Executive Summary

Five -Year Action Plan The City of Glendale's Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (the Mitigation Plan or "the Plan") includes resources and information to assist city residents, public and private sector organizations, and others interested in preparing to deal with natural hazards. The Mitigation Plan provides a list of action items and programs that may assist Glendale in reducing risk and preventing loss from future natural hazard events. The action items address multi-hazard issues, as well as specific mitigation measures for earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and landslides or debris flows. How is the Plan Organized? The Mitigation Plan contains a five-year action plan, background on the purpose and methodology used to develop the Plan, a profile of Glendale, sections on four natural hazards that occur within the city, and a number of appendices. All of the sections are described in detail in Section 1, the Plan Introduction. Who Participated in Developing the Plan? The Glendale Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan is the result of a collaborative effort between various City Departments and their consultant, public agencies and non-profit organizations, the private sector and local citizens, and regional and state organizations. Public participation played a key role in the development of goals and action items. Information regarding the various natural hazards that can impact the city of Glendale was made available to the public in a variety of forums since 2003, when the City's Safety Element of the General Plan was updated. This Plan builds on the work begun in 2003; the chapters on natural hazards are similar to those in the Technical Background Report to the Safety Element, but additional information on each of these hazards, formatted in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) requirements for these documents, is included herein. Presentations to various stakeholders have been made across the City, both as part of the original Safety Element work, and for this project. The Draft version of the Plan was posted on the City's website to allow for, and provide ongoing citizen/stakeholder information and participation. A link to post comments and questions regarding the Draft document was provided on the City's website. This document also benefited from the input and guidance provided by the members of the Hazard Mitigation Steering and Advisory Committees, whom guided the process of developing the Plan from its inception. The Steering Committee was comprised of representatives from: City of Glendale Fire Department and Emergency Services City of Glendale Planning Department City of Glendale Management Services and City of Glendale Public Works Department The Advisory Committee included the members listed above, plus representatives from these other City departments and organizations: City of Glendale Police Department City of Glendale Water and Power City of Glendale Parks, Recreation, and Community Services City of Glendale Information Services City of Glendale Development Services Glendale Unified School District Glendale Memorial Hospital, and Verdugo Hills Hospital. The template used for this document was originally prepared by the Office of Disaster Management, Area C. Their permission to use and build upon the original document is herein kindly acknowledged. The information presented in this Plan is a compilation from many different sources (listed in Appendices A and I); however, the following organizations merit special recognition for the wealth of information they provide to the general public. These are resources that the Advisory Committee should rely on both during the implementation of the action items contained in this plan, and in the development of future Plans. California Geological Survey (CGS) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) What is the Plan's Mission? The mission of the Glendale Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan is to promote sound public policy designed to protect citizens, critical facilities, infrastructure, private property, and the environment from natural hazards. This can be achieved by increasing public awareness, documenting resources available for risk reduction and loss prevention, and identifying activities to guide the City towards building a safer, more sustainable community. What are the Plan's Goals? The goals of the Mitigation Plan describe the overall direction that the City of Glendale, through its departments, agencies, organizations, and citizens, can take toward reducing its risk to natural hazards. The goals of the Plan are stepping-stones between the broad direction of the mission statement and the specific recommendations outlined in the action items. The main goals of Glendale's Mitigation Plan are summarized below. Protect Life and Property Implement activities that assist in protecting lives by making homes, businesses, infrastructure, critical facilities, and other property more resistant to losses from natural hazards. Reduce losses and repetitive damages for chronic hazard events while promoting mitigation measures and insurance coverage for catastrophic hazards. Improve the quality and availability of hazard assessment information to empower the City's residents and property owners in understanding and requiring that new development in high hazard areas be avoided, and that preventive measures in existing development in areas vulnerable to natural hazards be implemented. Public Awareness Develop and implement education and outreach programs to increase public awareness of the risks associated with natural hazards in Glendale. Provide information on tools, partnership opportunities, and funding resources to assist in implementing mitigation activities. Natural Systems Balance natural resource management and land use planning with natural hazard mitigation to protect life, property, and the environment. Preserve, rehabilitate, and enhance natural systems to serve natural hazard mitigation functions. Partnerships and Implementation Strengthen communication and coordinate participation among and within public agencies, citizens, non-profit organizations, businesses, and industry to gain a vested interest in implementation. Encourage leadership within public and private sector organizations to prioritize and implement local and regional hazard mitigation activities. Emergency Services Establish policy to ensure that mitigation projects for critical facilities, services, and infrastructure are given priority. Strengthen emergency operations by increasing collaboration and coordination among public agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and industry. Where appropriate, coordinate and integrate natural hazard mitigation activities with emergency operations plans and procedures. How Are the Action Items Organized? The action items are a list of activities that Glendale's agencies and citizens can implement to reduce risk in the community. Some action items have community-wide application, whereas others can be implemented on an individual basis by residents and business owners. Each action item includes an estimate of the time line for implementation. Short-term action items are activities that the City's agencies may implement with existing resources and authorities within one to two years. Long-term action items may require new or additional resources or authorities, and may take between one and five years (or more) to implement. Chapter 4 includes all of the action items developed for the Plan, including both multi-hazard action items, and hazard-specific action items. The hazard-specific action items are also repeated in the appropriate chapter of the Plan dealing with that specific hazard (Chapter 6: Earthquakes; Chapter 7: Wildfires; Chapter 8: Floods; and Chapter 9: Landslides and Slope Instability). Natural hazard data specific to the Glendale area were collected, researched, and analyzed. These data were then presented to the Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee, who developed draft action items. The proposed (draft) action items were presented to and discussed with City staff and the public (see Appendix B); their feedback was used to finalize the action items presented in the Plan. Each action item is followed by the following information: Coordinating Organization The coordinating organization is the