REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR
The City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
CITY OF ANAHEIM
Public Works Department
Traffic Engineering Division
200 S. Anaheim Boulevard, Suite 276
Anaheim, CA 92805
David Kennedy, P.E.
Associate Transportation Planner
[email protected]
KEY RFP DATES (Subject to change at discretion of City):
Issue Date: November 27, 2024
Deadline for Requests for Information: December 9, 2024, 3:00 p.m.
Final date City will send Addenda December 11, 2024, 5:00 p.m.
Proposal Due Date: December 19, 2024, 3:00 p.m.
Proposal Reviews: December 19-30, 2024
Notification of Award Week of January 2, 2025 (anticipated) Commencement of Services January 21, 2025 (anticipated)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Anaheim (City) is soliciting Proposals from qualified firms (Proposers) to prepare a Wildfire Evacuation Plan and Education and Outreach Campaign for the City of Anaheim.
The City will accept Proposals in response to this RFP until December 19, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.
Proposals shall be submitted via the PlanetBids portal.
The City will not consider proposals received after this date/time.
The City reserves the right to request hard copies of proposals, if needed . Hard copies must be submitted within a reasonable time.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Request for Proposals ....................................................................................................................... 1 Background ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Scope of Work................................................................................................................................... 2 General Information .......................................................................................................................... 7 Proposal Content Requirements ....................................................................................................... 8 Proposal Selection Criteria .............................................................................................................. 10
Attachment 1: Draft Professional Services Agreement
Attachment 2: Conflict of Interest Form
Attachment 3: 2023-2024 State Fire Capacity Program Grant Application for the City of Anaheim Wildfire Evacuation Plan
Attachment 4: State of California Office of the Attorney General: Best Practices for Analyzing and Mitigating Wildfire Impacts of Development Projects Under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
1 Request for Proposals
The City is soliciting Proposals to prepare a Wildfire Evacuation Plan and implement a prevention, mitigation, and evacuation education and outreach campaign for Anaheim Hills, the easternmost part of the City.
The City is setting a maximum budget of $180,000 to prepare the plan. The selected Proposer (hereinafter referred to as “Consultant”) will lead this effort, as an extension of City staff.
This effort will need to be complete by December 2025.
The Consultant selected for this procurement must demonstrate experience with wildfire evacuation procedures, route planning, and consensus building efforts. Proposers must also demonstrate prior successful work experience on scope tasks similar in nature to those identified in the scope of work below.
Background
The easternmost part of the City of Anaheim, commonly referred to as Anaheim Hills, is an At -Risk community. CAL FIRE has designated a majority of this part of the City as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone within a Local Responsibility Area. Anaheim Hill s is entirely within the City limits, encompassing 16 square miles with a population of approximately 46,003. The location of Anaheim Hills in the wildland -urban interface within the Santa Ana Mountain foothills makes wildfires a significant threat to the area. The region has relatively high temperature, low humidity, and low precipitation during the summer. Seasonal strong winds known as Santa Ana Winds are prevalent in the fall, exacerbating the areas already dry conditions, increasing wildfire probability.
Anaheim Hills has a history of fires since 1982:
• Gypsum Canyon - 1982
• Sierra Peak – February 2006
• 241 Fire at Windy Ridge – March 2007
• Freeway Complex – November 2008
• Canyon Fire 2 – October 2017
Given the history of wildfires in the area, the future development of the regions, and changes in State legislation around evacuation preparedness, the City is looking to secure consultant services to create a comprehensive Wildfire Evacuation Plan for Anaheim Hills.
This Plan will provide a detailed examination of Anaheim’s evacuation system and focus on estimating the time needed to evacuate. The results will provide information for inclusion into City planning documents including the General Plan Safety and Circulation Elements, the Emergen cy Operations Plan, and the Capital Improvement Program , including “Know Your Way” . This project scope does not include updating these documents; however, the evacuation information developed will be utilized and incorporated when the elements and other relevant plans are updated. In addition, the Plan information will assist in meeting the legislative requirements associated with three recent legislative Bills:
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
2 • Senate Bill 99 (SB 99) (2019) - Requires review and update of the safety element to include information to identify residential developments in hazard areas that do not have at least two emergency evacuation routes. Neighborhoods and households within a ha zard area that have limited accessibility. The Evacuation Plan This is intended to assist the City with identifying opportunities to improve connectivity and evacuation capacity generally.
• Assembly Bill 747 (AB 747) (2019) - Requires that the safety element be reviewed and updated to identify evacuation routes and their capacity, safety, and viability under a range of emergency scenarios. This will be a requirement for all safety elements or updates to hazard mitigation plans completed after January of 2022.
• AB 1409 - Requires local governments to consider evacuation locations in addition to the capacity, safety, and viability of evacuation routes that serve a community (as described in AB 747).
Additionally, the plan will help the City comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when considering whether to approve projects in wildfire prone areas such as Anaheim Hills. This includes consistency with adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plans, and if the project will expose people or structures to a significant risk of loss, injury, or death involving wildland fires.
The resulting plan will develop thresholds of significance for evacuation times for the purposes of CEQA evaluation of impacts. These thresholds should reflect any existing evacuation objectives as well as informed expert analysis of safe and reasonable evacuations times given the existing and proposed development. The plan will guide the City to determine if future development causes a significant impact based on any increase in evacuation times. A conclusion of less than significant should be based on a threshold of significance that reflects Citywide goals and standards. The plan will outline possible mitigation measures that could be applied for evacuation time impacts and/or a fee program to implement infrastructure improvements to offset the impacts.
Scope of Work
The objectives for the Plan include the following:
• Develop a comprehensive Wildfire Evacuation Plan for Anaheim Hills • Review and update existing mapping of critical evacuation routes, evacuation centers, and single routes of access
• Defining evacuation scenarios
• Modeling and analysis of these scenarios
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
3 • Education and outreach campaign for the development of the plan and distribution of evacuation preparedness information
• Developing recommendations, including thresholds of significance, possible mitigation measures, and impact fee program
To achieve these objectives, the following scope of work is proposed.
Task 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The consultant will designate a Consultant Project Manager (CPM) who will be responsible for overseeing project tasks, development of work products, keeping the project on -track with established schedules and budgets, and maintaining close communication wi th Anaheim’s Project Manager (APM).
At the outset of the project, the CPM shall prepare and submit a project plan (Plan). The Plan shall include a detailed schedule for all tasks including project delivery dates and anticipated dates for public and stakeholder involvement. Throughout the cou rse of the project, the CPM will be responsible for regular communication with the APM, monthly submittal of progress reports and invoices, and all related data/information for the entire project team.
Monthly progress reports must outline all activities for which charges are being submitted. Prior to the submittal of the first invoice, the CPM shall prepare and submit a draft invoice and status report to the APM for review and approval. Once approved by the APM, this shall become the template for all monthly invoicing and progress reporting throughout the project.
Other project management activities are anticipated to include, but are not limited to, the following.
• Organizing and leading the consultant project team, implementing the project schedule, providing project deliverables, maintaining budget adherence, maintaining regular coordination with the APM, and conducting outreach and other project related meetings. • The consultant shall prepare all meeting agendas, materials, minutes, and meeting sign -in sheets for all study related meetings, which shall be submitted to the APM at least five days in advance of any meeting.
• CPM shall set up virtual bi -weekly meetings between CPM and APM to provide updates on schedule, deliverables, task status, and budget.
• Keeping the APM abreast of all coordination with outside entities, agencies, and stakeholders. • The CPM shall document all key input, findings, conclusions, and decisions made during study efforts and include this information in the Final Wildfire Plan. • Develop and implement a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program for all project deliverables.
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
4 Task 1: Summary of Deliverables
Develop draft and final Project Plan
Meeting minutes and materials
Develop and Implement QA/QC plan and procedures
Invoicing, progress reporting, and regular coordination with the APM
Task 2: EXISTING CONDITIONS
Under this task, the consultant shall work with City staff and relevant stakeholders to gather previously developed and new planning documents related to critical evacuation routes, evacuation center, and single routes of access . Note: this review effort, at a minimum, should look at the following plans, policies, and documents.
• City of Anaheim General Plan
• Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
• “Know Your Way” preparedness plan from the City’s website:
https://www.anaheim.net/5204/Know-Your-Way
The consultant shall use the collected data, as appropriate, to comprehensively docume nt this information in GIS form. The map(s) shall identify critical evacuation routes that are sensitive to key hazard areas, emergency evacuation centers consistent with AB 1409, and all parcels with a single route of access (evacuation constrained routes), consistent with SB 99. The number of parcels and housing units will be identified in this assessment.
Once data collection efforts have been completed, the consultant shall develop an Existing Conditions Technical Memorandum for the APM to review and approve.
Task 2: Summary of Deliverables
Existing Conditions Technical Memorandum
Task 3: DEFINE EVALUATION SCENARIOS
Upon completion of the Existing Conditions Technical Memorandum, the Consultant shall establish and refine scenarios to be evaluated in coordination with City staff, the City Traffic Engineer, and emergency responder personnel (Anaheim Fire and Rescue and Anaheim Police Department).
Multiple scenarios shall be analyzed, including immediate evacuation and early-warning or voluntary evacuations. Scenarios shall consider localized variations, such as schools in session, areas with high numbers of animals or seniors, and phasing of evacu ation zones. Also, scenarios will need to consider whether all roads are open or if there are one or more roads closed based on fire conditions.
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
5 A minimum of three primary scenarios shall be developed for further analysis, with secondary scenarios discussed at a qualitative level. Key performance indicators shall be discussed with City staff to be considered in the evaluation
Task 3: Summary of Deliverables
Evacuation Scenarios Technical Memorandum
Initial Draft of Performance Indicator Recommendations
Task 4: MODELING AND ANALYSIS
Following the establishment of the evacuation scenarios to be evaluated and the performance indicators to be reported, the scenarios shall be analyzed.
A dynamic traffic assignment model shall be developed and utilized for the analysis. The analysis shall reflect time-of-day differences in evacuation times, and reflect the needs for ingress and egress during these scenarios. Evacuation routes and facilities shall be analyzed to help identify areas with higher compounded risk. For secondary scenarios, document all assumptions used in the qualitative assessment, and identify potential pinch points or concerns.
The analysis shall include the following metrics:
• Estimate of people and vehicles to evacuate
• Evacuation times for each zone for each scenario
• Identify methodology to calculate evacuation travel times for future studies • Critical bottlenecks in the transportation network during evacuations • Evacuation route capacities
A minimum of two meetings will be held to review modeling results and discuss next steps.
Task 4: Summary of Deliverables
Evacuation Scenario Evaluation Technical Memoradum
Task 5: PUBLIC OUTREACH
Ongoing during the development of the plan, a prevention, mitigation, and evacuation education and outreach campaign for Anaheim Hills shall be developed. Outreach should include, but not be limited to:
• Door Hangers in Targeted Neighborhoods
• Presentations at Community Events / Meetings
• Targeted Postcards
For this, the consultant shall be responsible for securing meeting venues, noticing and marketing workshops/meetings, developing and distributing meeting materials, and inviting and facilitating the Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
6 attendance of key project constituencies as well as the general public —including underserved communities. The consultant shall provide all collateral materials in English and Spanish and shall conduct all outreach efforts in English with Spanish translation.
Based upon public input received, and at the direction of the APM, the Consultant shall refine Task 3 and 4 Deliverables for technical input.
Materials in support of outreach activities
Materials in support of Presentations
Revisions to Draft Task 3 and 4 Deliverables
Draft & Final Public Outreach Summary Report
Task 6: DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS
Coordination
The consultant shall establish two working group coordination meetings with recommended stakeholders from Anaheim Fire and Resue, Anaheim Police, and Anaheim Public Works.
Recommendations shall be developed around identified topics.
Final Report
After completion of Tasks 1-5 and the development of recommendations, the consultant shall create a final technical report to document results and analysis, with maps, narratives, and recommendations.
Task 6: Summary of Deliverables
Summary of Recommendations
Initial Draft of Plan as necessary
Finalize Initial draft of Plan
Revise and finalize Final Draft of Plan based upon comments received
Task 7: PUBLIC HEARINGS/WORKSHOPS
The consultant shall attend the City Council meeting that will be scheduled to approve the plan. The consultant shall assist the APM with development of a staff report, power point overview, and shall be available to assist with technical questions during the meeting.
Task 7: Summary of Deliverables
Develop power point and provide assistance during the City Council meeting with technical questions.
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
7 General Information
1. The Consultant acknowledges that the submittal of a Work Order Proposal shall be in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the previously executed on-call agreement between the City and the Consultant.
2. The City has attempted to provide all information available related to this RFP. It is the responsibility of each Proposer to review, evaluate, and, where necessary, request any clarification prior to submission of a Proposal. If any person contemplating submitting a response to this Request for Proposals is in doubt as to the true meaning of any part of the solicitation documents attached hereto or finds discrepancies in or omissions from the specifications, a written request for clarification/interpretation may be submitted via email no later than 3:00 pm on December 9, 2024.
If the City determines that clarification or interpretation of this RFP is necessary, the City will issue addenda to this RFP to all Proposers via email. The last date that the City will post Addenda will be December 11, 2024, no later than 5:00 p.m. The City will not be responsible for any other explanations, corrections to, or interpretations of the RFP and its addenda, including any oral information, provided outside of the addenda.
3. All proposals submitted to the City shall become the property of the City of Anaheim. The City reserves the right to reject any or all submitted proposals.
4. Where two or more Consultants desire to submit a single Proposal in response to this RFP, they should do so on a prime-subconsultant basis. The City intends to contract with a single firm and not with multiple firms doing business as a joint venture. If subconsultants are used, the Consultant shall provide the same assurances of competence for the subconsultant plus the demonstrated ability to manage and supervise the subcontracted work. Subconsultants shall not be allowed to further subcontract with others for work under the Agreement. The provisions of the Agreement shall apply to all subconsultants in the same manner as the Consultant/
5. The City reserves the right to withdraw this Request for Proposal at any time for any reason. All firms submitting a proposal will be duly notified of any change in the status of this Request for Proposal.
6. The agreement resulting from this Request for Proposal will be in effect until the completion of the project.
7. The fee schedule submitted with the proposal shall be consistent with the original on-call agreement and stay in effect for the duration of the project work.
8. The Consultant shall identify and provide a Project Manager [single individual/point of contact] to coordinate with the City. The Consultant’s Project Manager shall be reasonably accessible at all times during normal working hours . If at any time the level of performance falls below expectations, the City may request that a Consultant’s employee be changed and request Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
8 another person be assigned, subject to approval by the City. The selected Consultant shall maintain the same Project Manager for the duration of the project, as specified in the approved proposal. In the event the authorized Project Manager terminates employment, the Consultant shall make a demonstrated and concentr ated effort to maintain the Project Manager in the key managerial position, unless extreme conditions prohibit continuance. Any substitution of the Project Manager will require written City approval.
9. Each Proposer shall exercise reasonable care and diligence to avoid submitting a Proposal that could result in a conflict of interest if the City were to select the Proposer as a Consultant. This obligation shall apply to the Proposer; the Proposer’s employees, agents, and relatives; sub-tier consultants; and third parties associated with accomplishing work and services in Proposer’s Proposal. In the event the Proposer has reason to believe that a conflict of interest may exist for the Proposer in regard to this RFP, the Proposer should consult with its legal counsel prior to responding to this RFP. The City may reject the Proposal of any Proposer found to have an actual conflict of interest on that basis.
10. All responses to this RFP accepted by the City shall become the exclusive property of the City.
Upon execution of a PSA, all Proposals accepted by the City shall become a matter of public record and regarded as public, with the exception of those elements of each proposal considered business or trade secrets and plainly marked as “trade secret,” and which are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Any element of a proposal that a Proposer desires not to be public record shall be clearly marked as set forth above, and any blanket statement (i.e., regarding entire pages, documents, or other non-specific designations) shall not be sufficient and shall not bind the City in any way whatsoever. If disclosure is required under the Californ ia Public Records Act or otherwise by law (despite the bidder’s request for confidentiality), the City shall not in any way be liable or responsible for the disclosure of any such records or part thereof.
