Staff Report
PREPARED BY: SHELAYNE HAMMACK
Management Analyst
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 08/15/2017
ITEM NO: 6
DATE: AUGUST 3, 2017
TO: TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ADOPTION OF THE SANTA CLARA
COUNTY OPERATIONAL AREA HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a resolution (Attachment 3) authorizing the adoption of the Santa Clara County
Operational Area Hazard Mitigation Plan update.
BACKGROUND:
In July of 2016, a coalition of Santa Clara County cities, the Town, and special districts embarked
on a planning process to prepare for and lessen the impacts of specified natural hazards by
updating the Santa Clara County Operational Area Hazard Mitigation Plan. Responding to
federal mandates in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390), the partnership
was formed to pool resources and to create a uniform hazard mitigation strategy that can be
consistently applied to the defined planning area and used to ensure eligibility for specified
grant funding success.
This effort represents the third comprehensive update to the initial hazard mitigation plan,
approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in November of 2005 and
developed in partnership with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), as well as a
return to a regional effort following the 2010 planning process. The 16-member coalition of
partners involved in this program includes unincorporated Santa Clara County, 14 city and town
governments, and the Santa Clara County Fire District. The planning area for the hazard
mitigation plan was defined as the Santa Clara County Operational Area. The result of the
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SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ADOPTION OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY
OPERATIONAL AREA HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE
AUGUST 3, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\08-15-17\Local Hazard Mitigation Plan\Staff Report - Hazard Mitigation
FINAL.docx
BACKGROUND (cont’d):
organizational effort is a FEMA and California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) approved
multi-jurisdictional, multi-hazard mitigation plan.
DISCUSSION:
Mitigation is defined in this context as any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-
term risk to life and property from a hazard event. Mitigation planning is the systematic
process of learning about the hazards that can affect the community, setting clear goals,
identifying appropriate actions and following through with an effective mitigation strategy.
Mitigation encourages long-term reduction of hazard vulnerability and can reduce the
enormous cost of disasters to property owners and all levels of government. Mitigation can
also protect critical community facilities, reduce exposure to liability, and minimize post-
disaster community disruption.
The hazard identification and profiling in the Hazard Mitigation Plan addresses the following
hazards of concern within the planning area:
1. Dam failure
2. Drought
3. Earthquake
4. Flood
5. Landslide
6. Severe weather
7. Tsunami
8. Wildfire
Climate change is incorporated as a summary assessment of current and anticipated impacts
for each identified hazard of concern. With the exception of dam failure, this Plan does not
provide a full risk assessment of human-caused hazards. However, brief, qualitative discussions
of the following hazards of interest are included: terrorism, cyber threats, hazardous materials
release, pipeline and tank failure, and airline incidents. Attachment 2 contains the information
specific to the Town of Los Gatos. To view the entire document, visit:
www.sccgov.org/sites/oes/SCCOAHMP20162017/draftdocuments/Pages/home.aspx.
A Planning Team consisting of local officials has taken the lead in developing the Hazard
Mitigation Plan. All participating local jurisdictions have been responsible for assisting in the
development of the hazard and vulnerability assessments and the mitigation action strategies
for their respective jurisdictions and organizations. The Plan presents the accumulated
information in a unified framework to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated plan covering
the entire Santa Clara County Operational Area planning area.
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SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ADOPTION OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY
OPERATIONAL AREA HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE
AUGUST 3, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\08-15-17\Local Hazard Mitigation Plan\Staff Report - Hazard Mitigation
FINAL.docx
DISCUSSION (cont’d):
Each jurisdiction is responsible for the review and approval of their individual sections of the
Plan. Per Attachment 2, several Town reports and plans were reviewed to provide information
for inclusion as hazard mitigations. Those items include the General Plan, Municipal Code,
Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, Capital Improvement Program, and Sustainability Plan.
The major features of the Los Gatos portion (Attachment 2) of the Hazard Mitigation Plan are a
full capability assessment, integration with other planning initiatives, Los Gatos natural hazard
event history, Los Gatos vulnerabilities, hazard risk ranking, status of previous plan actions,
hazard mitigation action plan, and the evaluation of those recommended actions.
