was time to update the plan to continue to qualify for disaster funding and increase the City’s hazard resilience.
DISCUSSION:
The LHMP will inform long-term strategies to enhance community resilience against natural hazards in the City of Manhattan Beach, aiming to minimize economic impacts and human suffering.
The LHMP was updated through a rigorous and engaged nine-month process which included participation from internal and external City stakeholders who made up the LHMP Planning Committee. The planning committee had representatives from all City departments and several community partners (public, business, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, neighboring cities, emergency management professionals, etc.). The LHMP update was driven by four key LHMP Planning Committee meetings where attendees were guided through discussions, information gathering, and surveys which resulted in the information that was included in the LHMP update.
This LHMP has been prepared to meet FEMA’s requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act 2000 and the Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guide (FP-206-21-0002 Released April 19, 2022, Effective April 19, 2023), thus making it eligible for grant funding from State and Federal hazard mitigation programs. The LHMP update is a 420-page plan which includes details on the LHMP planning process, community profile, risk assessment, vulnerability assessment, mitigation strategy, and plan maintenance. The plan also includes appendices covering information relative to the LHMP planning committee, survey results, community outreach efforts, Federal Insurance Rate Map Panels, critical facilities list, as well as additional worksheets and review tools. The potential hazards identified and assessed in this Local Hazard Mitigation Plan include Coastal Hazards, Drought, Geological Hazards, Inland Flooding, Severe Weather, and Fire/Urban Wildland Interface (Wildfire). The City’s LHMP demonstrates that mitigation measures are based on a sound planning process that accounts for the risks to, and the capabilities of the city.
CONCLUSION:
The LHMP update researched and ranked the City’s hazard risks including coastal hazards, drought, fire/wildland urban interface, flooding/inland flooding, geological hazards (earthquakes and land movement), and severe weather (extreme heat and high winds). The LHMP includes detailed information outlining each hazard risk, as well as mitigation actions to be considered over the next five years for each of the City’s hazard categories listed above. These hazard mitigation projects and actions were developed through detailed LHMP Planning Committee discussions, as well as surveys which also included responses and feedback from the community. The LHMP is a living document that can be updated and adjusted over the next five years, should the City choose to do so, as mitigation projects are considered and acted on and should there be additional hazards to examine. Staff recommends that City Council adopt Resolution No. 25-0011, the 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation. The next LHMP update is required in 2029.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Robust LHMP public outreach was conducted using in-person presentations, digital and print information sheets, local newspapers, a City LHMP website and social media, surveys, and interactions with local businesses in the City’s vulnerable tract which was identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Additionally, using phone calls and email, over 100 subject matter experts were invited to the four Planning Committee/Community meetings including City of Manhattan Beach department representatives, emergency management professionals, local businesses, City and Coastal commissions, elected officials, state, federal, and regional agencies, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, neighborhood associations, MB Unified School District and universities, and cultural hubs. Beyond the four key Planning Committee meetings where the community had an opportunity to attend in-person or via Zoom, Emergency Preparedness staff presented and met twice with groups of seniors in the community to discuss the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, hazards and preparedness in general, as well as the process for updating the LHMP. Additional in-person presentations and outreach occurred at Manhattan Beach City Council meetings, a North Manhattan Beach Business Improvement District meeting, the Manhattan Beach Library, and the Downtown Manhattan Beach Farmers Market. Flyers were distributed by hand, discussed, and posted at establishments in the identified CDC/ATSDR, SVI tract. Outdoor posters inviting the community to participate in the LHMP update process were also placed at City facilities near the identified vulnerable tract.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The adoption of the LHMP qualifies for an exemption pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the commonsense exemption (formerly the “general rule”) that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question can have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA, as is the case with the adoption of the LHMP.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 25-0011
2. 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP)
3. APA City of Manhattan Beach (June 10, 2024)