Proposal Content Requirements
The proposal shall be as concise as possible and should not include any elaborate or unnecessary promotional items. The length of the proposal shall not exceed twenty (20) double-sided pages, including the cover letter, appendices, charts, pictures, tables, schedule and resource allocation, relevant project experience and fee proposal, but excluding front and back covers, section dividers, addendum acknowledgements and appendices. Note: resumes may be provided as appendices. The proposal shall be double-sided letter sheets (8.5” x 11”). Font size shall be a minimum 11-point Arial (standard). It shall include the following items in the order below:
1. Cover Letter: The Consultant’s proposal shall include a cover letter signed by an official authorized to bind the firm and shall contain a statement to the effect that all information submitted with the proposal is true and correct and that the fee proposed is valid for at least one-hundred and twenty (120) calendar days. Include legal name of company, State of incorporation, corporate address, telephone, email address and type of business entity. Include name, title, address, and telephone number of the contact person identified during the period of proposal evaluation. Include acknowledgement of receipt of all RFP addenda, if any.
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
9 2. Firm and Team Experience: Provide a brief overview of the firm. Provide a list of individuals that will be performing the work along with individual resumes. Describe the role of each member of the team and provide a table delineating the responsibilities of each member, the percentage of time they are available to work on this project and an organization chart. Name the other projects assigned to key project team members which may impact this project schedule during this contract.
3. Project Manager: Designate a representative who will be the Project Manager assigned to direct the services under this agreement and who will be the main contact for the City.
4. Work Plan: Proposal shall include a statement of ability to perform the scope of work. Proposal shall include an outline which demonstrates the firm’s understanding of the Scope of Work and a description of the Consultant’s proposed methodology that it will employ for each task in the Scope of Work. This section shall also include any suggestions or special concerns that the Consultant feels that it should make the City aware of or additional tasks not noted in this RFP as requirements that the City may ne ed for the successful completion of the project. The Proposal shall note additional tasks in a section titled ADDITIONAL SERVICES.
5. Schedule: Provide a detailed schedule using the project tasks in the RFP. The detailed schedule shall identify all pertinent tasks, time required to complete each task, milestones, times for City review (use 15 calendar days for each review), time for revising drafts, and tentative completion date to complete the tasks. The Consultant should make the City aware of any potential issues with meeting this deadline or opportunities to accelerate the wo rk. Note: Per Cal FIRE grant requirements, this project must be completed by December 2025.
6. Resource Hour Allocation Table: Provide a Resource Hour Allocation Table to show the amount of time allotted for the Project Manager and other team members for the project as well as the total estimated working hours proposed to complete the project for the prime and all sub-consultants.
Show both the number of the total estimated working hours and the dollar amount in the proposal.
The proposal fee shall be submitted concurrently with the technical proposal. Previous Projects: Provide a list of previous similar projects (in size and scope) completed recently with references. Project information should include a project description, year completed, and client name, along with a person to contact, a telephone number and email address. The Proposer may submit any additional relevant samples (design plans, pictures, etc.) beyond the Proposal Length as an appendix to the proposal.
7. Project Manager Previous Projects: For the Project Manager, the Proposal shall show examples of similar projects, and the Project Manager’s record of completion of projects on schedule and within budget
8. Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) : Provide a description of the firm ’s QA/QC Process/procedures and explain how it will ensure quality work and on-time product delivery.
9. Sub-contract work – If any portions of the project will be sub -contracted, provide the following information for the sub-contractor(s):
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
10 a) Firm(s) name(s), principals and proposed project staff’s contact information b) Description of services the firm(s) will perform
c) Firm’s experience in providing required services
d) Description of any special facilities, expertise, or abilities of the subcontractor relevant to the performance of services described herein.
10. References: Provide a minimum of three (3) references. Include the name, title, address, telephone number and email address of the person(s) at the client organization who is most knowledgeable about the work performed.
11. Conflict of Interest Statement – The proposal shall certify that they have reviewed and understand the conflict-of-interest statement in Attachment 2. The Proposal must include a signed conflict of interest statement.
12. Project Fee Schedule – The Consultant’s fee proposal shall be submitted concurrently with the technical proposal. It shall include a Project Fee Schedule where applicable and as outlined in the Scope of Work, clearly indicating the grand total and optional items.
The Department of Public Works reserves the right to withdraw this solicitation at any time for any reason. The City will notify all firms preparing a Proposal of any change in the status of this solicitation.
The successful Consultant shall file insurance coverage and provide indemnification provisions and hold harmless clauses in favor of the City, as described in the Sample Professional Services Agreement. This solicitation does not commit the City to pay any cost incurred in the preparation of a proposal.
Proposal Selection Criteria
In compliance with Council Policy 4.1 (Selection of Professional Consultants), the selection committee will rank Proposals and recommend a Consultant based upon the following criteria:
EVALUATION CRITERIA PERCENTAGE
OF SCORE
Ability of the Consultant to perform the specific tasks outlined in the RFP 15% Qualifications of the specific individuals who will work on the project 15% Amount of time and involvement of key personnel who will be involved in respective portions of the project
20%
Reasonableness of the fee requested to do the work 15%
Demonstrated record of success by Consultant on work previously performed 10% The specific method and techniques to be employed by the consultant on the project or problem
25%
Total 100%
Request for Proposals
City of Anaheim
Wildfire Evacuation Plan
11 Please note that part of the evaluation criteria takes into consideration the responsiveness of a Proposal.
If a Proposal does not include all of the information required by this RFP, the City may consider the Proposal nonresponsive and reject said Proposal without evaluation. The City will consider late submittals as nonresponsive, and the City shall reject said Proposals. The City will not allow submittal of additional information after the due date.
The selection committee will score all Proposals deemed to meet all minimum RFP requirements based on established criteria, which have been weighted and will be assigned points that measure the responsiveness to each identified criterion. The total number of points earned will be tallied for each proposal, and the proposals will be rank ordered, based upon the submitted written materials.
The City reserves the right to conduct, or not to conduct oral interviews with and/or require presentations from the highest-rated Proposer(s). The decision whether to conduct oral interviews/presentations rests solely with Department of Public Works and the decision is final. If the City chooses to conduct oral interviews, the selection committee will ask Proposer(s) scoring in the top percentile to attend such interview. Proposers should be ready to attend a meeting within five (5) business days of notification.
Proposers agree that the submission of a Proposal is permission by them for the City to verify all information contained in their Proposal. If the City believes it is necessary, the selection committee may request additional information from a Proposer. Failure to comply with any such request may disqualify a Proposer from further consideration.
Upon the completion of the evaluation process using the above criteria, the selection committee will select the most qualified Proposer(s). Staff will then negotiate an agreement with the selected Proposer(s) and provide a formal Notice to Proceed (NTP), which will be issued as the official approval for the proposal.
A G R E E M E N T
THIS AGREEMENT, dated for purposes of identification only this _____ day of __________, 2024, is made and entered into by and between the
CITY OF ANAHEIM, a municipal corporation,
hereinafter referred to as "ANAHEIM,"
A
N
D
_______________________, a _________________,
hereinafter referred to as "CONSULTANT."
ANAHEIM and CONSULTANT are sometimes individually referred to herein as "Party" and collectively as "Parties."
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, ANAHEIM is a m unicipal corporation duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the State of California with the power to carry on its business as it is now being conducted under the statutes of the State of California and the Charter of the City of Anaheim; and
WHEREAS, ANAHEIM desires to obtain the services of CONSULTANT to assist in the preparation of a Wildfire Evacuation Plan and implementation of a prevention, mitigation, and evacuation education and outreach campaign for Anaheim Hills (the "Project"); and WHEREAS, CONSULTANT possesses the skill, experience, ability, background, certification and knowledge to provide the services for the Project as described in this Agreement; and
WHEREAS, ANAHEIM has solicited and received a proposal from CONSULTANT, has reviewed the previous experience and evaluated the expertise of CONSULTANT, and desires to retain CONSULTANT to render professional services under the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, FOR AND IN CONSIDERATION OF THE MUTUAL
PROMISES, COVENANTS AND CONDITIONS HEREIN CONTAINED, THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
1. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY CONSULTANT
In compliance with all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall provide to ANAHEIM all labor, materials, tools, equipment, services, and incidental and customary work necessary to fully and adequately supply the professional consulting services necessar y for the Project and are more particularly described in the CONSULTANT’s Proposal dated ____________ attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and incorporated herein, and in the Request for Proposal (“RFP”) issued by ANAHEIM, a copy of which is available in the Department of Public Works upon request and are both incorporated herein by this reference ("Services").
In the event of conflicting provisions, the provisions shall govern in the following order: (1) this Agreement, (2) the RFP, and (3) the Proposal. ANAHEIM may elect to delete certain tasks from the Scope of Services in its sole discretion.
2. TERM
The term of this Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date of this Agreement as set forth in Section 38 herein, and shall terminate upon the completion of the Services described herein, unless terminated earlier as set forth in Section 25 herein ("Term").
3. TIME OF PERFORMANCE
3.1 Time is of the essence in the performance of th is Agreement and the Services shall be performed to completion in a diligent and timely manner. The failure by CONSULTANT to perform the Services in a diligent and timely manner may result in termination of this Agreement by ANAHEIM.
3.2 The time period(s) specified for performance of the Services rendered pursuant to this Agreement shall be extended because of any delays due to unforeseeable causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of CONSULTANT, including, but not restricted to, acts of God or of the public enemy, unusually severe weather, fires, earthquakes, floods, pestilence, and other natural catastrophes, epidemics, quarantine restrictions, riots, strikes, freight embargoes, wars, litigation, civil disturbance or disobedience, sabotage, restraint by court order or public authority and action or non -action by or inability to obtain the necessary authorization or approvals from any governmental agency or au thority, and/or acts of any governmental agency, including ANAHEIM, which by the exercise of due diligence such Party could not reasonably have been expected to avoid and which by exercise of due diligence has been unable to overcome, if CONSULTANT shall w ithin ten (10) days of the commencement of such delay notify the Project Administrator in writing of the causes of the delay. The Project Administrator shall ascertain the facts and the extent of delay, and may extend the time for performing the Services for the period of the enforced delay if, in the judgment of the Project Administrator, such delay is justified. The Project Administrator's determination shall be final and conclusive upon the Parties to this Agreement. In the event of delay, however cau sed, CONSULTANT's sole remedy shall be an extension of th is Agreement pursuant to this Section and CONSULTANT shall not be entitled to recover damages against ANAHEIM.
4. COMPENSATION
4.1 ANAHEIM shall pay CONSULTANT for the Services satisfactorily rendered, pursuant to this Agreement, in the amount not to exceed ___________________ ($____________) pursuant to the fee proposal set forth in Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference (“Schedule of Compensation"). CONSULTANT and ANAHEIM agree that no changes to the fee proposal set forth in Exhibit “A” shall be made during the term of this Agreement without the prior written approval of ANAHEIM.
4.2 Extra Work. No Extra Services shall be rendered by CONSULTANT, unless such Extra Work is first approved by written amendment to this Agreement. As used herein, “Extra Work” means any work that is dete rmined by ANAHEIM to be necessary for the proper completion of the Services, but which is not included within the Scope of Services and which the Parties did not reasonably anticipate would be necessary at the execution of this Agreement.
Compensation for any authorized Extra Work billed on a time and expense basis shall be paid in accordance with billing rates set forth in the Schedule of Compensation.
4.3 It is understood by and agreed between the Parties to this Agreement that full and complete payment for all Services provided in accordance with this Agreement, including, but not limited to, all reimbursable expenses and subconsultant fees, if any, shall not exceed _____________________ ($_____________________).
4.4. CONSULTANT shall submit monthly invoices to ANAHEIM describing the work performed the preceding month. CONSULTANT’s bills shall include the name of the person who performed the work, a brief description of the Services performed and/or the specific task in the Scope of Services to which it relates, the date the Services were performed, the number of hours spent on all work billed on an hourly basis, and a description of any reimbursable expenditures. ANAHEIM shall pay CONSULTANT no later than thirty (30) days after appro val of the monthly invoice by ANAHEIM staff.
4.5 All Parties recognize that the continuation of this Agreement after the close of any fiscal year of ANAHEIM, which fiscal year ends on June 30 of each year, shall be subject to budget approval providing for or covering such contract items as an expenditure in said budget.
ANAHEIM does not represent that said budget item will be actually adopted, said determination being the determination of the City Council at the time of the adoption of the budget here in. No penalty shall accrue to ANAHEIM in the event this provision shall be exercised. Should termination be accomplished in accordance with this Section, a settlement shall be negotiated by the Parties based on items delivered, services provided, monies paid and monies due.
5. PROJECT MANAGER
5.1 CONSULTANT shall designate a Project Manager, who shall coordinate the Services. This Project Manager shall be available to ANAHEIM at all reasonable times during the Term of this Agreement. It is expressly understood that the experience, knowledge, capability and reputation of the Project Manager is a substantial inducement for ANAHEIM to enter into this Agreement. Therefore, the Project Manger shall be responsible during the Term of this Agreement for directing all activities of CONSULTANT and devoting sufficient time to personally supervise the provision of Services hereunder. The Project Manager may not be changed by CONSULTANT
and no other personnel may be assigned to supervise the Services to be provided hereunder without the express written consent of ANAHEIM.
5.2 Any personnel or subconsultant, if any, who fail or refuse to perform the Services in a manner acceptable to ANAHEIM, or who are determined by ANAHEIM, in its sole discretion, to be uncooperative, incompetent, a threat to the adequate or timely completion of the Project, or a threat to the safety of persons or property, shall be promptly removed from the Project by CONSULTANT at the request of ANAHEIM. CONSULTANT warrants that it will continuously furnish the nece ssary personnel to complete the Services on a timely basis as contemplated by this Agreement.
6. ADMINISTRATION
This Agreement will be administered by the Public Works Department. The employees of the Public Works Department shall be authorized to take the following actions pursuant to this Agreement:
(i) The Director of Public works is authorized to take any and all actions on behalf of ANAHEIM as set forth herein and to terminate servic es in accordance with Section 25 of this Agreement.
(ii) The Project Administrator is authorized to take those specific acti ons set forth herein and review and approve all Services performed by CONSULTANT under this Agreement. The Project Administrator shall not be authorized to approve Extra Work, change billing rates or terminate Services under this Agreement.
7. STANDARD OF CARE
7.1 CONSULTANT shall perform all Services under this Agreement in a skillful and competent manner, consistent with the standards generally recognized as being employed by professionals in the same discipline in the State of California. CONSULTANT represents and maintains that it is skilled in the professional calling necessary to perform the Services. CONSULTANT warrants that all employees and subconsultants, if any, shall have sufficient skill and experience to perform the Services assigned to them. By delivery of completed work, CONSULTANT certifies that the work conforms to the requirements of this Agreement; all applicable federal, state and local laws; and the professional standard of care.
7.2 CONSULTANT represents and warrants to ANAHEIM that it has, shall obtain, and shall keep in full force in effect during the term hereof, at its sole cost and expense, all licenses, permits, qualifications, insurance and approvals of whatsoeve r nature that is legally required of CONSULTANT to practice its profession. CONSULTANT shall maintain a City of Anaheim business license during the term of this Agreement.
8. FAMILIARITY WITH WORK
By executing this Agreement, CONSULTANT represents and war rants that CONSULTANT: (i) has thoroughly investigated and considered the Services to be performed; (ii) has carefully considered how the Services should be provided; and (iii) fully understands the facilities, difficulties and restrictions attending the provision of the Services under this Agreement.
Should CONSULTANT discover any latent or unknown conditions materially differing from those inherent in the provision of such Services or as represented by ANAHEIM, CONSULTANT shall immediately inform ANAHEIM of such fact and shall not proceed except at CONSULTANT's risk until written instructions are received from ANAHEIM.
9. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
9.1 Neither ANAHEIM nor any of its employees shall have any control over the manner, mode or means by which CONS ULTANT, its agents or employees, perform the services required herein, except as otherwise set forth herein. Except as expressly provided herein, ANAHEIM shall have no voice in the selection, discharge, supervision or control of CONSULTANT's employees, se rvants, representatives or agents, or in fixing their number, compensation or hours of service. CONSULTANT shall perform all services required herein as an independent contractor of ANAHEIM and shall remain at all times as to ANAHEIM a wholly independent contractor with only such obligations as are consistent with that role. CONSULTANT shall not at any time or in any manner represent that it or any of its agents or employees are agents or employees of ANAHEIM. ANAHEIM shall not in any way or for any purpose become or be deemed to be a partner of CONSULTANT in its business or otherwise or a joint venture or a member of any joint enterprise with CONSULTANT.
9.2 In consideration for the compensation paid to CONSULTANT by ANAHEIM, CONSULTANT agrees that ANAHEIM shall not be liable or responsible for any benefits, including, but not limited to, worker's compensation, disability, retirement, life, unemployment, health or any other benefits and CONSULTANT agrees that it shall not sue or file a claim, petition or app lication therefore against ANAHEIM or any of its officers, employees, agents, representatives or sureties.
10. INSURANCE
Without limiting ANAHEIM’S right to indemnification, it is agreed that CONSULTANT shall secure, prior to commencing any activities unde r this Agreement, and maintain, during the term of this Agreement, insurance coverage as follows:
Workers’ Compensation Insurance as required by California law and Employers Liability Insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence/accident/illness/injury.
Commercial General Liability Insurance, including coverage for Premises and Operations, Contractual Liability, Personal Injury Liability, Products/Completed Operations Liability, as well as Independent CONSULTANT’S Liability where appropriate, in an amount not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence, $4,000,000 annual aggregate, written on an occurrence form.
Such insurance shall be written on a primary basis but may include a deductible or self -insured retention of more than $10,000 per occurr ence, provided that such deductible or self -insured retention is disclosed to ANAHEIM, in writing, at the inception of this Agreement.
Commercial Automobile Liability Coverage including —as applicable —owned, non-owned, and hired autos, in an amount not le ss than $2,000,000 per occurrence, combined single limit, as required by California law.
Professional Liability Insurance, inclusive of Cyber Liability Insurance where required, in an amount not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence or per claim. Such insurance shall be written on a primary basis, but may include a deductible or self-insured retention of more than $10,000 per occurrence, provided that such deductible or self -insured retention is disclosed to ANAHEIM, in writing, at the inception of this Agreement.
Any required coverage written with primary and excess layers to satisfy the minimum requirements of this Agreement must be submitted for approval by ANAHEIM’s Risk Manager prior to the inception of the final Agreement.
CONSULTANT agrees that this insurance shall not be voluntarily cancelled by CONSULTANT or limited in scope or coverage by CONSULTANT until after thirty (30) days prior written notice has been given to the City Clerk, City of Anaheim, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92805. This do es not apply to cancellation for non -payment of premium, which requires notice of not less than ten (10) days.
Each insurance policy required by this Agreement shall contain the following clause or shall otherwise provide for the following conditions:
Each insurance policy required by this Agreement, except policies for Professional Liability and Workers’ Compensation, shall contain the following clauses or shall otherwise provide for the following conditions:
“It is agreed that any insurance maintained by CONSULTANT pursuant to this Agreement shall be primary to, and not contribute with, any insurance or self - insurance maintained by the City of Anaheim.”
“The City of Anaheim, its officers, agents, employees, representatives and ANAHEIM- designated volunteers are added as additional insured as respects the acts, omissions, operations and activities of, or on behalf of, the named insured, in regard to products supplied to, or work or services performed for, or related to, the City of Anaheim.” Prior to commencing any work under this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall deliver to ANAHEIM insurance certificates confirming the existence of the insurance required under this Agreement, and including the applicable clauses referenced above. Also, within thirty (30) days of the execution date of this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall provide ANAHEIM (i) endorsements to the insurance policies that add to these policies the applicable clauses referenced above, or (ii) in lieu of said endorsements, documentation acceptable to A NAHEIM evidencing that the coverage, terms, and conditions set forth in the above -referenced clauses are otherwise included in said insurance policies. Insurance required hereunder shall be placed with insurers (i) admitted to write insurance in California, (ii) possessing an A. M. Best’s rating of A VII or higher, or (iii) otherwise acceptable to ANAHEIM, with prior written permission from ANAHEIM. In the event that a claim or other legal action is filed against ANAHEIM, and if ANAHEIM, in its good faith opinion, believes it may have coverage under any of the insurance required herein, then ANAHEIM has the right to demand, and to receive within a reasonable time period, copies of the insurance policies related to such required insurance; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply if the parties agree that CONSULTANT shall fully defend, hold harmless, and indemnify ANAHEIM against any such claim or other legal action.
In addition to other remedies ANAHEIM may have if CONSULTANT fails to provide or maintain any insurance policies or policy endorsements to the extent and within the time herein required, ANAHEIM may, at its sole option:
Order CONSULTANT to stop work under this Agreement and/or withhold any payment(s) that become due to CONSULTANT h ereunder until CONSULTANT demonstrates compliance with the requirements hereof;
Terminate this Agreement.
Exercise of any of the above remedies, however, is an alternative to other remedies ANAHEIM may have and is not the exclusive remedy for CONSULTANT’S failure to maintain insurance or secure appropriate endorsements.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed in any way as limiting the extent that an CONSULTANT maybe held responsible for payment of damages to persons or property resulting from CONSULTAN T’S, (or CONSULTANT’S AGENT or SUB -AGENT, if any) performance of the work covered under this Agreement.
In the event CONSULTANT hires other persons or firms to perform some of the work related to this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall ensure (i) that the acts or omissions of such persons or firms are covered under the above-referenced liability insurance, or (ii) that such firms maintain insurance equal to or better than, and subject to the same limits, terms and conditions as, the insurance required of CONSULTAN T under this Agreement (except for firms that are not performing professional services—such firms shall not be required to carry the above -referenced professional liability insurance); and in either instance, CONSULTANT shall provide, or cause to be provided, evidence of such insurance coverage, reasonably acceptable to ANAHEIM.
ANAHEIM’S Risk Manager is hereby authorized to amend the requirements set forth herein in the event that such reduction is in ANAHEIM’S best interest.
11. INDEMNIFICATION
As respects acts, errors or omissions in the performance of professional services, CONSULTANT agrees to indemnify and hold harmless ANAHEIM, its officials, officers, and employees from and against any and third party claims, losses, damages, defense costs, or liability, of any kind or nature, to the extent caused by or directly arising out of the negligent acts, errors or omissions of the CONSULTANT or any SUB-AGENT in the performance of professional services under this Agreement.
As respects all acts, errors or omis sions that do not arise directly out of the performance of professional services, including but not limited to those acts, errors or omissions typically covered by general and automobile liability insurance, CONSULTANT agrees to indemnify, defend (at ANAHEIM'S option), and hold harmless ANAHEIM, its officials, officers, employees, agents and representatives from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, defense costs, or liability, of any kind or nature (collectively referred to hereinafter as “Cla ims”), arising out of or in connection with CONSULTANT’S (or CONSULTANT'S AGENT or SUB - AGENT, if any) acts, errors, omissions, or work, relative to this Agreement; except for those Claims that arise out of the sole negligence or willful misconduct of ANAHEIM.
The obligations set forth in this indemnification provision (i) shall be in effect, without regard to whether or not ANAHEIM, VENDOR or any other person maintains or fails to maintain, insurance coverage or a self-insurance program; and (ii) shall survive the termination of this Agreement. The Risk Manager for ANAHEIM may amend the requirements set forth herein provided such amendment is in the best interest of ANAHEIM to do so.
12. PREVAILING WAGES
Where required pursuant to the provisions of the State of California Labor Code or the Davis Bacon Act, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages including legal holidays, and overtime work for each craft or type of workman needed to execute the work contemplated under this Agreement, shall be paid to all workmen employed on the work to be done according to this contract by CONSULTANT or any approved Subcontractor, and shall be deemed to include employer payments for health and welfare, pension, vacation and similar purposes. If both the Davis-Bacon Act and State of California prevailing wage laws apply and the federal and state prevailing rate of per diem wages differ, CONSULTANT and Subcontractor, if any, shall pay the higher of the two rates. Said prevailing rate of per diem wages are on file at the City of Anaheim, Office of the City Clerk, 200 South Anaheim Boul evard, Anaheim, California 92805, and are available to any interested party on request.
13. PROGRESS
CONSULTANT is responsible for keeping the Project Administrator and/or his/her duly authorized designee informed on a regular basis regarding the status and progress of the Services, activities performed and planned, and any meetings that have been scheduled or are desired.
14. PROHIBITION AGAINST ASSIGNMENTS AND TRANSFERS
The Parties recognize that a substantial inducement to ANAHEIM for entering into this Agreement is the professional reputation, experience and competence of CONSULTANT.
Neither the whole nor any interest in, nor any of the rights or privileges granted under this Agreement shall be assigned, transferred or encumbered in any way without the prior written consent of ANAHEIM. Any such purported assignment, transfer, encumbrance, pledge, subuse, or permission given without such consent shall be void as to ANAHEIM. If ANAHEIM approves an assignment or transfer, this Agreement and the covenants and conditions contained herein shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of and shall apply to the permitted successors and assigns of CONSULTANT.
15. SUBCONTRACTING
Except for those subcontractors set forth in the Scope of Services, if any, CONSULTANT shall not subcontract any portion of the work to be performed under this Agreement without the prior written authorization of ANAHEIM. CONSULTANT shall be fully responsible to ANAHEIM for all acts and omissions of any approved subcontractor. Nothing in this Agreement shall create any contractual relationship between ANAHEIM and subcontractor nor shall it create any obligation on the part of ANAHEIM to pay or to see to the paym ent of any monies due to any such subcontractor other than as otherwise required by law. ANAHEIM is an
intended beneficiary of any work performed by any subcontractor for purposes of establishing a duty of care between the subcontractor and ANAHEIM pursuant to this Agreement.
16. USE AND OWNERSHIP OF DOCUMENTS AND DATA
16.1 ANAHEIM shall furnish to CONSULTANT such documents and materials as may be relevant and pertinent to the provision of services hereunder as ANAHEIM may possess or acquire.
16.2 All documents and materials furnished by ANAHEIM to C ONSULTANT pursuant to Section 16 .1 shall remain the property of ANAHEIM and shall be returned to ANAHEIM upon termination of this Agreement, for any reason. All documents or material prepared or caused to be p repared by CONSULTANT, its officers, employees, agents and subcontractors, in the course of implementing this Agreement, shall become the exclusive property of ANAHEIM, and ANAHEIM shall have the sole right to use such materials in its discretion without further compensation to CONSULTANT or any other party. CONSULTANT shall, at CONSULTANT's sole cost and expense, provide such documents and material to ANAHEIM upon prior written request.
Documents and material prepared by CONSULTANT pursuant to this Agreement are not intended or represented to be suitable for reuse by ANAHEIM or others on any other project. Any use of completed documents for other projects and any use of incomplete documents without specific written authorization from CONSULTANT will be at ANAHEIM's sole risk and without liability to CONSULTANT. Further, any and all liability arising out of changes made to CONSULTANT's deliverables under this Agreement by ANAHEIM or perso ns other than CONSULTANT, is waived against CONSULTANT and ANAHEIM assumes full responsibility for such changes unless ANAHEIM has given CONSULTANT prior notice and has received from CONSULTANT written consent for such changes.
17. CONFIDENTIALITY
All documents, including drafts, preliminary drawings or plans, notes, ideas and communications that result from the Services provided under this Agreement, shall be kept confidential by CONSULTANT unless ANAHEIM authorizes, in writing, the release of said information.
18. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INDEMNITY
CONSULTANT shall defend and indemnify ANAHEIM, its agents, officers, representatives and employees against any and all liability, including costs, for infringement of any United States' letters patent, trademark, or copyright infringement, including costs, contained in the work product or documents provided by CONSULTANT to ANAHEIM pursuant to this Agreement.
19. RECORDS
CONSULTANT shall keep records and invoices in connection with the work to be performed under this Agreement. CONSULTANT shall maintain complete and accurate records with respect to the costs incurred under this Agreement and any services, expenditures and
disbursements charged to ANAHEIM, for a minimum period of three (3) years, or for any long er period required by law, from the date of final payment to CONSULTANT under this Agreement.
All such records and invoices shall be clearly identifiable. CONSULTANT shall allow a representative of ANAHEIM to examine, audit and make transcripts or copies of such records and any other documents created pursuant to this Agreement during regular business hours.
CONSULTANT shall allow inspection of all work, data, Documents, proceedings and activities related to this Agreement for a period of three (3) years from the date of final payment to CONSULTANT under this Agreement.
20. WITHHOLDINGS
ANAHEIM may withhold payment to CONSULTANT of any disputed sums until satisfaction of the dispute with respect to such payment. Such withholding shall not be deemed to constitute a failure to pay according to the terms of this Agreement. CONSULTANT shall not discontinue work as a result of such withholding. CONSULTANT shall have an immediate right to appeal to the City Manager or his Designee with respect to such dispute d sums and his/her decision shall be final. CONSULTANT shall be entitled to receive interest on any withheld sums at the rate of return that ANAHEIM earned on its investments during the time period, from the date of withholding of any amounts found to have been improperly withheld.
21. ERRORS AND OMISSIONS
In the event of errors or omissions that are due to the negligence or professional inexperience of CONSULTANT which result in expense to ANAHEIM greater than what would have resulted if there were not errors or omissions in the work accomplished by CONSULTANT, the additional cost and expense shall be borne by CONSULTANT. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to limit ANAHEIM's rights under the law or any other sections of this Agreement.
22. ANAHEIM'S RIGHT TO EMPLOY OTHER CONSULTANTS
CONSULTANT acknowledges and agrees that this Agreement and the provision of services hereunder are nonexclusive and that ANAHEIM may enter into similar agreements with other entities for the provision of similar services.
23. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
CONSULTANT or its employees may be subject to the provisions of the California Political Reform Act of 1974 (the "Act"), which: (1) requires such persons to disclose any financial interest that may foreseeably be materially affected by the work performed under this Agreement; and (2) prohibits such persons from making, or participating in making, decisions that will foreseeably financially affect such interest.
If subject to the Act, CONSULTANT shall conform to all requirements of the Act.
Failure to do so constitutes a material breach and is grounds for immediate termination of this Agreement by ANAHEIM. CONSULTANT shall indemnify and hold harmless ANAHEIM for any and all claims for damages resulting from CONSULTANT’s violation of this Section.
24. NOTICES
All notices, demands or other writings to be made, given or sent hereunder, or which may be so given or made or sent by either ANAHEIM or CONSULTANT to the other shall be deemed to have been given when in writing and personall y delivered or if mailed on the third (3rd) day after being deposited in the United States mail, certified or registered, postage prepaid, and addressed to the respective Parties at the following addresses:
If to ANAHEIM: City Clerk
City of Anaheim
200 S. Anaheim Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Anaheim, California 92805
FAX No. (714) 765-4105
With copies to: Director of Public Works
City of Anaheim
200 S. Anaheim Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Anaheim, California 92805
FAX No. (714) 765-5225
To CONSULTANT:
Name
Address
25. ENFORCEMENT OF AGREEMENT
25.1 Events of Default.
.01 For purposes of this Section 25 , the word "Default" shall mean the failure of CONSULTANT to perform any of CONSULTANT's duties or obligations or the breach by CONSULTANT of any of the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. In addition, CONSULTANT s hall be deemed to be in Default upon CONSULTANT's (i) application for, consent to, or suffering of, the appointment of a receiver, trustee or liquidator for all or a substantial portion of its assets; (ii) making a general assignment for the benefit of cre ditors; (iii) being adjudged bankrupt; (iv) filing a voluntary petition or suffering an involuntary petition under any bankruptcy, arrangement, reorganization or insolvency law (unless in the case of an involuntary petition, the same is dismissed within thirty (30) days of such filing); or (v) suffering or permitting to continue unstayed and in effect for fifteen (15) consecutive days any attachment, levy, execution or seizure of all or a substantial portion of CONSULTANT's assets or of CONSULTANT's interests hereunder.