Additionally, the Plan has been aligned with the goals, objectives and priorities of the State’s
Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. A 18 member Steering Committee (SC) composed of
representative stakeholders within the County was formed early in the planning process to
guide the development of the Plan. In addition, residents were asked to contribute b y sharing
local knowledge of their individual area’s vulnerability to natural hazards based on past
occurrences. Public involvement has been solicited via a comprehensive public outreach
campaign that included two rounds of public meetings, web-based information, a
questionnaire, and multiple social media updates. In Los Gatos, the draft plan was sent out via
social media and the What’s New mailing list in early April 2017.
Why adopt this Plan?
Once the Hazard Mitigation Plan is adopted by all of the jurisdictional partners and approved by
FEMA, the partnership will collectively and individually become eligible to apply for hazard
mitigation project funding from both the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM) and the
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
What is the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) competitive grant program?
The PDM competitive grant program provides funds to State, Tribal, and local governments for
pre-disaster mitigation planning and projects primarily addressing natural hazards. Cost-
effective pre-disaster mitigation activities reduce risk to life and property from natural hazard
events before a natural disaster strikes, thus reducing overall risks to the population and
structures, while also reducing reliance on funding from actual disaster declarations. Funds will
be awarded on a competitive basis for mitigation planning and project applications intended to
make local governments more resistant to the impacts of future natural disasters. For more
details on this program, see Attachment 1.
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SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ADOPTION OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY
OPERATIONAL AREA HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE
AUGUST 3, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\08-15-17\Local Hazard Mitigation Plan\Staff Report - Hazard Mitigation
FINAL.docx
DISCUSSION (cont’d):
What is the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program?
Authorized under Section 404 of the Stafford Act, the HMGP administered by FEMA provides
grants to States and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures
after a major disaster declaration. The purpose of the program is to reduce the loss of life and
property due to natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during
the immediate recovery from a disaster. For more details on this program see Attachment 1.
CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS:
Upon adoption of the proposed resolution (Attachment 2) and subsequent approval of the
entire Plan by CalOES and FEMA, the Town of Los Gatos will be eligible to apply for specified
grants. The grant funds are made available to states and local governments and can be used to
implement the long-term hazard mitigation measures specified within the Town of Los Gatos
annex of the HMP before and after a major disaster declaration. The HMP is a document that is
intended to be updated as additional hazards become known and new strategies and projects
are identified to offset or prevent losses due to natural disasters. The HMP is required to be
evaluated and revised on every five years.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Adoption of the resolution and participation in the program enables the Town to apply for
future grant funds to implement the action items and proposed mitigations in the Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
The adoption of the resolution and the Hazard Mitigation Plan is a project under CEQA. The
project is exempt based on the following sections of the CEQA Guidelines:
Section 15183(d): “The project is consistent with…a general plan of a local agency, and
an EIR was certified by the lead agency for the...general plan.”
Section 15262: “A project involving only feasibility or planning studies for possible
future actions which the agency, board or commission has not approved, adopted, or
funded does not require the preparation of an EIR or negative declaration but does
require consideration of environmental factors. This section does not apply to the
adoption of a plan that will have a legally binding effect on later activities.”
Section 15306: “(Categorical Exemption) Class 6 consists of basic data collection,
research, experimental management, and resource evaluation activities which do not
result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. These may be
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SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ADOPTION OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY
OPERATIONAL AREA HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE
AUGUST 3, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\08-15-17\Local Hazard Mitigation Plan\Staff Report - Hazard Mitigation
FINAL.docx
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (cont’d):
strictly for information gathering purposes, or as part of a study leading to an action
which a public agency has not yet approved, adopted or funded.”
Section 15601(b)(3): “...CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for
causing a significant effect on the environment. 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 activity is not subject to CEQA.”
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM)
Fact Sheet
2. Town of Los Gatos Annex of the Santa Clara County Operational Area Hazard Mitigation
Plan
3. Draft Resolution