Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/03/2008

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There are six types of mitigation plans community leaders should be aware of: The Rood Mitigation Plan is funded by the NFIP and its primary purpose is to reduce flood hazards. The Community Rating System CCRS) Plan is not funded by any of FEMA's programs, but is designed to encourage communities to The Recovery Plan is a document pre- pared after a catastrophic event such as an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, or other event that essentially destroys a major part of a community. The recovery plan includes a review of the pre-disaster land uses and determines whether changes should be made to zoning requirements, economic take actions over and above the NFIP mini- mum requirements and receive credits that reduce the cost of flood insurance. The lower flood insurance rates reduce the expenses of residents, while the actions reduce the risks to their communities. The A1I-Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan is funded by FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Program and is required to make com- munities eligible for mitigation project funds from the two programs. The Multi-Jurisdictional A1I-Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan is essentially the same type of plan as the All-Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, but is designed to allow multiple communities to collaborate in preparinga mitigation plan. The A1I-Hazard Mitigation Plan is designed to encourage communities to take action to reduce damages from both natural hazards and manmade hazards, such as technical hazards and terrorism events, while having to prepare only one document. 152 development goals and plans, building codes, and other regulations essential to a community's survival, as well "as a mitigation plan to guide a community's recovery. Funding comes from FEMA disaster funds. Each type of plan is necessitated by its own unique circumstances, but FEMA is working on ways to reduce the number of plans, where possible. A mitigation plan is generally made up of four sections: hazard identification, risk analysis, mitigation strategy, and an imple- mentation strategy. The hazard identification can be used by the community to determine what types of uses are compatible with the risks in various areas'ofthe city. The mitiga- tion strategy can also be used to identify changes in local ordinances that would help make the community safer. HOW DOES ZONING FIT INTO THE PICTURE? Part of the mitigation plan is the strategy that the community develops to implement a shared vision to reduce its risks. After reviewing the risk analysis and determining which hazards provide the greatest risks, a community needs to determine which actions and projects should be imple- mented in order to reduce the risks. The strategy involves formulating goals that will lead to a long-term vision for a safe community. The goals may include protect- ing existing structures or infrastructure, pro- tecting health and safety, improving quality of life, ensuring efficient use of public funds, or other equa1ly important actions. To carry out the goals, the community can identify actions that: a. prevent damage from occurring; b. protect existing structures or infrastruc- ture from damage; c. educate the public regarding the hazards and actions that can be taken to reduce risk; d. protect the natural resources of the com- munity; e. protect first responders and their equip- ment; and f. protect existing buildings by constructing structures that keep the hazard from reach- ing the building. Zoning regulations can be used to pre- vent damage from occurring and to protect natural resources by limiting uses in at-risk areas or by limiting the locations where structures may be constructed on a site. This protects infrastructure by reducing the need for various types of infrastructure in at- risk areas. First responders will be protected by limiting the necessity to send them into After reviewing the risk analysis and determining which hazards provide the greatest risks, a community needs to determine which actions and projects should be implemented in order to reduce the risks. ZONING PRACTICE 3.08 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 4