.02 ANAHEIM shall not be deemed to be in Default in the performance of any obligation required to be performed by ANAHEIM hereunder unless and until ANAHEIM has failed to perform such obligation for a period of thirty (30) days after receipt of written notice from CONSULTANT specifying in reasonable detail the nature and extent of any such failure; provided, however, that if the nature of ANAHEIM's obligation is such that more than thirty (30) days are required for its performance, then ANAHEI M shall not be deemed to be in Default if ANAHEIM shall commence to cure such performance within such thirty (30) day period and thereafter diligently prosecute the same to completion.
25.2 Immediate Termination for CONSULTANT's Default. CONSULTANT shall not be deemed to be in Default in the performance of any obligation required to be performed by CONSULTANT hereunder unless and until CONSULTANT has failed to perform such obligation for a period of thirty (30) days after receipt of written notice from ANA HEIM specifying in reasonable detail the nature and extent of any such failure; provided, however, that if the nature of CONSULTANT's obligation is such that more than thirty (30) days are required for its performance, then CONSULTANT shall not be deemed to be in Default if CONSULTANT shall commence to cure such performance within such thirty (30) day period and thereafter diligently prosecute the same to completion.
25.3 Termination without Cause. ANAHEIM may terminate this Agreement at any time without the necessity of cause or Default by giving thirty (30 ) days' notice in writing to CONSULTANT. In such event, the Parties shall have no further rights hereunder, except that CONSULTANT shall be paid for all services adequately rendered prior to such termin ation and shall receive payment in full for equipment and equipment that has been ordered that cannot be canceled. CONSULTANT may not terminate this Agreement except for cause.
26. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL LAWS
CONSULTANT shall at its own cost and expense compl y with all statutes, ordinances, regulations and requirements of all governmental entities, including federal, state, county or municipal, whether now in force or hereinafter enacted. In addition, all work prepared by CONSULTANT shall conform to applicabl e local, county, state and federal laws, rules, regulations and permit requirements and be subject to approval of the Project Administrator.
27. WAIVER
A waiver by either Party of any breach, of any term, covenant or condition contained herein shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or any other term, covenant or condition contained herein, whether of the same or a different character.
28. INTEGRATED CONTRACT
This Agreement and the exhibits hereto contain the entire agreement of ANAHEIM and CONSULTANT with respect to the matters covered hereby, and no agreement, statement or promise made by either ANAHEIM or CONSULTANT which is not contained herein, shall be valid or binding. No prior agreement, understanding or representatio n pertaining to any such matter shall be effective for any purpose.
29. CONFLICTS OR INCONSISTENCIES
In the event there are any conflicts or inconsistencies between this Agreement and the Exhibits or any other attachments attached hereto, the terms of this Agreement shall govern.
30. INTERPRETATION
Each Party acknowledges that he / she / it has had the benefit of advice of competent legal counsel with respect to its decision to enter this Agreement. The provisions of this Agreement shall be interpreted t o give effect to their fair meaning and shall be construed as prepared by both Parties.
31. AMENDMENTS
This Agreement may be modified or amended only by a written document executed by both CONSULTANT and ANAHEIM and approved as to form by the City Attorney.
32. SEVERABILITY
If any term or provision of this Agreement or the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall, to any extent, be held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement, or the application of its terms and provisions to persons and circumstances other than those to which it has been held invalid or unenforceable shall not be affected thereby, and each term and provision of this Agreement shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
33. REMEDIES CUMULATIVE
The remedies given to ANAHEIM and CONSULTANT herein shall be cumulative and are given without impairing any other rights given ANAHEIM or CONSULTANT by statute or law now existing or hereafter enacted and the exercise on any one (1) remedy by ANAHEIM or CONSULTANT shall not exclude the exercise of any other remedy.
34. NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES
The Parties intend that no rights nor remedies be granted to any third party as a beneficiary of this Agreement or of any covenant, duty, obligation or undertaking established herein.
35. CONTROLLING LAW AND VENUE
The laws of the State of California shall govern this Agreement and all matters relating to it and any action brought relating to this Agreement shall be adjudicated in a court of competent jurisdiction in the County of Orange.
36. DISCRIMINATION
CONSULTANT agrees not to discriminate against any person or class of persons by reason of sex, color, race, creed, religion, marital status, handicap, ancestry, national origin or
other prohibited basis in its provision of Services or hiring of subcontractors or employees. To the extent this Agreement provides that CONSULTANT offer accommodations or services to the public, such accommodations or services shall be offered by CONSULTANT to the public on fair and reasonable terms.
37. AUTHORITY
Each individual executing this Agreement on behalf of a corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership or other entity or organization, represents and warrants the he or she is duly authorized to execute and deliver this Agreement on behalf of such entity or organization and that this Agreement is binding upon the same in accordance with its terms. CONSULTANT shall, at ANAHEIM's request, deliver a certified copy of it governing board's resolution or certificate authorizing or evidencing such execution.
38. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Agreement shall be effective on the date on which this Agreement is executed by ANAHEIM ("Effective Date").
Remainder of page intentionally left blank; signatures on next page]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed on the dates hereinafter respectively set forth.
DATE OF EXECUTION:
CITY OF ANAHEIM
a municipal corporation
By:
“ANAHEIM”
ATTEST:
By: _
City Clerk of Anaheim
___________________________, a __________
DATE OF EXECUTION:
By: _____________________________________
Printed Name: ______________________________
Title: ___________________________________
“CONSULTANT”
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ROBERT FABELA, CITY ATTORNEY
By:
Bryn M. Morley
Deputy City Attorney
Dated:
153871
Attachments: Exhibit A
Conflict of Interest Form
Conflict of Interest Form for Consultants
(Consultant to complete, sign and submit with the RFP Submittals) The Political Reform Act (Governmen t C ode Sections 81000- 91014) and Governmen t Code Section 1090 prohibit any Anaheim public official, officer , or employee f rom involvement in a governmental decision or contract in which he or she has a financial interest. It is the responsibility of the consultant, consultant's employees, and subconsultants who perform work under the consultant agreement to evaluate any poten tial conflict of interests and follow the provisions of the conflict of interest req uirements as set forth in Section 23 of th e consultant agreement. Be advised that a prohibited conflict of interest may void any award where it exists.
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I have reviewed and understand the above paragraph, and in furtherance of the foregoing, I have evalua ted and caused my co mpany's employees and subconsultants to evaluate an y potential co nflict of interests. Based on this evaluation, I hereby further certify that no such conflict of interests exists.
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED SIGNATORY
_____________________________________ Date: ________________ Print Name: ___________________________
Title: _________________________________
Consultant Name: ___________________
Attachment 2 - Conflict of
Interest Form
Powered by ZoomGrants™ and
Email This Preview Save as PDF Print Close Window A▲▼ California Fire Safe Council
2023-2024 State Fire Capacity Program
Deadline: 3/15/2024
City of Anaheim
City of Anaheim Wildfire Evacuation Plan
Jump to: Organization Information Project Information Tables Documents
USD$ 90,000.00 Requested
USD$ 90,000 Match Amount
Submitted: 3/15/2024 2:52:55 PM (Pacific)
Project Contact
Rafael Cobian
[email protected]
Tel: (714) 765-4991
Additional Contacts
[email protected]
City of Anaheim
200 S Anaheim Blvd Ste 276
Anaheim, CA 92805
United States
City Manager
James Vanderpool
[email protected]
Telephone714) 765-4991
Fax
Web https://www.anaheim.net/
Organization Information top
Applicant Information
1. Applicant Organization Type: Select the appropriate organization type. Use the space after the associated checkbox to specify the IRS section (for non-profits), type of government agency (for government agencies) or describe an entity not listed.
Organizations must be incorporated to do business in California and have a Federal Employer Identification Number/Federal Tax Identification Number (FEIN/FTIN). A fiscal sponsor must be identified if the organization does not meet this requirement.
2. Is your organization a Fire Safe Council?
Some answers will not be presented because they are not part of the selected group of questions based on the answer to #8.
Home/ Property Owners Association
Native American Tribe
For Profit Company
Resource Conservation District
Nonprofit Organization- What is your organization’s IRS Section for Non-Profits, Please explain: , Local municipality - City,
Non-Federal Government Agency – Which agency, please explain: , Local municipality - City,
Other - Please specify your unique type, please explain: , Local municipality - City,
Yes
No
3. Enter applicant organization’s unique entity identifier (UEI) code and expiration date. To register with SAM, go to: http://www.sam.gov
If the applicant organization does not have a UEI code they cannot be a direct grantee. They must then utilize the services of a fiscal sponsor.
J34GBL8PSNU5
4. Applicant Organization Contact Information: List the key individuals (including board members) of the applicant organization that will be involved in this project. Identify a) Name and title, b) Role and responsibilities, c) Whether they are paid (indicate employee or consultant) or volunteer The key individuals for this project are:
Rafael Cobian, T.E., LEED GA, City Traffic Engineer (paid employee): Mr. Cobian is a licensed traffic engineer with over 15 years of experience managing public works projects and will serve as the project manager. He will be responsible for all project management activities, including ensuring project schedule and budgets are adhered to, coordinating and leading project meetings, and coordinating with the Anaheim Fire and Rescue and Anaheim Police Department. The project consultants will report directly to Mr. Cobian.
Jannine Wilmoth, PhD, RN, CEM, Emergency Manager, Anaheim Fire & Rescue (paid employee): Ms. Wilmoth will serve as Technical Review and will also support public education/engagement activities.
Lieutenant Richard LaRochelle, Anaheim Police Department, Emergency Management Commander (paid employee): Lt.
LaRochelle will serve as Technical Review and will also support public education/engagement activities.
Evacuation Plan Consultant: The consultant will be responsible for conducting analysis of evacuation routes and preparing the Wildfire Evacuation Plan. The consultant will prepare all materials and attend public/stakeholder meetings to present Plan information.
Community Education Consultant: The consultant will be responsible for planning and coordinating the public education/engagement campaign activities.
5. Enter the name, title and affiliation of the person writing this grant application Robin Smith, Senior Associate Blais & Associates, Grant Consulting Firm B&A has served as the City’s grant consultant since 2009.
6. Enter the applicant organization's formation date and date of incorporation.
The City of Anaheim was founded in 1857 and was duly incorporated on December 6, 1876 under act of the Legislature of the State of California, approved April 9, 1856 by the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County.
Application Organizational Capacity
7. Describe the following: 2 federal and 2 non-federal grant accomplishments achieved in the past 5 years (if applicable), and any current open grants.
Indicate source(s) of funding, amount(s) and year(s) received. If no grant history, provide other accomplishment examples.
Provide closeout dates for current grants.
The City of Anaheim has extensive experience completing and managing federal and state grants. Examples include:
1. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded the City (Public Works) $750,000 in February 2018 for a Drought Resiliency Project. The Modjeska Park: Urban Model for Storm Water Detention and Infiltration Project (Project) was a pilot project for a Citywide program to capture and infiltrate storm water as one approach to drought resiliency. The project was successfully completed in 2020.
2. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/Cal-Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) awarded the City $1,158,000 in July 2019 under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The funding was used to complete Phase 1: Design to underground high-voltage electrical wires within high fire threat areas. The design was completed and submitted to FEMA/Cal OES for review in July 2023. Phase 2: Construction will be contingent on additional FEMA grant approvals.
3. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) awarded the City (Public Works) $72,000 in October 2019 to prepare a Local Roadway Safety Plan. The Plan was completed in 2022.
4. Caltrans awarded the City (Public Works) $287,000 in 2018 for the Anaheim Resort Mobility Study. The Study were completed in 2022. The City of Anaheim developed The Anaheim Resort Mobility Study – A Toolbox of Potential Mobility Options (Mobility Toolbox or study) to identify circulation and safety improvements for pedestrians, transit users, motorists and bicyclists in and around The Anaheim Resort®.
The City is currently managing 26 open grants. This includes 15 state grants totaling $25,521,680 and 11 federal grants totaling $17,811,420. Funding agencies include Caltrans, Orange County Transportation Authority, U.S. Department of Interior, California State Coastal Conservancy, U.S. Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Department of Transportation.
Fiscal Sponsor Information
8. Will the applicant organization utilize the services of a fiscal sponsor? The applicant organization and the fiscal sponsor must memorialize the responsibilities of both parties in a formal written agreement. The agreement must be signed by both parties and submitted with this application.
9. Fiscal Sponsor Organization Type: Select the appropriate organization type. Use the space after the associated checkbox to specify the IRS section (for non-profits), type of government agency (for government agencies) or describe an entity not listed.
-answer not presented because of the answer to #8-
10. Enter Fiscal Sponsor organization’s s unique entity identifier (UEI) code and expiration date. -answer not presented because of the answer to #8-
11. Fiscal Sponsor Information: Provide the fiscal sponsor organization name, the date (date and year) the organization was formed or incorporated, and the name, title, email address, and phone number of the primary contact for the fiscal sponsor organization. Also provide administrative contact information if different from the primary contact
-answer not presented because of the answer to #8-
12. List the fiscal sponsor’s key individuals (including board members) that will be involved in this project. For each person list a) name and title, b) role and responsibilities, c) whether they are a paid employee, paid consultant, or volunteer.
-answer not presented because of the answer to #8-
13. Describe the following: 2 federal and 2 non-federal grant accomplishments achieved in the past 5 years (if applicable), and any current open grants.
-answer not presented because of the answer to #8-
14. The applicant organization has legal standing and does not require a fiscal sponsor.
Yes - The fiscal sponsor's information will be provided below.
No - The applicant is not using a fiscal sponsor
Confirm
Project Information top
Project Description
1. What type of project is this application proposing?
Check the box(es) to indicate the type(s) of project(s) you are planning. Example: Fuel Treatment and Education. Please select all that apply:
2. If this is an ongoing or maintenance project, identify the name and the grant number of the project under which the earlier parts of the project were funded.
If this is not an ongoing or maintenance project, type "N/A".
N/A
3. Describe your project.
Please provide a specific description of the project including the project size and location, collaborator’s roles and responsibilities, planning, education, or fuel treatment methods that are part of the project.
The City of Anaheim, an At-Risk Community, is requesting funding to 1) prepare a Wildfire Evacuation Plan and 2) implement a prevention, mitigation, and evacuation education and outreach campaign for Anaheim Hills, the eastern most part of the City. CAL FIRE has designated a majority of this part of the City as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) within a Local Responsibility Area (LRA).
Project Location and Background. Anaheim Hills is entirely within the City limits of Anaheim in northwestern Orange County, Some answers will not be presented because they are not part of the selected group of questions based on the answer to #36.
Education
Fuel Treatment
Planning
California and encompasses roughly 16 square miles. Anaheim Hills’ population is approximately 46,003. (The City of Anaheim has a population of approximately 349,964, making it the most populous city in Orange County and the 10th most populated city in California.) The City of Yorba Linda borders Anaheim Hills to the north and the cities of Orange, Villa Park, and Orange Park Acres, and the Santa Ana Mountain foothills border to the south. On the northeast boundary, the community extends past Gypsum Canyon, bordered by unincorporated areas of Orange County and the Cleveland National Forest (east).
California State Routes 91 (SR-91) and 241 (SR-241) intersect the project area.
The location of Anaheim Hills in the wildland-urban interface within the Santa Ana Mountain foothills makes wildfires a significant threat to the area. The region has relatively high temperatures, low humidity, and low precipitation during the summer. The fall brings the Santa Ana winds (strong seasonal winds in Southern California) which exacerbate the area's already dry conditions, increasing wildfire probability.
