Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

The Capitola Local Hazard Mitigation Plan has been approved by FEMA, and was adopted by the City Council on May 23, 2013.

Background on the LHMP: After the March 2011 flood events, the City of Capitola pursued and received Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Initiative grant funding to prepare a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). The purpose of the LHMP is to develop a comprehensive local public planning process to assess and develop a response to the city's vulnerability to natural hazards. The LHMP identifies critical facilities that are vital to the city's and other local agencies' response during a natural disaster, particularly those that are currently vulnerable or at risk, assesses vulnerability to a variety of natural disasters (earthquake, flood, coastal erosion, etc.) and identifies needed mitigation actions.

The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires that state and local governments develop and adopt a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan in order to receive certain federal financial assistance. Capitola hopes to receive federal assistance on a variety of natural hazard and flood response projects. The CDBG grant was received in Fall 2011, and after a Request for Proposals process, RBF Consulting was hired to complete the plan.

LHMP Process: The LHMP process was begun in December 2011 with the creation of a countywide Technical Advisory Committee to review the development of a Plan and provide multi-agency comments. The Technical Advisory Committee included the City Manager's Office, Public Works Department, Community Development Department, Fire Department, Police Department, as well as Santa Cruz Regional 911, Soquel Creek Water District, Soquel Union School District of Santa Cruz County, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Red Cross, California State Parks, Santa Cruz County Public Works, Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Santa Cruz County Sanitation District, and the County of Santa Cruz Office of Emergency Services. The TAC met in December 2011, March 2012 and June 2012.

The LHMP identifies critical facilities such as public buildings, transportation systems, emergency response communications networks, high potential loss facilities, hazardous material facilities, and important public resources which are vital to the City's response during a natural disaster or might be at risk during a disaster. The Plan also assesses Capitola's vulnerability to natural hazards, such as coastal storm, flood, drought, coastal erosion, earthquake, landslide, etc. It then identifies mitigation actions to assist with making Capitola and our critical facilities more resilient during a natural disaster.