Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

Project Overview

In July 2015, the City of South Gate kicked off the development of a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) and an update to the General Plan Safety Element. Together, the two documents provide the City’s framework to mitigate local risks to natural hazards and plan for a resilient future. The City will seek FEMA certification of the LHMP to maximize the City’s eligibility for future grant funding for hazard mitigation.

Plan preparation is occurring during summer and fall 2015. To guide plan development, the City is conducting public outreach and convening a stakeholder advisory group. Opportunities for involvement and project updates will be available on this website. Final action on the project will occur with the City Council’s adoption of both documents in early 2016.

Project Documents

Public Review Draft(PDF, 19MB)

Project Background

The City of South Gate seeks to proactively minimize the potential impacts of natural hazards in the community. Earthquakes, flooding, and windstorms are some of the key hazards that threaten the community. The LHMP and the Safety Element work together to provide a framework for analyzing, preparing, and mitigating risks from these hazards.

The Safety Element will serve as an adopted element of the General Plan, forming part of the City’s blueprint for future growth and development. The Safety Element is long-term plan with a 20-year horizon. The California Government Code establishes the requirements for this mandatory part of the General Plan. The element will include policies to mitigate hazards through land use, design measures, and programs. As a part of the General Plan, the Safety Element will provide direction that the City will implement through the Zoning Ordinance and other mechanisms. The element will consolidate and reorganize issues currently contained in the Green City Element and the Public Facilities Element of the General Plan.

The Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is a five-year strategic plan that also seeks to identify and mitigate natural hazards. The LHMP is distinct from the Safety Element, directly responding to the requirements of the federal Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) of 2005. The DMA establishes requirements to identify hazards, evaluate mitigations, and prioritize strategies to mitigate hazard risks. Completion of the LHMP and achievement of certification by FEMA provides the City with access to two competitive FEMA grant programs: the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program (PDM). To maintain eligibility for FEMA funding, the City must update the LHMP a minimum of once every five years.

By integrating the LHMP with the Safety Element, the City will also achieve eligibility for additional post-disaster funding from the State of California. The City will integrate the LHMP by annexing or appending it to the Safety Element. The Safety Element will include a framework of goals, objectives, and policies. The LHMP will rely on this policy framework, providing related mitigation actions and strategies to implement the Safety Element.