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Agenda Report
January 12,2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Public Safety Committee (December 17,2025)
FROM: Fire Department
SUBJECT: 2025 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) Adoption and Integration RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Find the proposed action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the "Common Sense" Exemption that CEQA only applies to projects that may have an effect on the environment; and
2. Adopt a Resolution adopting the 2025 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) and amending the General Plan to incorporate the 2025 LHMP.
BACKGROUND:
The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) drives the need for the City to update its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan at this time. DMA 2000 is federal legislation that requires local governments to develop and maintain a Hazard Mitigation Plan to remain eligible for certain non-emergency, pre- and post-disaster funding opportunities from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Our last Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) was updated and adopted in 2019; FEMA requires that LHMPs be reviewed, revised, and approved every five years to ensure the document remains current and valid. The LHMP update is a critical process that serves as the foundation for a community's long-term resilience against natural and human-caused disasters.
Hazards and community vulnerabilities are not static; they change over time, necessitating a comprehensive re-evaluation of the current plan. The 2025 LHMP includes updated data and will be considered a "living" document to ensure that it is maintained at its most accurate state. Future periodical edits may include changes in local development, population patterns, federal and state requirements, and critical i
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MEETING OF.01/12/2026AGENDA ITEM NO..7
2025 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) Adoption
January 12, 2026
infrastructures. The update and continued review will ensure that the established plan protects our community's current, not past, assets. While the 2025 LhlMP is not regulatory, this update ensures that our mitigation strategies remain effective and relevant.
The transition from the City's 2019 LHMP to the 2025 LHMP represents various updates, marked by a reframing of hazard priorities, a focus on community vulnerability, and a reorganization of the plan structure. Strategically, the new plan includes a dedicated hazard profile for climate change, which serves as an overarching framework to address linked threats such as extreme heat, increased wildfire risk, and long-term flooding. The 2025 LHMP streamlines the profiles by combining formerly separate hazards like severe wind, extreme heat, and winter storms into a single category, ensuring comprehensive coverage of interconnected meteorological events and to fully capture projects that may have overlapping impacts. Poticy-wise, the 2025 LHMP places a stronger emphasis on involving vulnerable populations in planning and strengthens mitigation efforts by incorporating new mitigation actions that will lessen impacts. Finally, the plan's overall structure was reorganized for a more integrated risk management approach and to align with the 2025 update of the federal guidance.
In addition, an updated plan that is integrated into the General Plan is required for additional Post-Disaster recovery funding through Assembly Bill 2140 (AB 2140). AB 2140 states that a city becomes eligible to be considered for additional state cost-share on eligible post-disaster recovery projects funded under the California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA); this can significantly reduce the City's financial burden after disasters. Finally, this integration also ensures that the LHMP is not a standalone document but a central consideration in day-to-day decision-making, public safety, land use and development.
COUNCIL POLICY CONSIDERATION:
The City Council's strategic planning goal of maintaining fiscal responsibility and stability and ensuring public safety will be advanced by adopting a Resolution to adopt the 2025 LHMP and incorporating it to the City's General Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The proposed contract is exempt from the CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b) (3), the "common sense" provision of CEQA (formerly the general rule), which applies to projects which may have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The proposed action will not result in any new development or physical changes.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Following City Council's adoption of the 2025 LHMP, the City of Pasadena will be eligible to:
2025 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) Adoption
January 12, 2026
1. Apply for federal pre-and post-disaster mitigation funding through mitigation grant programs. A current LHMP is a vital prerequisite for receiving Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants, such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.
These programs provide vital funding for implementing mitigation projects that break the expensive cycle of disaster damage, repair, and repeated damage.
2. Receive additional post-disaster recovery funding from the State of California.
Following a disaster, recovery costs are generally borne as: 75% Federal,
18.75% State, 6.25% City. If the City has a current, adopted LHMP, the Governor and State Legislature can vote to authorize the State to cover the 6.25% City share. In the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, a 6.25% cost share could be significant.
Respectfully submitted,
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Prepared by:
CHADAUGUSTIN
Fire Chief
Fire Department
Concurred by:
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Jallely Procopio /
Emergency Sen/ices Manager
Fire Department
Approved by:
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ
City Manager
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Attachments: (2)
Attachment A - 2025 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
Attachment B - AB-2140 Fact Sheet