Anaheim Hills has a history of wildfires that have occurred since its development in 1982:
Gypsum Canyon - Oct. 1982: first major wildfire to occur in the newly developed Anaheim Hills. The fire burned over 17,000 acres and destroyed 14 homes.
Sierra Peak - Feb. 2006: wildfire originated in the Cleveland National Forest, near Anaheim Hills, burned over 10,000 acres and approximately 75% of the Anaheim Hills community was evacuated. 241 Fire at Windy Ridge - March 2007: wildfire originated along SR-241 near Anaheim Hills, burned over 2,000 acres and an estimated 2,500 homes were evacuated.
Freeway Complex - Nov. 2008: wildfire originated northeast of Anaheim Hills, burned over 30,305 acres, forced the evacuation of 3,100 homes, and destroyed 200 residences, including 14 houses and 86 apartments in Anaheim Hills.
Canyon Fire 2 - Oct. 2017: wildfire originated at the SR-91 and SR-241 interchange along the Anaheim border causing the evacuation of 16,570 residents, burning over 9,200 acres, destroying 25 structures, and damaging 55.
Project Details
1) Wildfire Evacuation Plan (Plan). A Plan will be prepared to identify and refine evacuation strategies and routes for Anaheim Hills. The Plan will include the following tasks:
• Mapping of critical evacuation routes, evacuation centers, and single routes of access. Information from Anaheim’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) and the City’s “Know Your Way” preparedness information will form the foundation for this task. Maps of residential parcels with single emergency egress will be prepared. The number of parcels/housing units will be documented.
• Defining evacuation scenarios. Two scenario categories will be evaluated; 1) Immediate Evacuation Variations (i.e., by time of day, day of week, or different zones affected; and 2) Early-Warning Evacuation Variations (i.e. by day of week, season of the year, or different zones affected);
• Modeling and analysis. Neighborhood access to evacuation facilities and evacuation routes across spatial barrier will be analyzed. Evacuation times, critical bottlenecks, and route capacities will be identified; and • Developing recommendations.
2) Education/Information Campaign. Activities will include:
• Door hanger outreach. AFR project team will walk communities in Anaheim Hills to meet with residents and to discuss evacuation preparedness and strategies. The grant will purchase door hangers to leave as reminders. Two rounds of door hanger outreach will be conducted: the first when the Evacuation Plan is available for public review, and the second round once the Plan is finalized.
• Presentations at Community Events/Meetings. Anaheim Public Works, AFR and APD staff will attend four community meetings/events; two during plan development to gather resident input, and two after plan development to educate residents of evacuation preparedness and routes. Events that may be targeted include City Hall meetings, District Community Meetings, the Fall Festival, and the Anaheim Farmer’s Market.
• Postcards. Postcards will be designed to include evacuation preparedness information, and will be mailed to all households in the project area.
3) Collaborator’s Roles/Responsibilities. The City PW, AFR, & APD are the main collaborators for the Evacuation Plan. Roles discussed in Tab 2, Q4.
4. Describe how the planning, education, or prescription for vegetation treatment was developed and indicate the name of individual(s) who planned the prescription.
Indicate the specific methods by which the wildfire problem will be addressed and include acres treated. Indicate the title of the individual(s) who developed the prescription, their affiliated organization/agency, and relevant credentials.
This project does not include vegetation treatment. However, the City of Anaheim prioritizes the safety of its residents, and with climate change impacts resulting in more severe wildfire events throughout the state, the City’s review of its current evacuation planning and evacuation system (e.g. capacity of the evacuation roadways) is considered necessary. The 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, which was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, resulting in 85 deaths, reinforces the need to better prepare for evacuations. The Paradise wildfire spread quickly at a rate equivalent to a football field every second and the Town ordered all 26,000 residents to evacuate with just a moment’s notice. The lack of a sufficient roadway network connecting to major evacuation routes was a major contributing factor in the deaths of residents in the Camp Fire.
This Plan will provide a detailed examination of Anaheim’s evacuation system and focus on estimating the time needed to evacuate. The results will provide information for inclusion into City planning documents including the General Plan Safety and Circulation Elements, the Emergency Operations Plan, and the Capital Improvement Program. This project scope does not include updating these documents; however, the evacuation information developed will be utilized and incorporated when the elements and other relevant plans are updated. In addition, the Plan information will assist in meeting the legislative requirements associated with three recent legislative Bills:
• Senate Bill 99 (SB 99) (2019) - Requires review and update of the safety element to include information to identify residential developments in hazard areas that do not have at least two emergency evacuation routes. Neighborhoods and households within a hazard area that have limited accessibility. The Evacuation Plan This is intended to assist the City with identifying opportunities to improve connectivity and evacuation capacity generally.
• Assembly Bill 747 (AB 747) (2019) - Requires that the safety element be reviewed and updated to identify evacuation routes and their capacity, safety, and viability under a range of emergency scenarios. This will be a requirement for all safety elements or updates to hazard mitigation plans completed after January of 2022.
• AB 1409 - Requires local governments to consider evacuation locations in addition to the capacity, safety, and viability of evacuation routes that serve a community (as described in AB 747).
5. How will the project reduce wildfire hazards in the project area? Describe the specific outcomes of the project and indicators of success.
The project will reduce wildfire hazard by creating a plan to evacuate communities in eastern Anaheim to prevent injuries and deaths. The education and outreach campaign will arm residents with knowledge and information to be prepare before an emergency occurs. The Plan area is mainly residential with 16,772 homes (46,003 residents), 8 schools (6 pubic elementary schools, 1 charter middle school, and 1 public high school) serving 6,725 students, and 3 senior living facilities.
The Project outcomes include:
- Identifying areas with single egress;
- Identifying evacuation plans/routes for households/residents; - Identifying evacuation plan/routes for schools;
- Identifying evacuation plans for senior living facilities; - Estimating time to evacuate under different wildfire scenarios and varying times of day; - Calculating evacuation route vehicle capacity;
- Communicating evacuation routes to the public;
- Educating residents on emergency preparedness; and
- Coordinated response between City Departments.
Sustainability
6. How will the project be maintained after the grant period is complete? Describe methods to continue fuels maintenance or education/planning projects after grant funds are spent. Indicate collaborators and sources of funds used to maintain the project.
For the Plan to remain effective and useful to the community, it must remain up to date. An updated version of the Plan will continue to guide evacuation preparedness. The Public Works Department will remain responsible for maintaining and updating the Plan, as needed, to address such factors as changes in population or new developments in high fire risk areas.
The process will include collaboration with key City departments including fire and police.
The source of funding to maintain the Plan and continue education/awareness will be from the City’s General funds.
7. Describe what outreach efforts will be undertaken by the project to engage the broader public in your project.
Describe the types of activities or materials this project will utilize to engage community members, fire jurisdictions and elected officials in the planning process. Indicate website URL or social media handles used by your organization.
Several efforts will be implemented to engage the broader public in the planning project. These include:
• Press releases issued by the City of Anaheim’s Public Information Officer; • Website and social media outreach using City of Anaheim, AFR and APD webpages listed below:
https://www.anaheim.net/229/Public-Works
https://www.anaheim.net/6096/Fire-Rescue
https://www.anaheim.net/6098/Police-Department
https://anaheim.net/5204/Know-Your-Way;
https://anaheim.net/1332/District-Community-Meetings;
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/city_of_anaheim/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/cityofanaheim/
http://www.anaheim.net/5418/Fire-Safety
• Posted project information on Anaheim Hills Buzz and NextDoor, two social media platforms commonly used by the area residents.
8. Describe how the project will motivate the community to invest (e.g., effort, funding, etc.) in making itself fire safe after the grant term ends.
Please be specific and realistic. What type of community capacity will be developed to sustain this project in the long-term? What change do you anticipate will result in the community? Wildfire evacuations are stressful events and residents may not have much notice before leaving their homes, so it is important for residents in high wildfire hazard areas to prepare for evacuation. Knowing evacuation routes and which direction to travel provides residents with knowledge to keep themselves and their families safe. Continued community engagement and messaging after the grant term can motivate residents to invest in other emergency preparedness steps and in making their homes, properties and communities safer, which will improve survival during wildfires. These community actions include:
-Making a plan to prepare for quick and safe evacuation plan (gathering go bag essentials, preparing family members, preparing pets, preparing vehicles, preparing horses and livestock); -Improving defensible space (managing vegetation buffer around home); and -Making homes fire safe (retrofitting existing home components to withstand ember ignition during a wildfire).
9. Will your project generate program income? If yes, how will it be used/spent to further the project during the term of the grant? (General donations are not considered program Income) Enter the dollar value of program income that will be generated:
Program Income is funding that is earned as a result of the project such as selling firewood from trimming trees or defensible space clearing. This income is required to be used to further the objectives of the grant during the grant term.
The project will not generate income.
Project Location
10. Enter which county(ies) in California or Nevada within which your project will take place? If you are proposing to work in multiple counties, select the county in which the majority of work will be performed. If the work will be divided equally across county lines, then enter more than one county.
The plan will cover areas in Orange County, California.
11. Enter the latitude of the approximate geographic center of the project area. Your response must be in decimal format to six places (for example: 39.375097). All California Latitudes should always be between 32 and 42.
If the project covers a large area, select a point that best represents the center of the planning area. We recommend using Google Maps or itouchmap.com
Latitude: 33.853975
12. Enter the longitude of the approximate geographic center of the project area. Your response must be in decimal format to six places (for example: -122.54454). All California Longitudes should always be between -114 and -124.
If the project covers a large area, select a point that best represents the center of the planning area. We recommend using Google Maps or itouchmap.com
Longitude: -117.764974
13. Is the proposed project area impacted by your project at risk from fire originating on federal land? Your answer to this question will determine your response to the subsequent question.
Contact your local fire agency if you are not sure about your adjacency to federal land. No portion of the project may be on federal land or land leased from the federal government.
14. If you answered yes to question 13, indicate which agency(ies) own/manage the land, and identify which field office, park, forest, etc. (indicated in parentheses) is nearest to the project area. Contact local agency representatives or consult a map for info.
Please select Not Applicable if you answered "No" on question #13
Yes
No
USDI: Bureau of Indian Affairs (land/field office)
Bureau of Land Management (field office)
15. How far is the proposed project location from federal lands?
16. Enter the District number(s) that apply for the proposed project location.
Enter N/A in the boxes that do not apply. For information on California and Nevada Congressional districts go to:
https://cfsc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=121941428e344608a1b6045f5dcf66f8
Planning Document Applicability
17. Relate your project to the "Cohesive Strategy” goals : (A) Resilient Landscapes, (B) Fire Adapted Communities and (C) Safe, Effective, Risk-Based Wildfire Response
National Strategy Summary (pdf):
https://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/documents/strategy/strategy/communications/NationalStrategySummary.pdf See additional resources in the library.
The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy) is the national approach to address the increasingly complex reality of wildland fire management in the United States. The intent of this report is to develop a comprehensive, science-based cohesive strategy that addresses the significant, long-standing challenges to managing the ever-growing wildfire situation facing the nation. The proposed Anaheim Wildfire Evacuation Plan aligns with the “Wildfire Response” Cohesive Strategy Goal by enhancing wildfire response preparedness and will aid in providing effective and efficient wildfire response. The evacuation of people from hazardous areas during wildfires is a critical step in response and allows first responders to focus on other response actions to control the fire itself. The project area is defined in the Cohesive Strategy as an area likely to experience large, long duration wildfires. The City’s prioritization of investment in the development of the Wildfire Evacuation Plan provides a critical tool in managing meaningful risk reduction to human life.
18. Identify the type of planning document that covers the project area. To find out if the area is covered in an existing Community Wildfire Protection Plan or equivalent plan, contact your local fire protection agency Links to some current CWPPs are available on the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center at: http://bit.ly/1uDfoQJ In the box below, describe other plans or indicate why no planning document exists (e.g. lack of funding, unaware of need for plan, etc.)
19. Please provide the exact title of the CWPP or equivalent plan and the contact information for the plan, including a web address if the plan is posted online.
Provide name, address and email for the main contact for the plan.
The City of Anaheim 2022 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/43389/Draft-hazard- mitigation-plan-03312022
Dr. Jannine Wilmoth
Emergency Manager
Anaheim Fire & Rescue
City of Anaheim
201 S Anaheim Blvd, Ste 300
Bureau of Reclamation (field office)
National Park Service (park, monument, or recreational area)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (refuge)
USDA Forest Service
Military Installation
Not Applicable (N/A)
0-3 Miles
More than 3 Miles
46, 40California Congressional District number(s)
N/ANevada Congressional District number(s) (District 2 only) 37, 34California State Senate District number(s)
N/ANevada State Senate District number(s) (Districts 3 and 4 only) 68, 59California State Assembly/House District number(s) N/ANevada State Assembly/House District number(s) (District numbers 26 and 39 only)
0.000.00TOTAL
Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)
Cal Fire Unit Plan
DA 2000 Plan
Other plan, Please explain: City of Anaheim 2022 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Anaheim, CA 92805
[email protected]
Update to the County-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan covering Orange County, California, 2021 Pat Russell
Fire Chief
Anaheim Fire & Rescue
201 S Anaheim Blvd, Ste 300
Anaheim, CA 92805
20. Identify the status of the plan and when the plan was last updated. Indicate whether the project is approved, the date /year of approval and the agency/organization that provided the approval. If the plan is in process, indicate date it was started.
Enter the date and/or year. If the plan has not been updated or revised in more than 4 years, explain the reason(s) for the delay.
1) Update to the County-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CCWP) covering Orange County, California, 2021. This 2021 update to the adopted 2017 CWPP was initiated by Orange County Fire Authority’s (OCFA) Wildland Pre-Fire Management Section of the Community Risk Reduction Department through a CAL FIRE Fire Prevention Grant and the California Climate Investments fund. This plan was prepared with stakeholders, and addresses vegetation management, ignition prevention, community education and outreach, and firefighting initiatives and mitigations. The CWPP is a working document and will continue to be updated after major “events”, such as wildfire, flood, etc. The Plan was approved by the OCFA Fire Chief and participating agencies, including and City of Anaheim Fire Chief on November 2, 2021.
2) The City of Anaheim 2022 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. The City of Anaheim 2022 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan was officially adopted by the City of Anaheim on May 17, 2022 and submitted for review and approval to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA completed their review and found the plan to be in conformance with the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Part 201, Section 6 (44 C.F.R. 201.6). Approval was received from FEMA in a letter dated September 6, 2022. FEMA’s approval is for a period of five years (May 2027), effective starting from the date of the letter.
21. What is the priority of the proposed project in the plan identified in the questions above, and on what page of the plan is it addressed?
Please indicate the plan type (CWPP, DMA 2000, or other), priority in plan, and page number where the project is addressed.
Anaheim’s proposed Evacuation Plan project is listed on page 120 of the 2021 CWPP in SECTION VI: PROPOSED PROJECTS AND ACTION PLAN. The proposed projects included in the CWPP were developed by soliciting input from stakeholders at public meetings and through individual contacts with stakeholders and is designed to improve conditions and limit ignitions throughout Orange County. They are organized into the following categories: Ignition Prevention, Planning, Structure Survivability /Defensible Space, Community Outreach and Education, Fuel Management on Public Lands and Large- Scale Landowners, and Firefighting and Mitigation. Specifically, the Anaheim Wildfire Evacuation Plan is included Section VI.A.4. Communication, Education, Awareness - “Develop and distribute fire evacuation plans, such as for neighborhoods in the City of Anaheim.”
The project is also listed on page 123 of the LHMP as Multi-Hazard Action item 24 – “to incorporate the Anaheim Hills evacuation plan and evacuation routes into appropriate planning documents (CIP, Safety Element, Circulation Element)”. The project is included as medium priority.
22. Does the CWPP or equivalent plan define the boundaries of the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)? If YES, indicate if the project is located in this WUI. If NO, indicate if the project is located in an official Cal Fire Hazard Severity Zone in the next question.