public agency with regulatory responsibility to address natural hazards, or that is willing and able to organize resources, find appropriate funding, or oversee activity implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Coordinating organizations may include local, county, or regional agencies that are capable of or responsible for implementing activities and programs. Timeline Action items include both short- and long-term activities. Each action item includes an estimate of the time line for implementation. Short-term action items are activities which Glendale's agencies are capable of implementing with existing resources and authorities within one to two years. Long-term action items may require new or additional resources or authorities, and may take between one and five years (or more) to implement. Ideas for Implementation Each action item includes ideas for implementation and potential resources, which may include grant programs or human resources. Plan Goals Addressed The Mitigation Plan needs to be regularly monitored and evaluated to measure its success in achieving its goals once implementation begins. To that end, the plan goals addressed by each action item are included - they provide the means by which the success of each action can be measured. The plan goals are organized into the following five areas: Protect Life and Property Public Awareness Natural Systems Partnerships and Implementation Emergency Services Partner Organizations Partner Organizations are not listed with the individual action items, but they are listed in Appendix A. Partner Organizations are agencies or public/private sector organizations that may be able to assist in the implementation of action items by providing relevant resources to the coordinating organization. The partner organizations listed in the Resource Directory (Appendix A) of the City of Glendale's Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan are potential partners recommended by the Hazard Mitigation Advisory Board. These organizations, however, were not contacted during the development of the Mitigation Plan, and should therefore be contacted by the coordinating organization to establish their commitment of time and resources to action items. Constraints Constraints may apply to some of the action items. These constraints may be a lack of City staff, lack of funds, or vested property rights, which might expose the City of Glendale to legal action as a result of adverse impacts on private property. How Will the Plan be Implemented, Monitored, and Evaluated? The Plan Maintenance Section of this document details the formal process that will ensure that the Glendale Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan remains an active and relevant document. The plan maintenance process includes a schedule for monitoring and evaluating the Plan annually and producing a Plan revision every five years. This section describes how the City will integrate public participation throughout the plan maintenance process. Finally, this section includes an explanation of how the City's government intends to incorporate the mitigation strategies outlined in this Plan into existing planning mechanisms such as the City's General Plan, Building and Safety Codes, and community development plans. Plan Adoption Adoption of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan by the local jurisdiction's governing body is one of the prime requirements for approval of the Plan. Once the Plan is completed, the City Council will be responsible for adopting the City of Glendale's Local Hazards Mitigation Plan. The local agency governing body has the responsibility and authority to promote sound public policy regarding natural hazards. The City Council will periodically need to re-adopt the Plan as it is revised to meet changes in the natural hazard risks and exposures in the community. The approved Local Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan will be significant in the future growth and development and redevelopment of the community. Coordinating Body The City of Glendale Hazard Mitigation Strategic Committee will be responsible for coordinating implementation of Plan action items and undertaking the formal review process. The City's Manager, or his or her designee, can and will assign representatives from City agencies and other organizations to serve in this committee, as appropriate, including, but not limited to, the current Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee members. Convener The City Council will adopt the City of Glendale Local Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, and the Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee will take responsibility for Plan implementation. The City Mayor, or designee, will serve as a convener to facilitate the Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee meetings, and will assign tasks such as updating and presenting the Plan to the members of the committee. Plan implementation and evaluation will be a shared responsibility among all of the Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee members. Implementation through Existing Programs The City of Glendale addresses statewide planning goals and legislative requirements through its General Plan, Capital Improvement Plans, and City Building and Safety Codes. The Local Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan provides a series of recommendations that are closely related to the goals and objectives of these existing planning programs. The City of Glendale will have the opportunity to implement recommended mitigation action items through existing programs and procedures. Economic Analysis of Mitigation Projects Many studies have shown that one dollar spent on disaster mitigation saves ten dollars in future disaster costs. But, where is this pre-disaster mitigation money best spent? To answer this question, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) uses two different but valid approaches to identify and measure the costs and benefits associated with natural hazard mitigation strategies or projects: benefit/cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. Conducting benefit/cost analysis for a mitigation activity can assist communities in determining whether a project is worth undertaking now, in order to avoid disaster-related damages later. Cost-effectiveness analysis evaluates how best to spend a given amount of money to achieve a specific goal. Determining the economic feasibility of mitigating natural hazards can provide decision makers with an understanding of the potential benefits and costs of an activity, as well as a basis upon which to compare alternative projects. These exercises can also help prioritize the implementation of action items based on the limited resources available. Formal Review Process Glendale's Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan will be evaluated on an annual basis to determine the effectiveness of its programs, and to reflect changes in land development or programs that may affect the mitigation priorities. The evaluation process includes a firm schedule and time line, and identifies the local agencies and organizations participating in the evaluation of the Plan. The convener will be responsible for contacting the Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee members and organizing the annual meeting. Committee members will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the progress of the mitigation strategies in the Plan. Continued Public Involvement The City of Glendale is dedicated to involving the public directly in the continual review and updates of its Local Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan. Copies of the Plan will be catalogued and made available at City Hall and at all City-operated public libraries. The existence and location of these copies will be published on the City's website and in City newsletters. The Plan also includes the address and phone number of the City's Emergency Services Coordinator, whom is responsible for keeping track of public comments on the Plan. In addition, copies of the Plan and any proposed changes will be posted on the City's website. This site will also contain an email address and phone number to which people can direct their comments and concerns. Send us your feedback! EMAIL ADDRESS:          Return to Glendale Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan page