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<br /> <br />COMPREHENSIVE PLAN <br />Land Use <br />. Does the future land-use map clearly identify natural hazard areas? <br />. Do the land-use policies discourage development or redevelopment within natural <br />hazard areas? <br />. Does the plan provide adequate space for expected future growth in areas located <br />outside natural hazard areas? <br />Transportation <br />. Does the transportation plan limit access to hazard areas? <br />. Is transportation policy used to guide growth to safe locations? <br />. Are movement systems designed to function under disaster conditions (e.g., evacuation)? <br />Environmental Management <br />. Are environmental systems that protect development from hazards id~ntified and <br />mapped? <br />. Do environmental policies maintain and restore protective ecosystems? <br />. Do environmental policies provide incentives tq development that is located outside <br />protective ecosystems? <br />Pub/1c Safety <br />. Are the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan related to those of the FEMA Local <br />Hazard Mitigation Plan? <br />. Is safety explicitly included in the plan's growth and development policies? <br />. Does the monitoring and implementation section of the plan cover safe growth obiectives? <br /> <br />ZONING ORDINANCE <br />. Does the zoning ordinance conform to the comprehensive plan in terms of discouraging <br />development or redevelopment within natural hazard areas? <br />. Does the ordinance contain natural hazard overlay zones that set conditions for land <br />use within such zones? <br />. Do rezoning procedures recognize natural hazard areas as limits on zoning changes that <br />allow greater intensity or density of use? <br />. Does the ordinance pro\:1lbit development within, or filling of, wetlands, floodways, and <br />floodplains? <br /> <br />SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS <br />. Do the subdivision regulations restrict the subdivision of land within or adja.cent to <br />natural hazard areas? <br />. Do the regulations provide for conservation subdivisions or cluster subdivisions in order <br />to conserve environmental resources? <br />. Do the regulations allow density transfers where hazard areas exist? <br /> <br />CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES <br />. Does the capital improvement program limit expenditures on projects that would <br />encourage development in areas vulnerable to natural hazards? <br />. Do infrastructure policies limit extension of existing facilities and services that would <br />encourage development in areas vulnerable to natural hazards? <br />. Does the capital improvement program provide funping for hazard mitigation projects <br />identified in the FEMA Mitigation Plan? <br /> <br />OTHER <br />. Do small area or corridor.plans recognize the need to avoid or mitigate naturalhazards? . <br />. Does the building code contain provisions to strengthen or elevate construction to <br />withstand hazard forces? <br />. Do economic development or redevelopment strategies include provisions for <br />mitigating natural hazards? . <br />. Is there an adopted evacuation and shelter plan to deal with emergencies from natural <br />hazards? <br /> <br />68 <br /> <br />to avoid or minimize hazard exposure. Some <br />states, such as Rorida, prohibit the siting of <br />new critical facilith~s in high-hazard coastal <br />zones. Critical facilities in high-hazard zones <br />not only pose a danger to their own operation, <br />but also can enc{)ura~e other deveiopment <br />in hazardous locations, such as subdivisions <br />that rely on central.sewage disposal plants or <br />barrier island resorts that rely on new bridge <br />connections. <br />Preserve protective ecosystems.. Natural <br />ecosystems are effective defenses against <br />unsafe groWth practices. Removing vegetation <br />from steep slopes for new buildings decreas.!!s <br />the soil's abilitY to resist erosion and damag- <br />ing mud slides. Bulldozing mangroves for <br />new beachfront projects decreases the abil- <br />ity of natural systems to absorb the impacts <br />of floodwaters. Reclaiming riverine marshes <br />for agriculture increases the impact of future <br />floods on downstream cities. .Natural ecosys- <br />tems represent valuable green infrastructure <br />that should be preserved and restored during <br />safe growth. <br />Retrofit buildings and facilities at risk in <br />redeveloping areas. Much future urban growt.h <br />is likely to occur by redevelopIng existing ar- ' <br />eas. In many cases, the bLiildings in such ar- <br />eas were built prior to adoption of new build- <br />ing codes with higher safety sta.ndards. Often <br />these areas also are located within hazard, <br />zones, as in the case of small beachfront com- <br />munities. For them to accommodate higher <br />densities and intensities offuture develop- <br />ment; their existing structures and facilities <br />should be strenithened or e.levated during <br />the redevelopment process. <br />Develop knowledgeable community lead- <br />ers and networks. Safe growth depends upon <br />the knowledge and actions of all community . <br />stakeholders; including nongovernmental <br />i11stitutions and social networks'. GO',1ernments <br />alone cannot ensure s,afe growth.Thus a safe <br />growth auditneeds to lookatthe connections <br />among community stakeholder groups, how <br />they share knowledge about hazards and di- <br />saster. response, and how they make decisions <br />relativeto growth. The goal is to ensure that <br />, community networks are strong and knowl- <br />edgeable, and that community lead~rs are <br />prepared ,to make safe decisions concerning <br />growth both before and after disasters. <br />Monitor and update safe growth pro- <br />grams and plans. Safe growth is a moving tar- <br />get. Like all progra~s and plans, safe growth <br />activities need to be revisited on a regular ba- <br /> <br />ZONINGPRACTlCE 10.09 <br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION jpage 4 <br />