The 2021 Orange County CWPP contains an assessment of the hazards and risks facing Orange County communities and identifies treatments to protect them. The CWPP delineates a revised WUI within the CWPP area. Figure 12, on page 42 of the CWPP provides the Community Base Map indicating CWPP boundary and the WUI boundary. A portion of the City of Anaheim, approximately 25% which is the foothill/mountain area at the east end of the City, is included in the CWPP due to its proximity to State Responsibility Area (SRA) Very High Fire Hazard Severity areas and its potential for being affected by fires occurring in the adjacent SRA lands. All areas within Anaheim located within the CWPP boundary are rated as Local Responsibility Area (LRA) Very High Fire Hazard Severity.
As mentioned above, the community of Anaheim Hills along the eastern portions of the City is in the Santa Ana Mountain foothills in the WUI. Figure 3-1 on page 31 of the LHMP identifies the fire hazard zones within the City and the surrounding area, including the SRAs and the LRAs. The zones depicted include the SRA, which is primarily unincorporated Orange County, under the jurisdiction of CAL Fire, while the LRA is under the control of the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA).
The city’s sphere of influence extends into the SRA and the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ) associated with this area.
23. Identify the Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) of the project area.
Check the appropriate box(es). Find the fire hazard severity zone at:
https://cfsc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=121941428e344608a1b6045f5dcf66f8
24. Is the Project associated with a community that is listed as a 'Community at Risk?' Please identify the 'Communities at Risk' using the CAR tab: https://cfsc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html? appid=121941428e344608a1b6045f5dcf66f8
25. If yes, please list up to 3 of the closest 'Communities at Risk' that are within the boundaries, or within 3 miles, of the project area.
In addition to Anaheim Hills (located in Anaheim, California), the cities of Villa Park, Yorba Linda, and Orange are Communities at Risk within 3 miles of the project area.
26. Priority Populations: Is the project associated with a disadvantaged or low-income community that is listed as a Community at Risk?
Please reference: https://cfsc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=121941428e344608a1b6045f5dcf66f8
27. If you answered YES to question 26, please select all that apply:
28. List communities, other than 'Communities at Risk,' that are within the boundaries, or within 3 miles, of the project area.
North Tustin and Placentia are located within 3 miles of the project area and are not designated as Communities at Risk.
29. List Firewise Communities that are within the boundaries, or within 3 miles, of the project area.
Enter the names of official Firewise Communities in, or within 3 miles of, the project area. https://cfsc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=121941428e344608a1b6045f5dcf66f8 Foothill Communities Association and East Orange County Canyons Fire Wise Communities are within 3 miles of the project area.
30. List communities that will be directly affected by the project's Prevention and Education Programs Enter the names of communities, including Communities at Risk and Firewise Communities. If the project does not include education, answer N/A
City of Anaheim, Anaheim Hills
Project Effects
31. List communities that will be directly affected by the project's Hazardous Fuel Reduction Programs Enter the names of communities, including Communities at Risk and Firewise Communities. If project does not include fuel reduction, answer N/A
N/A
32. List communities that will be directly affected by the project’s fire management plans, risk assessments, or equivalents.
Enter the names of communities, including 'Communities at Risk' and Firewise Communities. If project doesn't include planning, answer N/A
City of Anaheim, Anaheim Hills
33. Enter the number of people who will be contacted by the project's deliverables. Consider the number of people who will be contacted about the project through meetings, educational mailings, email lists, homeowner
Very High Severity Zone
High Severity Zone
Moderate Severity Zone
Yes
No
Yes
No
Disadvantaged
Low Income
Buffer Zone
N/A
participation, etc.
Research the population of the project area and the outreach planned for the project. Keep track of how you calculated this figure. If funded, applicant will report this number quarterly in the progress report. CFSC is required to report these data.
The population of Anaheim Hills is 46,003. Through this project’s education campaign, which includes door hangers, postcards, and public meetings, each of the residents is anticipated to be contacted.
34. Estimate how many people will be employed with this project. Please include number of compensated employees and contractors.
Include estimates for both applicant and fiscal sponsor, if applicable Contractors - 6 people
35. Identify the Fire Regime for your project area.
Check the appropriate box(es). Identify the Fire Regime from the LANDFIRE tab. https://cfsc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=121941428e344608a1b6045f5dcf66f8
36. Will the proposed project include fuels treatment?
Fuels Treatment
37. Enter the total acreage of the project's footprint. -answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
38. How many fuels treatment projects will be completed with this grant? Enter the number of fuels treatment projects and describe how this estimate was calculated. -answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
39. Indicate any biological, environmental or cultural reviews or assessments that have been completed for the project area.
-answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
40. What is the percent of dominant vegetation type at treatment site? -answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
41. Which vegetation is to be treated/modified?
-answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
42. Describe the treatment to be implemented and the pre and post treatment site. -answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
43. Describe any equipment to be used, the personnel/vendor to be used and how they will be used. -answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
44. Provide the number of homes that will be treated by this project, the average cost of treatment per home, and the total value of the homes protected.
-answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
45. Will the project generate biomass, small logs of merchantable volume or a marketable product? (Biomass is any plant material removed from the site.)
-answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
46. Will the biomass product be sold/commercialized?
-answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
47. If yes, please describe how the biomass product will be used. -answer not presented because of the answer to #36-
Fire Regime I
Fire Regime II
Fire Regime III
Fire Regime IV
Fire Regime V
Yes
No
48. (All projects) Please complete the map survey that accompanies this application and confirm with the statement "map submitted" in the field below.
To access the map survey, paste this link into your browser: https://arcg.is/1fGqT91 "Map Submitted"
Tables top
50. Work Plan
Task
NumberSequential Task/ActivityTimeframeResponsible PartyExpected Outcome/Result 1 Grant Agreement Execution
0 months California Fire
Safe/City of Anaheim
Executed Agreement, assumed by July
2024 (summer)
2 Consultant Procurement
(Plan)
4 months City of Anaheim
Rafael Cobian
Project Manager
A contract will be issued to a qualified
consultant to prepare the Wildfire
Evacuation Plan.
3 Evacuation Plan 6 months City of Anaheim
Rafael Cobian
Project
Manager/Consultant
A Wildfire Evacuation Plan will be prepared
by the Consultant to document the results
of modeling and analysis of evacuation
scenarios and to identify/modify evacuation
zones and routes, staging areas, evacuation
centers, evacuation warning system,
communication methods,
roadway network improvements, traffic
management strategies, and
General Plan Goals, Policies and/or Actions
related to emergency evacuation.
Two public hearings are included in this task
to gather input/concerns from stakeholders.
The Plan will result in providing clear
directions for emergency evacuations.
4 Consultant Procurement
(Community
Engagement/Education)
3 months City of Anaheim
Rafael Cobian
Project Manager
A contract will be issued to a qualified
consultant to prepare the Education
Campaign.
5 Education Campaign 4 months City of Anaheim
Rafael Cobian
Project
Manager/Consultant
An educational campaign will provide
resident awareness and will disseminate
essential information on wildfire risks,
communication methods, warning systems,
and evacuation routes. This proactive
educational campaign will foster a shared
commitment to safety and preparedness.
6 Project and Grant
Management
1 months City of Anaheim
Rafael Cobian
Project Manager
This task will be ongoing throughout the
project to ensure project schedule and
budget are adhered to and grant
requirements are met.
7 Audits and Required
Records Retention
ongoing
months
City of Anaheim
Finance Department
Records retained per grant requirements.
8 months
9 months
10 months
Total 18 months
51. Project Deliverables
Project Deliverables Federal Quantity
Projected
Federal Cost
Projected
Match Quantity
Projected
Match Cost
Projected
Community Risk Assessment
Wildfire Planning
Community Risk Assessment 1 $ 75,000 1 $ 70,000
Community Wildfire Protection Plan $ $
Fire Management Plan $ $
Planning Subtotal 1 $ 75,000 1 $ 70,000
1 $ 75,000 1 $ 70,000
Information/Education
Outreach/Education Programs 1 $ 15,000 1 $ 15,000 Education/Information Products $ 2 $ 5,000
Information/Education Subtotal 1 $ 15,000 3 $ 20,000 1 $ 15,000 3 $ 20,000
Fuels Treatment Acres
Preparation for Treatment $ $
Preparation for Treatment Subtotal 0 $ 0 0 $ 0
Mechanical Treatment Acres
...Biomass removal $ $
...Chipping $ $
...Crushing $ $
...Hand pile $ $
...Seeding $ $
...Lop and scatter $ $
...Machine pile $ $
...Mastication/Mowing $ $
...Thinning $ $
...Thinning - Tree felling and removal $ $
Mechanical Treatment Subtotal 0 $ 0 0 $ 0
Prescribed Fire Acres
...Broadcast burn $ $
...Fire use $ $
...Hand pile burn $ $
...Jackpot burn $ $
...Machine pile burn $ $
Prescribed Fire Subtotal 0 $ 0 0 $ 0
Other Treatment Acres
...Chemical $ $
...Biological $ $
...Browsing $ $
Other Treatment Subtotal 0 $ 0 0 $ 0
Fuels Treatment Subtotal 0 $ 0 0 $ 0
Mechanized Treatment with By-
Products Utilized
$ $
Total 2 $ 90,000 4 $ 90,000
52. Budget Detail
Cost Categories Federal – Grant
Funds ApplicantOther Partners Total
a. Personnel
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
Personnel Total $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
b. Fringe Benefits
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
Fringe Benefits Total $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
c. Travel
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
Travel Total $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
d. Equipment (Items >$5,000/unit – see
guidelines)
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
Equipment Total $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
e. Supplies
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
Supplies Total $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
f. Contractual
Evacuation Plan Consultant $ 75,000 $ 70,000 $ $ 145,000 Community Education Consultant $ 15,000 $ 20,000 $ $ 35,000 $ 0 $ $ $
$ 0 $ $ $
$ 0 $ $ $
$ 0 $ $ $
$ 0 $ $ $
$ 0 $ $ $
Contractual Total $ 90,000 $ 90,000 $ 0 $ 180,000
g. Other
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
Other Total $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
h. Total Direct Costs $ 90,000$ 90,000 $ 0$ 180,000 i. Indirect Costs-see instructions above $ $ $ $ 0
Total $ 90,000 $ 90,000 $ 0 $180,000
53. Match Amount by ALL Organizations
Name of Match Contributor (Organization, agency, or person)Cost Category(ies)Type of MatchAmount ($) 1 City of Anaheim Contract Cash $ 90,000
2 $
3 $
4 $
5 $
6 $
7 $
8 $
Total 0 0 $ 90,000
Documents top
Documents Requested * Required?Attached Documents *
Letters of Commitment: Submit letters of
commitment (LOC) from all organizations providing
matching contribution to the project, including the
applicant and fiscal sponsor (if applicable).
Letter of Commitment
Letters of Commitment Cover Letter
Letter of Commitment Cover Letter
Fiscal Sponsor Agreement Letter (If applicable)
download template
Financial and Business Management Systems
Review
download template
Financiall and Business Management Form
Single Audit Report FY22
Anaheim Financial Report-Part1
Anaheim Financial Report-Part2
Anaheim Financial Report-Part3
Policy Certification
download template
Policy Certification
Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement - Please
upload this document if you are charging indirect and
are using an indirect rate other than the de minimis
10% rate.
Application ID: 467823
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Best Practices for Analyzing and Mitigating Wildfire Impacts of Development Projects Under the California Environmental Quality Act
I. Introduction
Wildfires are part of California’s present, and with the effects of climate change, an increasing part of our future. Development in fire-prone areas increases the likelihood that more destructive fires will ignite, fire-fighting resources will be taxed, more habitat and people will be put in harm’s way or displaced, and more structures will burn. It is therefore imperative that local jurisdictions making decisions to approve new developments carefully consider wildfire impacts as part of the environmental review process, plan where best to place new development, and mitigate wildfire impacts to the extent feasible.
This guidance is designed to help lead agencies1 comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code, section 21000 et seq. (CEQA), when considering whether to approve projects in wildfire-prone areas. These areas are often in the wildland-urban interface, generally defined as the area where the built environment meets or intermingles with the natural environment.2 The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has classified lands based on fire hazard, the highest being those classified as high or very high fire hazard severity zones. It has also identified areas where the State (as opposed to a local agency) has responsibility for fire-fighting.3 Particularly in these high-risk areas, but also throughout the
1 Lead agencies are any public agencies with “principal responsibility for carrying out or approving a project which may have a significant effect upon the environment.” (Pub. Resources Code, § 21067.) 2 CAL FIRE has published an instructive map on the wildland-urban interface in California: https://frap. fire.ca.gov/media/10300/wui_19_ada.pdf. The wildland-urban interface is defined differently by different agencies for different purposes, but the most widely used definition for wildfire purposes include the intermix and interface areas mapped by Radeloff et al. 2005, 2018. See Volker C. Radeloff, et al., Rapid Growth of the US Wildland-Urban Interface Raises Wildfire Risk. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES USA, 115(13):3314-3319 (2018), available at https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073 /pnas.1718850115.
3 See https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/divisions/community-wildfire-preparedness-and-mitigation/wildland- hazards-building-codes/fire-hazard-severity-zones-maps/. Note that areas mapped by CAL FIRE as high or very high fire hazard are not always coextensive with the wildland-urban interface. In addition, CAL FIRE’s maps are currently in the process of being updated and lead agencies should consult with CAL 2 wildland-urban interface, wildfire risks must be considered during the environmental review process for individual development projects.
This guidance provides suggestions for how best to comply with CEQA when analyzing and mitigating a proposed project’s impacts on wildfire ignition risk, emergency access, and evacuation.4 This guidance is aimed at proposed development projects, such as residential, recreational, or commercial developments.5 The extent to which it applies will inherently vary by project, based on project design and location. This document does not impose additional requirements on local governments or alter any applicable laws or regulations. Rather, it is intended to provide guidance on some of the issues, alternatives, and mitigation measures that should be considered during the environmental review process. This guidance is based on the Office of the Attorney General’s experience reviewing, commenting on, and litigating CEQA documents for projects in high wildfire prone areas, and is intended to assist lead agencies with their planning and approval of future projects. The guidance reflects current requirements and conditions and may need to be updated as changes occur.
II. Background
Although wildfires are and have been an important natural process throughout California’s history, recent changes in fire frequency, intensity, and location are posing increasing threats to the residents and environment of California. More acres of California have burned in the past decade than in the previous 90 years6 and eight of the State’s ten largest fires since 1932 have occurred in the last decade.7 While lightning is a common cause of some of the State’s largest
FIRE before relying on the classifications listed on this map. CAL FIRE’s list of state responsibility areas (defined as areas where the State of California, as opposed to a local agency, is financially responsible for prevention and suppression of wildfires) can be found at: https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.com/ apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=468717e399fa4238ad86861638765ce1. Each county should have a map of the very high or high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction, and they are also included on the CAL FIRE zone map: https://egis.fire.ca.gov/FHSZ/.
4 Readers who want to determine their legal obligations under CEQA should consult their own attorney for legal advice.
5 This guidance is not intended to apply to state and local agency fire management activities, such as prescribed burns, approval of vegetation management plans to reduce wildfire risk, and review of timber harvesting plans.
