Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

The City of Yorba Linda recently initiated a comprehensive Safety and Wildfire Mitigation Project, using grant funding from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal FIRE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Part of the larger project includes preparing a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). 

The LHMP presents a strategy for reducing the City's vulnerability to the impacts of natural hazard events such as wildfire, earthquakes, and drought. This plan will identify opportunities for the City of Yorba Linda to become more resilient to hazards in the future.

What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?

A Hazard Mitigation Plan is a framework that guides our community in making decisions and developing policies to reduce or eliminate risks to life and property. The plan identifies the types of hazards that threaten our community, evaluates our vulnerability to those threats, and outlines a strategy to reduce or eliminate the risk posed by those threats. 

Why is the plan important?

The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires that a community have an approved hazard mitigation plan to be eligible to apply for and receive certain types of FEMA hazard mitigation funds. Receipt of these funds can be critical to the implementation of identified hazard mitigation programs that break the cycle of disaster, damage, restoration, and repeated damage.

How is a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan developed? 

The ultimate goal of an LHMP is to identify and address hazards specific to Yorba Linda, identify mitigation actions to reduce the severity and impact of each hazard, and achieve certification by FEMA for hazard mitigation funding. 

The LHMP primarily consists of three components:

• Hazard Profiles: type, location, extent, previous occurrences, probability of future events;
• Vulnerability Assessment: impacts of hazards, vulnerability to each hazard, repetitive loss, potential dollar losses; and
• Mitigation Strategies: overarching goals, specific actions, and prioritization of those actions to reduce hazard impacts.

The LHMP is developed from a process-oriented approach, utilizing the experience of community partners such as neighboring cities, Orange County, and outside agencies. The community partners provide key stakeholder input on the hazard profiles, vulnerability assessment, and mitigation strategies as outlined above. This participation is documented and incorporated into the LHMP. Additionally, the LHMP will identify how the plan will be monitored, evaluated, and updated within a five-year cycle.

Once completed, the LHMP is submitted to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and FEMA for review and comment. Once conditional approval is received from Cal OES and FEMA, the LHMP is approved locally by the City of Yorba Linda.

How can the public become involved in the hazard mitigation planning process?

Public participation in the process is important because it helps raise awareness of the hazards we face in Yorba Linda and the actions needed to mitigate those hazards. By participating in the process, you will be taking time to consider the hazards in our community, the impact of those hazards on life and property, actions that need to be taken to reduce that impact, and the priority of these actions. The LHMP Planning Team will consider all input from the public and integrate it into the plan where appropriate. Opportunities for the community to provide input, ask questions, and review/comment on draft documents will be provided throughout the planning process. Your comments, questions, ideas, and concerns will have a significant role in the plan’s preparation.

SURVEY

The Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Community Survey closed on November 30, 2022. The final results of the survey will be included in the LHMP.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENT

A community outreach event was held on November 16 to engage the public and provide further opportunities for community input.

PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT LHMP 

The draft Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (PDF) is available now for public review until March 15, 2023, and we welcome your comments and questions. Please submit any feedback to the email below.

CONTACT US

Contact the City with questions and comments via email.

Email: LHMP@yorbalindaca.gov

Draft Documents

Once available, draft documents will be posted to this page for review and comment.