CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
February 6, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: René Anderson, Human Resources/Risk Management Director SUBJECT: Approval of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following resolution:
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-23 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE UPDATED LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, to be eligible for grant funding for hazard mitigation, pre-disaster mitigation, and flood mitigation assistance grant programs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the City of Pomona must have a current Hazard Mitigation Plan that has been approved and adopted by City Council. The previous Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan was adopted by the City Council on November 19, 2012, then approved by FEMA on June 30, 2015. FEMA’s approval lasted five (5) years. As the prior Plan’s approval has expired, an updated Local Hazard Mitigation Plan has been prepared for City Council’s consideration and adoption. There are three (3) significant changes from the prior plan: (1) the Plan name was changed from Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan to Local Hazard Mitigation Plan; (2) Census data was updated to reflect 2019 population counts, as data for 2020 Census was not yet available; and (3) Pandemic/Infectious Disease was added as a new hazard. Once this updated Plan is adopted by the City Council and approved by FEMA, the City will again be able to apply for hazard mitigation program grants through the Federal government.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with adoption of the 2022 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION: On November 1, 2004, the City Council approved and adopted the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan; which was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on October 3, 2006.
On November 19, 2012, the City Council approved and adopted an updated 2012 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan; which was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on June 30, 2015.
DISCUSSION: Pursuant to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements, specifically, the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, the City is required to have in place a current Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) to be eligible to receive Federal grant funding for disaster mitigation projects. The HMP must be adopted by City Council and approved by the FEMA. The approval from FEMA is for a period of five (5) years; which requires the plan be updated for the City to remain eligible for grant funding. The previous Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP) was approved and adopted by the City Council on November 19, 2012, approved by FEMA on June 30, 2015, and expired on June 30, 2020. Due to several factors, including the effects of COVID-19, staff was unable to complete the necessary update to the NHMP until now.
Human Resources/Risk Management staff applied for a grant from FEMA and the City was awarded $56,250 to engage the services of a consultant, Interwest, to assist in the NHMP update. The updates to the City’s Hazard Mitigation Plan were completed, and submitted to both the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) and FEMA for review. These agencies have reviewed and conditionally approved the Plan pending adoption by City Council. The updated Plan is now being presented to the City Council for approval and adoption.
The 2022 Plan contains changes from the 2012 Plan, which include:
Renaming the plan from a Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan to a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. This was done to incorporate man-made hazards into the Plan; Updated census and demographic information;
Pandemic/Infectious disease as a new hazard;
Public surveys and pertaining data collected;
An updated Risk Assessment with the most current hazards data identified; and Progress in the Local Mitigation efforts section added.
Staff is recommending that the City Council approve and adopt the updated Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Resolution No. 2023-23 in order to obtain final approval from FEMA. This Plan will be in effect for five (5) years, at which time another update and approval will be required.
Prepared by:
_____________________________
Chris Millard
Risk Manager
Attachment No. 1 – Resolution No. 2023-23
Attachment No. 2 – Local Hazard Mitigation Plan 2022
Adoption of Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update