6 CAL FIRE, Top 20 Largest California Wildfires (Jan. 13, 2022), available at https://www.fire.ca.gov /media/4jandlhh/top20_acres.pdf. See also Hugh D. Safford et al., The 2020 California Fire Season: A Year Like No Other, a Return to the Past or a Harbinger of the Future? (Apr. 17, 2022) GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY, available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.13498?af=R. 7 Paul Rogers, Map: 1 of Every 8 acres in California has Burned in the Last 10 Years. Here’s Where the Biggest Fires Spread—and are Burning Now, Mercury News (Sept. 29, 2021), available at https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/29/top-10-california-wildfires-megafires-map/. Notably, the large fires of late are not unprecedented in the State’s history with similarly large fires occurring specifically during the 1920s. See Jon E. Keeley & Alexandra D. Syphard, Large California Wildfires: 2020 3 fires, in recent years, many of the State’s most destructive fires have been caused by human activity, such as downed powerlines or electrical sources associated with residential development or industrial facilities.8
Wildfires can have dramatic, adverse ecological impacts. Frequent wildfires can result in habitat loss and fragmentation, shifts in vegetative compositions, reductions in small mammal populations, and accelerated loss of predatory species.9 Wildfire can also have adverse impacts on erosion and water quality. During active burning, ash and associated contaminants can enter water supplies. Later, after large burns, rainstorms can flush vast amounts of sediment from exposed soils into those same water supplies.10
Wildfires also have tragic consequences for California’s residents. Since 2010, wildfires have killed nearly 150 people in California11 and, since 2005, wildfires have destroyed over 97,000 structures,12 requiring mass evacuations and exacerbating the State’s already-pressing need for more housing. In addition, wildfire smoke is unhealthy to breathe and is a public health concern.13 Further, wildfire losses are not experienced equally. Lower-income households are more likely to lose all of their assets and less likely to have adequate insurance to cover their losses.14 Meanwhile, the costs of wildfire suppression and resiliency have become significant. In
Fires in Historical Context (Aug. 25, 2021) FIRE ECOLOGY, available at https://fireecology.springeropen.com /articles/10.1186/s42408-021-00110-7.
8 See CAL FIRE, Top 20 Largest California Wildfires (Jan. 13, 2022), available at https://www.fire.ca.gov /media/4jandlhh/top20_acres.pdf; CalFire, Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires (Jan. 13, 2022), available at https://www.fire.ca.gov/media/t1rdhizr/top20_destruction.pdf. 9 See Alexandra D. Syphard, et al., Human Influence on California Fire Regimes. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATION 17:1388-1402 (2007).
10 United States Environmental Protection Agency, Wildfires: How do They Affect Our Water Supplies? (Aug. 13, 2019), available at https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/wildfires-how-do-they-affect-our- water-supplies#:~:text=Vegetation%20that%20holds%20soil%20in,%2C%20rivers%2C%20and%20 downstream%20reservoirs.
11 CAL FIRE, Top Deadliest California Wildfires (Oct. 22, 2021), available at https://www.fire.ca.gov/ media/lbfd0m2f/top20_deadliest.pdf.
12 Headwaters Economics, Wildfires Destroy thousands of structures each year (Nov. 2020, updated Aug. 2022), available at https://headwaterseconomics.org/natural-hazards/structures-destroyed-by-wildfire/. 13 See Kurtis Alexander, California Ranks Worst in Nation for Air Pollution Because of Wildfire Smoke, S.F.
Chronicle (June 23, 2022), available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/california-air- quality-17259687.php. See also Lora Kolodny, The West Coast Is Suffering from Some of the Worst Air in the World — These Apps Show How Bad it Is, CNBC (Sept. 13, 2020), available at https://www.cnbc.com/ 2020/09/12/air-quality-apps-purpleair-airnow-iqair-essential-in-western-us.html; and California Air Resources Board, Protecting Yourself from Wildfire Smoke, available at https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ protecting-yourself-wildfire-smoke.
14 California Council on Science and Technology, The Costs of Wildfire in California (Oct. 2020), at p. 69, available at https://ccst.us/reports/the-costs-of-wildfire-in-california/. 4 2021, the State invested $1.5 billion in wildfire resiliency efforts, and the 2022-2023 budget includes an additional $1.2 billion to support wildfire and forest resilience.15 The changing nature of wildfires, under various metrics—frequency, area burned, adverse ecological impacts, the number of Californians displaced—is a worsening crisis that will unfortunately be part of California’s future.16
As of 2010, about one-third of California’s housing units were located within the wildland-urban interface.17 Residential developments in the wildland-urban interface and other wildfire prone areas can significantly increase the risks of wildfires and the risk to public safety for several reasons. First, introducing more people—via additional development—into a flammable landscape increases the likelihood of: (1) a wildfire igniting due to the increased presence of people; and (2) the ignition becoming a wildfire because of the placement of homes amongst the flammable vegetation.18 Second, building housing units in the wildland-urban interface puts more people in harm’s way.19 Wildfires, particularly those that impact developments in relatively remote locations, may impede the evacuation of communities and emergency access, making it more difficult to ensure public safety and to limit, control, or extinguish wildfires.
Finally, fires in remote locations require significant fire-fighting resources and mobilization of fire-fighters from all over the State—putting a major strain on the State’s fire-fighters and the State’s budget. Put simply, bringing more people into or near flammable wildlands leads to more frequent, intense, destructive, costly, and dangerous wildfires.20
15 Gavin Newsom, California State Budget (2022-2023), at p. 61, available at https://www.ebudget.ca. gov/FullBudgetSummary.pdf; California State Budget, Budget Addendum (2021-2022), at p. 3, available at https://www.ebudget.ca.gov/BudgetAddendum.pdf.
16 See California Council on Science and Technology, The Costs of Wildfire in California (Oct. 2020), at p. 17, available at https://ccst.us/reports/the-costs-of-wildfire-in-california/. 17 Community Wildfire Planning Center, Land Use Planning Approaches in the Wildland-Urban Interface (Feb. 2021), at p. 7, available at https://www.communitywildfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ CWPC_Land-Use-WUI-Report_Final_2021.pdf; see also Heather Anu Kramer, et al., High Wildfire Damage in Interface Communities in California (2019) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE, available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2019/nrs_2019_kramer_001.pdf. At the current rate of growth and under current growth patterns, it is anticipated that an additional 645,000 housing units will be developed in areas designated by CAL FIRE as very high fire hazard severity zones by 2050. Next 10, Rebuilding for a Resilient Recovery: Planning in California’s Wildland Urban Interface (June 2021), at p. 9, available at https://www.next10.org/publications/rebuilding-resilient. 18 See Alexandra D. Syphard, Why Are so Many Structures Burning in California? (2020) Fremontia, 47(2), at p. 29; Volker C. Radeloff, et al., Rapid Growth of the US Wildland-Urban Interface Raises Wildfire Risk.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES USA, 115(13):3314-3319 (2018). 19 See Heather Anu Kramer, et al., High Wildfire Damage in Interface Communities in California (2019) International Journal of Wildland Fire, available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2019/ nrs_2019_kramer_001.pdf; Volker C. Radeloff, et al., Rapid growth of the US wildland-Urban interface raises wildfire risk. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES USA, 115(13):3314-3319 (2018). 20 See Michael L. Mann, et al., Incorporating Anthropogenic Influences into Fire Probability Models:
Effects of Human Activity and Climate Change on Fire Activity in California (Apr. 28, 2016) PLOS ONE 5 III. Wildfire and Land Use Planning
While this guidance is focused on best practices to disclose, analyze, and mitigate wildfire impacts in compliance with CEQA, it is important to note that general planning also provides a critical opportunity for local jurisdictions to think proactively about how to accommodate their housing and development needs while reducing the risks of wildfire.21 In the last ten years, new legislation has passed requiring local jurisdictions to consider wildfire risks in their general planning processes.22 The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) recently published comprehensive guidance to help local agencies comply with these requirements.23 We encourage local jurisdictions to consult this guidance and to thoughtfully plan for new development given the increasing risk of wildfires throughout the state.24
11(4), available at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0153589; Alexandra D.
Syphard, Why Are so Many Structures Burning in California? (2020) FREMONTIA, 47(2), at pp. 28-35, available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70215982; Alexandra D. Syphard, et al., Land Use Planning and Wildfire: Development Policies Influence Future Probability of Housing Loss (2013) PLOS ONE, available at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071708& type=printable; see also Final Statement of Reasons for Regulatory Action re Amendments to the State CEQA Guidelines OAL Notice File No. Z-2018-0116-12 (“Statement of Reasons”), at p. 87, available at https://resources.ca.gov/CNRALegacyFiles/ceqa/docs/2018_CEQA_Final_Statement_of%20Reasons_ 111218.pdf.
21 See Alexandra D. Syphard, Why Are so Many Structures Burning in California? (2020) FREMONTIA, 47(2), at p. 33, available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70215982 [concluding that “the most effective strategy at reducing future structure loss would focus on reducing the extent of low-density housing via careful land planning decisions”].
22 See Sen Bill No. 1241 (2011-2012 Reg. Sess.), amending and/or adding Gov. Code, §§ 65302, subd. (g)(3), 65302.5, subd. (b), and 66474.02) [requiring local jurisdictions within state responsibility areas or very high fire hazard severity zones to address wildfire risk when updating their safety elements and to submit their draft updates to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for review]; Sen. Bill No. 99 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.), amending Gov. Code, § 65302, subd. (g)(5) [requiring updated safety elements to identify residential developments within hazard areas that do not have at least two evacuation routes]; Assem. Bill No. 747 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.), adding Gov. Code, § 65302.15 [requiring local jurisdictions to update their safety element to address the capacity of evacuation routes under a range of various emergency scenarios]; Assem. Bill No. 1409 (2020-2021 Reg. Sess.), amending Gov. Code, § 65302.15 [requiring that safety elements identify locations where people can evacuate to]. 23 Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Fire Hazard Planning Technical Advisory, 2022 Update (Aug. 2022), available at https://opr.ca.gov/docs/20220817-Fire_Hazard_Planning_TA.pdf; and Wildland-Urban Interface Planning Guide: Examples and Best Practices for California Communities (Aug. 2022), available at https://opr.ca.gov/docs/20220817-Complete_WUI_Planning_Guide.pdf. 24 Local jurisdictions that have complied with their general planning obligations, including incorporating wildfire and evacuation planning considerations into their general plans, may benefit from streamlined CEQA requirements at the project approval level. If a development project is consistent with an updated general plan and an environmental impact report (EIR) was prepared for that plan, the CEQA review for the project may be limited to the parcel-specific impacts of the project or impacts that new information, 6 IV. Analyzing and Mitigating Wildfire Risk Impacts Under CEQA
A. CEQA’s requirements for analyzing wildfire risks
CEQA requires local jurisdictions considering development projects to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) or a mitigated negative declaration25 if the project may potentially have a significant impact on the environment and is not otherwise exempt from CEQA.26 Under CEQA, local jurisdictions may act as lead agencies with responsibility for preparing the EIR (or other CEQA document), or as responsible agencies relying on an EIR prepared by a lead agency. CEQA provides a critical process for local jurisdictions to understand how new developments will exacerbate existing wildfire risks, allowing them to consider project design features, alternatives, and mitigation measures that provide for smarter development and the protection of existing communities.
The CEQA Guidelines27 require that an EIR include a description of the physical environmental conditions in the vicinity of the project, at the time the notice of preparation is published, or if no notice of preparation is published, at the time environmental analysis is commenced.28 This “baseline” of existing environmental conditions is generally used to determine the significance of project-related impacts. In the EIR’s discussion of the existing environmental conditions, lead agencies should include information about open space areas and habitats within the project area that may be fire prone, as well as a discussion of fire history and fuels on the project site.
Including a discussion of existing available water supplies for fire-fighting is also critical.
Providing detail about existing environmental conditions at the project site that may exacerbate or minimize wildfire impacts will help ensure that the EIR fully considers the project’s impacts on wildfire risk.
The CEQA Guidelines require an analysis of “any significant environmental effects the project might cause or risk exacerbating by bringing development and people into the area affected,” including by locating development in wildfire risk areas.29 The “environmental checklist form” in Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines, Section XX, directs lead agencies to assess whether
arising since adoption of the general plan, shows will be more significant than described in the prior EIR. (Pub. Resources Code, § 21083.3; CEQA Guidelines, § 15193). 25 Where “EIR” is used in this guidance it should also be considered to refer to a mitigated negative declaration.
26 Pub. Resources Code, § 21067; CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15050 and 15367. 27 The CEQA Guidelines are found at California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15000, et seq. 28 CEQA Guidelines, § 15125.
29 CEQA Guidelines, § 15126.2.
7 projects located in or near state responsibility areas or lands classified as very high fire hazard severity zones,30 would:
a) Substantially impair an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan;
b) Due to slope, prevailing winds, and other factors, exacerbate wildfire risks, and thereby expose project occupants to pollutant concentrations from a wildfire or the uncontrolled spread of a wildfire;
c) Require the installation or maintenance of associated infrastructure (such as roads, fuel breaks, emergency water sources, power lines or other utilities) that may exacerbate fire risk or that may result in temporary or ongoing impacts to the environment; or d) Expose people or structures to significant risks, including downslope or downstream flooding or landslides, as a result of runoff, post-fire slope instability, or drainage changes.31
In addition to the four questions above, Section IX(g) of the checklist broadly directs lead agencies to consider whether a project will “expose people or structures, either directly or indirectly, to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving wildland fires.”32 In answering these questions, lead agencies must consider both on- and off-site impacts.33 B. Analyzing a project’s impact on wildfire risks
Several variables should be considered in analyzing a project’s impact on wildfire risk, including:
• Project Density: Project density influences how likely a fire is to start or spread, and how likely it is that the development and its occupants will be in danger when a fire starts. Fire spread and structure loss is more likely to occur in low- to intermediate- density developments.34 This is because there are more people present to ignite a fire (as compared to undeveloped land), and the development is not concentrated enough
30 See footnote 1 for more information on state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones.
31 CEQA Guidelines, Appendix G, XX.
32 CEQA Guidelines, Appendix G, IX(g). This Guidance focuses on these key wildfire-related questions in Sections IX(g) and XX of the checklist, but in conducting environmental review, lead agencies must continue to thoroughly address the other questions identified in Section XX and the checklist more generally.
33 CEQA Guidelines, § 15360 [defining the environment to be considered as “the area in which significant effects would occur either directly or indirectly as a result of the project”]. 34 Alexandra D. Syphard, The Relative Influence of Climate and Housing Development on Current and Projected Future Fire Patterns and Structure Loss Across Three California Landscapes (2019) GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE; Alexandra D. Syphard, et al., Housing Arrangement and Location Determine the Likelihood of Housing Loss Due to Wildfire (Mar. 28, 2012) PLOS ONE, available at https://journals.plos .org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0033954.
8 (as compared to high-density developments) to disrupt fire spread by removing or substantially fragmenting wildland vegetation.35 “Isolated clusters of development and low housing density mean that homes are embedded within, and more exposed to, a matrix of wildland vegetation.”36 Moreover, fire-fighters may have difficulty accessing more remote and disconnected developments.37
• Project Location in the Landscape: Project placement in the landscape relative to fire history, topography and wind patterns also influences wildfire risk. Although wildfire ignitions are primarily human-caused in California, wildfire behavior is largely driven by topography, fuel, climatic conditions, and fire weather (such as low humidity and high winds). How a development project is planned within the landscape determines to what extent it will influence fire risk.38 For example, if a project site is located in a wind corridor, above-ground power lines may become a source of ignition. Similarly, siting residential structures in rugged terrain or on the top of steep hills may increase the wildfire risk. By contrast, if a project site includes landscape features that could prevent or slow the spread of fire, such as a lake or an irrigated golf course, the development may be strategically located so as to capitalize on that feature as a natural fuel break.39
35 See generally Alexandra D. Syphard, et. al., Multiple-Scale Relationships between Vegetation, the Wildland-Urban Interface, and Structure Loss to Wildfire in California (Mar. 12, 2021) MDPI FIRE 2021. 36 Max A. Moritz, et al., Learning to Coexist with Wildfire (2014) NATURE 515(7525), at p. 64; see also Alexandra D. Syphard, et. Al., Multiple-Scale Relationships between Vegetation, the Wildland-Urban Interface, and Structure Loss to Wildfire in California (March 12, 2021) MDPI FIRE 2021. 37 See Alexandra D. Syphard, Why Are so Many Structures Burning in California? (2020) FREMONTIA, 47(2), at p. 31.
