RESOLUTION NO. _____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA ADOPTING A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT INCORPORATING THE MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN AND THE CITY’S LOCAL ANNEX INTO THE CITY’S GENERAL PLAN WHEREAS, the City of Santa Clara recognizes the threat that natural hazards pose to people and property within the City; WHEREAS, the City of Santa Clara has participated in the preparation of a multi-hazard mitigation plan, hereby known as the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) and the City of Santa Clara Annex in accordance with federal laws, including the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended; the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended; and the National Dam Safety Program Act, as amended; WHEREAS, the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP), dated 2023, and the City of Santa Clara Annex, dated February 21, 2024, identify mitigation goals and actions to reduce or eliminate long-term risks to people and property in Santa Clara from the impacts of future hazards and disasters; WHEREAS, the City Council adopted the Santa Clara County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan and the City of Santa Clara Annex on August 27, 2024; WHEREAS, on February 19, 2025, the City of Santa Clara Planning Commission held a noticed public hearing on the proposed General Plan Amendment, voting to recommend that the City Council approve the amendment (6-0-1, Commissioner Cherukuru absent); WHEREAS, the City Council now wishes to incorporate the MJHMP and Local Annex into the City’s General Plan; WHEREAS, on February 5, 2025, a notice of public hearing was published in the Weekly, a newspaper of general circulation, for the public hearing to be conducted on March 25, 2025; WHEREAS, on March 20, 2025, a notice of the March 25, 2025 public hearing was posted in three public places in the City (specifically, at City Hall, the Central Park Library, and the Northside branch library); WHEREAS, on March 25, 2025, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing to consider the proposed General Plan Amendment, at which time all interested persons were given an opportunity to present evidence and provide testimony, both in support of and in opposition to the proposed General Plan Amendment.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA AS FOLLOWS:
That the City Council hereby finds that the above Recitals are true and correct and by this reference makes them a part hereof.
That the City Council hereby makes the following findings in support of the General Plan Amendment:
A. The proposed amendment is deemed to be in the public interest, in that participation in the MJHMP and Santa Clara Annex will reduce the vulnerability of the City to disasters and their effects, will promote individual and community safety and the ability to adapt to changing conditions, will promote community vitality after a disaster, and will provide educate the community on response and recovery resource requirements after a disaster; B. The proposed General Plan amendment is consistent and compatible with the rest of the General Plan and any implementation programs that may be affected, in that state law mandates that all General Plans contain a Safety Element, and the MHJMP is an update to the existing hazard prevention plan that was already a component of the General Plan Safety Element; C. The potential impacts of the proposed amendment have been assessed and have been determined not to be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, in that the MHJMP is a multi-jurisdictional plan to reduce injury, death, and property damage that can result from a disaster; and D. The proposed amendment has been processed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the California Government Code and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), in that the proposed action would update the Safety Element of the General Plan, and the City Council certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the 2010-2035 General Plan on November 16, 2010. The proposed amendment updates the existing hazard mitigation plan in the General Plan and the update does not introduce new or more significant environmental effects than those discussed in the EIR.
3. That the City Council hereby amends the subsection entitled “Emergency Preparedness” of Subsection 5.10.5 (“Safety Goals and Policies”) of Section 5.10 (“Environmental Quality”) of Chapter 5 (“Goals and Policies”) of the City of Santa Clara 2010-2035 General Plan to read as follows:
“Emergency preparedness is an effective method of reducing risk to life and property from natural disasters, such as earthquakes or fires, through planning. In Santa Clara, planning for emergency response has resulted in the adoption of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP), Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan for Santa Clara County and the Local Annex for the City of Santa Clara in conformance with the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA). “In 2003, the federal Disaster Mitigation Act established a national hazard mitigation program to reduce the loss of life and property, human suffering, economic disruption and disaster assistance costs resulting from natural disasters. The DMA also provided a source of pre‐disaster hazard mitigation funding to assist local governments in implementing effective hazard mitigation measures to ensure the continued functionality of critical services and facilities after a natural disaster. In accordance with the DMA, local agencies are required to adopt a LHMP to be eligible for Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) funding for pre‐disaster hazard mitigation and projects that prevent disaster. “The City of Santa Clara participated in the Multi‐Jurisdictional Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan entitled, Taming Natural Disasters, developed in cooperation with other local agencies and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The Plan provides jurisdiction‐specific information that has been reviewed and approved by FEMA. “The Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan for Santa Clara County and the Local Annex for the City of Santa Clara was developed in accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) and followed FEMA’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan guidance. The LHMP incorporates a process where hazards are identified and profiled, the people and facilities at risk are analyzed, and mitigation actions are developed to reduce or eliminate hazard risk. The implementation of these mitigation actions, which include both short and long-term strategies, involve planning, policy changes, programs, projects, and other activities. “The Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan for Santa Clara County is available at the following web address: https://files.santaclaracounty.gov/exjcpb1566/2024-10/final-vol-i-santa-clara-county-mjhmp_7-26-2024.pdf “The City of Santa Clara Local Annex is available at the following web address:
HYPERLINK "https://www.santaclaraca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/85991/638732399897128007"https://www.santaclaraca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/85991/638732399897128007”
4. Effective date. This resolution shall become effective immediately.
I HEREBY CERTIFY THE FOREGOING TO BE A TRUE COPY OF A RESOLUTION PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, AT A REGULAR MEETING THEREOF HELD ON THE 25TH DAY OF MARCH 2025, BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: COUNCILORS:
NOES: COUNCILORS:
ABSENT: COUNCILORS:
ABSTAINED: COUNCILORS:
ATTEST: ______________________________
NORA PIMENTEL, MMC
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
CITY OF SANTA CLARA
Attachments incorporated by reference:
None
FILENAME \p C:\Users\JDavidson\Downloads\MJHMP_resolution.doc Resolution/MJHMP General Plan Amendment Page PAGE 1 of 4 Rev: 7/27/2023
Ordinance/*Insert brief description Page PAGE 1 of *
Rev: 03-09-10; Typed: *Insert date