August 26, 2025
Department
DATE: August 26, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Richard Diaz, Emergency Services Manager, Richmond
Fire Department
SUBJECT:
Adoption of the 2024 Contra Costa County Hazard
Mitigation Plan – City of Richmond Annex
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact for receiving this item.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City of Richmond joined 16 other local jurisdictions in Contra Costa County to plan and develop a Multi-
Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP), which
served as an update to the previous HMP last updated in 2018. By participating in this process, local jurisdictions would benefit from aligning their portion of the planning process as an Annex to the county HMP, which would
include updated risk and hazard analysis and
assessment, as well as identification of mitigation actions to minimize community impact.
Per Federal and State requirements, local HMPs must be
adopted to be officially recognized and implemented.
Contra Costa County adopted their County-specific HMP
in November of 2024. Participating jurisdictions have until September 18, 2025, to adopt their respective Annexes.
The City of Richmond is therefore seeking adoption of
their HMP Annex by the City Council.
AGENDA
REPORT
August 26, 2025
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution adopting the Contra Costa County
2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan - City of Richmond Annex –
Fire Department (Richard Diaz 510-307-8161).
DISCUSSION:
In late 2024, Contra Costa County finalized a multi-jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). This Plan is required by Federal and State mandate to be developed and approved at the State, County, and Local government level. The process of developing a HMP is a lengthy planning process designed to continuously assess, document and act upon identified risks and hazards (natural and man-made) that pose a threat to the lives of local community residents.
An HMP also serves as a strategic tool to leverage funding to address hazard mitigation-specific projects that are designed to minimize the impact of identified community risks and hazards. The HMP is required to be developed every five years with important updates to be included on an annual basis. The last HMP developed for both Contra Costa County and the City of Richmond was dated 2018.
For Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services (OES) led this county-wide planning effort through the guidance of a consulting firm.
The process included 16 jurisdictions and 21 districts, each incorporating their respective local HMPs as an Annex to the county’s HMP. The City of Richmond participated in this process represented by a Local Planning Team comprised of 10 City staff from the Community Development Department, Public Works Department, Fire Department, Police Department, and Finance Department.
Per Federal and State requirements, once the HMP has been developed, it must be submitted for federal approval and adopted locally for it to be officially acknowledged as completed. Contra Costa County adopted their County-specific HMP in November of 2024. Participating jurisdictions have until September 18, 2025, to adopt their respective Annexes to the HMP. City staff recommends the City Council adopt the City of Richmond HMP Annex which includes slight modification of the Local Planning Team and reference to the recently released California Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) in the City of Richmond’s Local Responsibility Area (LRA) (Attachments 1 and 2). These updated LRA maps were released in February 2025 and, per State requirement, had to go through a public comment period that ended in May 2025.
SYNERGISTIC POLICIES:
Adopting the Contra Costa County Hazard Mitigation Plan – City of Richmond Annex further cements the city’s commitment to improving public safety, particularly around community preparedness and resilience.
August 26, 2025
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – 2024 Contra Costa County HMP – City of Richmond Annex Attachment 2 – City of Richmond Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zones Attachment 3 – Resolution to Adopt the Contra Costa County HMP – City of Richmond Annex