38 See generally Max Moritz, et al., Building to Coexist with Fire: Community Risk Reduction Measures for New Development in California (Apr. 2020) University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8680, available at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6n12m6pn; Alexandra D. Syphard, Why Are so Many Structures Burning in California? (2020) FREMONTIA, 47(2), at pp. 28-35, available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70215982.
39 See Max Moritz, et al., Building to Coexist with Fire: Community Risk Reduction Measures for New Development in California (Apr. 2020) University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8680, at p. 10, available at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6n12m6pn; see also Conservation Biology Institute, Paradise Nature-Based Fire Resilience Project Final Report (June 2020), available at https://d2k78bk4kdhbpr.cloudfront.net/media/reports/files/CBI_Paradise_Final_ Report_for_Posting_Online.pdf [An examination of how siting and greenbelts may have protected homes during the Paradise fire]. Siting of a new fire-resistant development between wildlands and existing development may even serve as a protective barrier for the existing development. But there can still be some risk of ember spread if the new development succumbs to fire. See Alexandra D. Syphard, Why Are so Many Structures Burning in California? (2020) FREMONTIA, 47(2), at pp. 28-35, available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70215982; California Council on Science and Technology, The Costs of Wildfire in California (Oct. 2020), at p. 67, available at https://ccst.us/reports/the-costs-of-wildfire-in- california/.
9 • Water Supply and Infrastructure: As part of evaluating a project’s wildfire risk impacts, an EIR should analyze the adequacy of water supplies and infrastructure to address fire- fighting within the project site.40 This analysis should consider the potential loss of water pressure during a fire, which may decrease available water supply41 and the potential loss of power, which may eliminate the supply.42 To understand how a project may exacerbate the risk of wildfire, an EIR should qualitatively assess these variables and also use fire modeling and other spatial and statistical analyses to quantify the risks to the extent feasible. Experts should utilize fire models to account for various siting and design elements, as well as a variety of different fire scenarios. The modeling should include scenarios for fires that start in, near, and far from the project site, as well as extreme weather conditions that exacerbate fire spread.
Lead agencies are encouraged to develop thresholds of significance that either identify an increase in wildfire risk as a significant impact or determine, based on substantial evidence, that some increase in the risk of wildfires is not considered a significant impact. Relevant factors should include the project’s impact on ignition risk, the likelihood of fire spread, and the extent of exposure for existing and new residents based on various fire scenarios. Modeling the various scenarios enables local agencies to quantify increased wildfire risks resulting from a project adding more people to wildfire prone areas and to assess the risks according to the threshold of significance.
Some EIRs have concluded that the conversion of some wildland vegetation into paved development reduces or does not increase wildfire risk. This conclusion is contrary to existing evidence and the well-accepted understanding that the fundamental driver of increased wildfire risk is the introduction of people into a flammable landscape.43 Accordingly, the conversion of vegetation into developed land does not obviate the need for lead agencies to carefully consider and model how the addition of development into wildfire prone areas contributes to the risk of wildfire.
40 See Max Moritz, et al., Building to Coexist with Fire: Community Risk Reduction Measures for New Development in California (Apr. 2020) University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8680, at p. 19 and Appendix B, available at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6n12m6pn. 41 See Max Moritz, et al., Building to Coexist with Fire: Community Risk Reduction Measures for New Development in California (Apr. 2020), at p. 19, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8680, available at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6n12m6pn. 42 See Alexandra D. Syphard, Nexus Between Wildfire, Climate Change and Population Growth in California (2020) FREMONTIA, 47(2), at p. 26.
43 See Heather Anu Kramer, et al., High Wildfire Damage in Interface Communities in California (2019) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE, available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2019/nrs _2019_kramer_001.pdf; see also Exhibit A to the Final Statement of Reasons for Regulatory Action re Amendments to the State CEQA Guidelines, OAL Notice File No. Z-2018-0116-12, at p. 212, available at https://resources.ca.gov/CNRALegacyFiles/ceqa/docs/2018_CEQA_ExA_FSOR.pdf. 10 C. Analyzing the project’s impact on evacuation and emergency access
The addition of new development into high wildfire risk or adjacent areas may impact the evacuation of project residents, as well as the existing population (e.g., residents, workers, students, visitors, and possibly livestock) in the area and the ability of emergency responders to simultaneously access the area to fight wildfire. This can, in turn, impact the risk and extent of large-scale fire spread and community safety within and around the new development. The EIR should evaluate these impacts both during construction and over the life of the project. The required analysis is relative to a project’s impacts and risks; e.g., a higher density infill project within an already developed area would likely not require the same level of analysis as a new low-density development within the wildland-urban interface and surrounded largely by open space.44
For projects located in high wildfire risk areas that present an increased risk of ignition and/or evacuation impacts, evacuation modeling and planning should be considered and developed at the time of project review and approval—when there is greater flexibility to modify a project’s design, density, siting, and configuration to address wildfire considerations—rather than deferred to a later stage of the development process. Lead agencies will be best-positioned to ensure proposed development projects facilitate emergency access and ease constraints on evacuation with this information in hand prior to project approval. The ultimate objective is to allow for informed decision-making that minimizes the environmental and public safety hazards associated with new developments that increase the risk of ignition and impede evacuation in high wildfire prone areas.
Evacuation modeling and analysis should include the following:
• Evaluation of the capacity of roadways to accommodate project and community evacuation and simultaneous emergency access.
• Assessment of the timing for evacuation.
• Identification of alternative plans for evacuation depending upon the location and dynamics of the emergency.
• Evaluation of the project’s impacts on existing evacuation plans. • Consideration of the adequacy of emergency access, including the project’s proximity to existing fire services and the capacity of existing services. • Traffic modeling to quantify travel times under various likely scenarios.
44 See Max Moritz, et al., Building to Coexist with Fire: Community Risk Reduction Measures for New Development in California (Apr. 2020), University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8680, at p. 5, available at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6n12m6pn [describing the benefits of infill development].
11 In considering these evacuation and emergency access impacts, lead agencies may use existing resources and analyses, but such resources and analyses should be augmented when necessary.
For example, agencies should:
• Utilize information from the EIR’s analysis of traffic/transportation impacts, but they should not limit themselves to that information, which may not reflect the impact of emergency conditions on travel times.
• Consult with local fire officials and ensure that assumptions and conclusions regarding evacuation risk are substantiated with sound facts. Emergency conditions may not allow for ideal evacuation scenarios—staggered, staged, or targeted evacuation in response to a wildfire may sometimes be possible, but human behavior is difficult to predict and wildfires can be erratic, unpredictable, and fast-moving.45 • Consider impacts to existing evacuation plans, but recognize that, depending on the scope of an existing evacuation plan, additional analyses or project-specific plans may be needed. Community evacuation plans often identify roles and responsibilities for emergency personnel and evacuation routes, but do not necessarily consider the capacity of roadways, assess the timing for community evacuation, or identify alternative plans for evacuation depending upon the location and dynamics of the emergency.
• Avoid overreliance on community evacuation plans identifying shelter-in-place locations. Sheltering in place, particularly when considered at the community planning stage,46 can serve as a valuable contingency, but it should not be relied upon in lieu of analyzing and mitigating a project’s evacuation impacts.47
Local jurisdictions are encouraged to develop thresholds of significance for evacuation times.
These thresholds should reflect any existing planning objectives for evacuation, as well as
45 See FEMA and U.S. Fire Administration, Wildland Urban Interface: A Look at Issues and Resolutions (June 2022), available at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/wui-issues- resolutions-report.pdf.
46 FEMA, Planning Considerations: Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place (July 2019), available at https://www. fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/planning -considerations-evacuation-and-shelter-in-place.pdf. The distinction between temporary shelter-in-place locations and buildings designed or retrofitted for longer term shelter-in-place should also be considered. See Max Moritz, et al., Building to Coexist with Fire:
Community Risk Reduction Measures for New Development in California (Apr. 2020) University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8680, at p. 17, available at https://escholarship .org/uc/item/6n12m6pn [discussing the difference between “safety zones”—areas with little flammable vegetations, such as golf courses—versus buildings that are designed to provide protection from heat and embers while the front of a fire passes, typically for a duration of at least 30-60 minutes]. 47 See Mejia, Pepperdine University Defends ‘Shelter in Place’ Decision During Woolsey Fire, Los Angeles Times (Nov. 13, 2018), available at https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pepperdine-shelter- 20181113-story.html; Chandler, Am I Going to Stay in the Parking Lot . . . While the Fires Burn Around Me?, Record Searchlight (Dec. 12, 2019), available at https://www.redding.com/in-depth/news/ 2019/04/25/california-wildfire-shelter-place-plans-questioned-evacuation-preparation/3427075002/. 12 informed expert analysis of safe and reasonable evacuation times given the existing and proposed development. Local jurisdictions should consider whether any increase in evacuation times for the local community would be a significant impact. A conclusion that an increase in evacuation times is a less than significant impact should be based on a threshold of significance that reflects community-wide goals and standards.
In establishing thresholds, local jurisdictions should consider referring to successful evacuations from prior emergencies within their community or similarly situated communities. The thresholds should include, but not be limited to, whether the project creates an inconsistency with: (1) an adopted emergency operations or evacuation plan; (2) a safety element that has been updated per the requirements in Government Code sections 65302(g)(5) and 65302.15 to integrate wildfire and evacuation concerns; or (3) recommendations developed by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection regarding the safety of subdivisions pursuant to Public Resources Code section 4290.5.
D. Mitigating wildfire risk, evacuation, and emergency access impacts
If a project presents significant increased wildfire risks and/or evacuation and access impacts, CEQA requires the lead agency to consider and adopt feasible alternatives and mitigation measures to avoid or reduce the project’s impacts (or make a finding of overriding consideration).48 Not all project design features or mitigation measures will achieve the same reduction in impacts for every project—the effects and effectiveness of measures will vary geographically and by project. An EIR that baldly concludes that certain project design features or mitigation measures will reduce or eliminate all potential wildfire risks, without first describing those risks, fails to fully analyze the project’s impacts. Compressing the analysis of impacts and mitigation deprives decision makers of a full description of the project’s adverse impacts and, therefore, fails to equip the decision makers with the necessary information to properly address the impacts by adopting project design features, mitigation measures, or alternatives. To avoid this error and provide for better project design, the project EIR should first analyze the increased wildfire risks and evacuation impacts, and then consider feasible mitigation and alternatives to avoid or reduce those impacts.
Set forth below are some examples of potential mitigation measures and design alternatives that may reduce wildfire risk impacts. This list is not exclusive and a lead agency’s adoption of some or all of these mitigation measures for a particular project may not be sufficient to comply with CEQA’s requirement to adopt all feasible mitigation measures.
• Increasing housing density and consolidated design, relying on higher density infill developments as much as possible.
• Avoidance and minimization of low-density exurban development patterns or leapfrog- type developments (i.e., those with undeveloped wildland between developed areas).
48 Pub. Resources Code, § 21081.
13 • Decreasing the extent and amount of “edge,” or interface area, where development is adjacent to undeveloped wildlands.
• Creation of buffer zones and defensible space within and adjacent to the development, with particular attention to ensuring that vegetation will not touch structures or overhang roofs.49 It is also important that legal obligations are structured so that defensible space measures are retained over time.50
• Siting projects to maximize the role of low-flammability landscape features that may buffer the development from fire spread.
• Undergrounding power lines.
• Limiting development along steep slopes and amidst rugged terrain, so as to decrease exposure to rapid fire spread and increase accessibility for fire-fighting. • Placement of development close to existing or planned ingress/egress and designated evacuation routes to efficiently evacuate the project population and the existing community population, consistent with evacuation plans, while simultaneously allowing emergency access.
• Placement of projects close to adequate emergency services. • Construction of additional points of ingress and egress and modification of evacuation routes to minimize or avoid increasing evacuation times or emergency access response times.
• Fire hardening structures and homes—upgrading the building materials and installation techniques to increase the structure’s resistance to heat, flames, and embers—beyond what is required in applicable building codes, both for new structures and existing structures in proximity to the new development.
• Requiring fire-hardened communication to the project site including high-speed internet service.
• Enhanced communication to the project population about emergency evacuation plans and evacuation zones.
• Parking limitations to ensure access roads are not clogged with parked vehicles. • On-site water supply/storage to augment ordinary supplies that may be lost during a wildfire.
In all situations, mitigation measures should be combined and tailored to the specifics of the project, the surrounding landscape, and nearby existing uses. In some contexts, the mitigation measure itself may have an adverse impact that should be evaluated in an EIR. In addition,
49 Note, however, that defensible space around homes does not alone tend to account for structural survival. See Alexandra D. Syphard, Why Are so Many Structures Burning in California? (2020) FREMONTIA, 47(2), at p. 32, available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70215982; Alexandra D.
Syphard et al., The Role of Defensible Space for Residential Structure Protection During Wildfires (Oct. 14, 2014) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE, available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF13158. 50 See Max Moritz, et al., Building to Coexist with Fire: Community Risk Reduction Measures for New Development in California (Apr. 2020), at p. 12, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8680, available at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6n12m6pn. 14 mitigation measures may not provide the same level of protection or mitigation in all scenarios.51 For example, home hardening has been shown to be an extremely effective measure for preventing structure loss during a wildfire. The California Building Code was updated in 2008 to require more advanced fire hardening and homes built to the revised standards were shown to be 40 percent less likely to be destroyed by a wildfire than similarly situated homes built prior to the update.52 However, home hardening by itself may not be an adequate mitigation measure in all situations. During the Camp Fire, which swept through Paradise in 2018, homes built before and after the 2008 Building Code update were destroyed at roughly equal rates.53 Home hardening in conformance with the 2008 Building Code alone did not meaningfully effect survivability; rather, proximity to other destroyed structures, the extent of vegetative overstory, and defensive space around homes was more relevant to whether or not a home survived.54 While home hardening may be a worthy measure, this highlights the importance of combining measures, with an awareness to overall landscape conditions, to maximize public safety and minimize wildfire-related losses. It also demonstrates that defensive measures can improve but do not guarantee survivability, which highlights the continued importance of planning for evacuation and emergency access.
VII. Conclusion
As climate change and housing pressure continue to impact the State’s landscape, wildfire risks, and development needs, local agencies need to thoroughly evaluate where and how new development is planned and constructed. With careful forethought during the various planning processes and thoughtful environmental review at the individual project development stage, new development can be designed and positioned to minimize future wildfire risks, enhance fire resiliency of our communities, and protect the health and safety of California’s residents and natural resources. While the applicable rules, requirements, and analytical tools to reduce wildfire risk are evolving, this guidance is intended to provide suggestions for how best to comply with CEQA when analyzing and mitigating the wildfire risks of development projects in the wildland-urban interface and other fire prone areas.
51 See Alexandra D. Syphard, et. al., Multiple-Scale Relationships between Vegetation, the Wildland- Urban Interface, and Structure Loss to Wildfire in California (Mar. 12, 2021), at p. 13, MDPI FIRE 2021 [noting that “the most effective fire risk reduction approach will account for multiple factors at multiple scales and will incorporate simultaneous strategies”].
52 Patrick W Baylis, et al., Mandated vs. Voluntary Adaptation to Natural Disasters: the Case of U.S.
Wildfires (Dec. 2021), National Bureau of Economic Research, available at https://www.nber.org/ papers/w29621.
53 Eric E. Knapp, et al., Housing Arrangement and Vegetation Factors Associated with Single-Family Home Survival in the 2018 Camp Fire, California (2021) FIRE ECOLOGY 17:25, available at https://fireecology. springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s42408-021-00117-0.pdf [37 percent of homes built between 1997 and 2008 survived, while 44 percent of homes built between 2008 and 2018 survived]. 54 Eric E. Knapp, et al., Housing Arrangement and Vegetation Factors Associated with Single-Family Home Survival in the 2018 Camp Fire, California (2021) FIRE ECOLOGY 17:25, available at https://fireecology. springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s42408-021-00117-0.pdf.