City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 11, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.C
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: David White, City Manager, City Manager's Office
Subject: Approval to Accept FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Funds for Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Authorize the City Manager to accept a grant awarded in an amount of $135,000 from the Department of Homeland Security for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program in the City Manager’s Office, and to accept all grant renewals.
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents to accept the grant and all grant renewals.
4. Adopt the attached resolution with the State of California, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) Program.
5. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Action section of this report (requires 5 votes).
Summary
Staff seeks Council authorization to accept a federal grant and adopt a resolution from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the State of California, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) Program for performance period beginning in 2024 and concluding on August 18, 2026, in an amount not exceeding $135,000.
Grant funds will be utilized to hire a contractor to conduct a social vulnerability analysis, identifying and assessing the City’s social needs in relationship to its natural hazards and level of preparedness presented in the recently updated Local Hazard Mitigation 2 of 7
Plan. The plan will focus on the Pico Neighborhood (Census Tract 701801) and detail how disasters would likely impact the individuals in the community and identify specific community-based mitigation measures that could reduce risk and increase community disaster resilience. The contractor will be responsible for compiling and analyzing existing data and reports on various community measures that indicate if communities may be more prone to the impacts of disaster, including socioeconomic status, household composition and disability, minority status and language, and housing and transportation. The contractor will also work with Santa Monica Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to conduct a community survey on vulnerabilities and deploy community outreach strategies to educate community members on local hazards and collect feedback on vulnerabilities and priorities in building disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.
This grant-funded plan will build upon the City’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, expected to be updated no later than December 2024. The plan will also be in alignment with the City’s revised Safety Element. The entire set of plans is designed to educate City staff, stakeholders, and the local community on the hazards that exist in Santa Monica and include both large infrastructure projects and smaller, community-based mitigation actions to reduce disaster-related loss of life and property.
Discussion
Hazard mitigation planning is the identification of common, local disaster hazards and risks, such as earthquakes, climate change, tsunami, and prioritizing the strategies that the community should take to reduce loss of life and property from these risks and improve disaster resilience. Mitigation investments are essential in reducing the cost of disaster response and recovery. According to recent updates from the National Institute of Building Sciences 2019 Report, $1 spent on disaster mitigation projects saves on average $11 (www.nibs.org). The federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2000) sets standards on disaster relief and creates measures to guide the provision of disaster relief programs. DMA2000 encourages and rewards local and state pre-disaster planning, allowing cities to be eligible for funds for disaster preparedness planning 3 of 7
activities. The DMA2000 also sets requirements for the national post-disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, where the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is required to receive full federal reimbursement and grants for response and recovery work.
There are several citywide plans that identify natural and human-caused hazards and vulnerabilities in the community. The City’s Safety Element is a State-mandated element of the City’s General Plan that establishes the City’s goals, policies, and programs to reduce short- and long-term risk of death, injuries, property damage, and social dislocation due to hazards for the natural and built environment. The City’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is a complementary and required plan identifying natural hazards that may impact a local jurisdiction and identifies actions and activities the jurisdiction commits to take to reduce loss from these hazards. Per 44 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 201, “to ensure eligibility for federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding, it is local government’s responsibility to prepare and adopt a jurisdiction-wide natural hazard mitigation plan every five years.” The Community Development Department and OEM have been working in partnership with all City departments to update these two foundational plans. The plans aim to better educate the public on local risks, share existing actions the City has taken to reduce disaster risk, and set forth and commit to City policies and programs to reduce the effects of natural hazards. Santa Monica OEM expects to seek City Council approval on the traditional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan in fall/winter 2024, before it is sent to CalOES and FEMA for review and approval.
Santa Monica OEM applied for and was awarded a sub-application through the State of California, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for a federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant (HMAG). The HMAG has a 36-month performance period that was started when the grant was awarded to the City in August 2023. For the past year, the City has started the traditional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan that is being funded primarily through the General Fund. From June 2024 – December 2024, OEM will transition from working on the traditional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan to launching the grant-funded, Social Vulnerability Analysis and community-based elements of the project.
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A Social Vulnerability Analysis describes the characteristics of a specific community and identifies vulnerabilities within that community that may make it more susceptible to the negative impacts of emergencies and disasters. The work completed by the grant will compile existing data, such as FEMA’s National Risk Index and the Centers for Disease Control’s Social Vulnerability Index, and then compare it to results presented by the City’s revised Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, identifying specific areas and communities in Santa Monica that are most vulnerable to disaster impacts. Census tracts 701801, 702201, and 701902 have a Very High ranking on the FEMA’s National Risk Index.
Census tract 701801, the area between Centinela Avenue and 20th Street and Colorado Ave and Pico Blvd., will be highlighted as it not only has a Very High ranking on the FEMA Index but also has a Very High ranking on CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index. The City will then take a community approach to disaster preparedness and mitigation planning, by engaging community groups and stakeholders to learn about local hazards and vulnerabilities and self-identify community-based preparedness and mitigation strategies to reduce community vulnerability.
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National Risk Index – Santa Monica Census Tracts
Source: Map | National Risk Index (fema.gov)
During major disaster events, active community residents and volunteers play an integral role in disaster response activities. Individuals and local networks can assist in the distribution of critical information, the augmentation of response and recovery staffing through volunteerism, and creating a support network and safety net around those with access and functional needs. The goal of the Social Vulnerability Analysis and community-based mitigation plan is to empower local residents to be informed of the hazards and social risks in their own backyard and then create a roadmap to reduce those risks to improve self-reliance, adaptability, and resilience. Examples of community-based mitigation include local faith-based institutions providing natural hazard and preparedness education or creating a network of trusted neighborhood leaders sharing post-disaster information. The goal of the grant will be to create a comprehensive set of community-based mitigation actions that are supported by City departments and can be achieved within five years, in alignment with the traditional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
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A consultant will be procured to conduct the research for this plan and facilitate plan development and writing. The implementation and monitoring of the plan will be implemented primarily by OEM, as a component of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan monitoring efforts. Other City departments have an interest in the development of this plan, as it aligns with their existing work. They will be partners in the creation of the plan’s scope of work, review of the plan, and potentially assist with implementation of the identified community-based mitigation strategies.
Environmental Review
The use of grant funding for the LHMP is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines. The grant funding is covered by the common sense exemption which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The funds will provide the City with analysis focused on hazard vulnerabilities in the Pico neighborhood. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to accept a grant from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant.
The Office of Emergency Management will utilize budgeted staff time to cover the local match (approximately 80 hours of staff time). The match will be met by budgeted staff logging hours for the development, review, coordination, approval, and adoption of the Social Vulnerability appendix of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. Approval of the recommended actions require the following budget amendment:
FY 2023-24 Grant Budget Amendment
Establish Revenue Budget Appropriate Funds
Account Number Amount Account Number Amount
20200004.406030 $135,000 20200004.556700 $135,000
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If renewals are awarded, budget changes will be included in subsequent year budgets, contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Lindsay Call, Chief Resilience Officer
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. CalOES 130_Designation of Applicants Agent Resolution Non-State Agencies_Santa Monica_755_06.11.24