Safety Element Update

WHAT IS THE SAFETY ELEMENT?

The Safety Element of East Palo Alto’s Vista 2035 General Plan is a State-mandated element that identifies potential hazards that could affect community welfare, public health, and overall safety. The goal of the Safety Element is to identify and anticipate potential hazards and prepare a framework for the community to minimize risks and harm resulting from these hazards.

THE PURPOSE AND RELEVANCE OF THE SAFETY ELEMENT

The Safety Element Update will identify human-caused and natural hazards that affect the City, describe present and expected future conditions, and set goals and policies to minimize them. This includes efforts to protect the health and safety of community members, minimize physical harm to the buildings and infrastructure, and reduce damage to local economic and ecological systems as well as community services. In addition, the 2021 Multijurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) will be incorporated into the Safety Element. Another key component in this process is community and stakeholder engagement which may involve community meetings, digital/print mailers, and/or workshops.

WHY IS THE SAFETY ELEMENT BEING UPDATED?

The update of the Safety Element is also required due to several recently passed state legislations that require local jurisdictions to identify future risks and develop policies to mitigate these risks.

• SB 99: Identify evacuation-constrained areas specifically residential developments in hazard areas that do not have at minimum two evacuation routes. (§ 65302 (g)(5))
• SB 379: Incorporation of climate change adaptation and resilience, prepare vulnerability assessments to identify the risks from climate change hazards, and develop adaptation and resilience goals, policies, and implementation actions to increase community adaptation and build resilience. (§65302(g)(4))
• SB 1241: Increased requirements for flood and wildfire sections where responsible agencies are identified for protection against these hazards and refining policies to minimize risk for new buildings and essential facilities. (§65302(g)(1-3))
• AB 747: Requires jurisdictions to identify evacuation routes and their capacity. safety, and viability under a range of emergency scenarios. *This work is being done as part of a separate effort and is not part of the Multi-jurisdictional Safety Element project. (§65302.15)
•  AB 2140: Incorporation of the LHMP. (§8685.9, §65302.6))

This update also called Peninsula Resillience Planning (PREP) will be conducted in collaboration with several jurisdictions in San Mateo County including Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, San Bruno, and San Mateo County. Staff will be working closely with project managers from Community Planning Collaborative (formerly Baird + Driskel Planning) and PlaceWorks.

To learn more about the project, process, and updates please visit the websites below.

Project website: https://prepsmc.com/   City of East Palo Alto Project Page: https://prepsmc.com/east-palo-alto/

*Staff, community, and stakeholder engagement included in this phase.

UPCOMING OUTREACH EVENTS

PREP (Safety Element) - English Speaking Workshop, December 5, 2024 6:00-7:30, East Palo Alto YMCA 550 Bell Street

SUMMARY OF OUTREACH EVENTS

Peninsula Resilience Planning (PREP) Virtual Workshop Sessions

On the evenings of March 13 and April 3, City staff participated in two virtual sessions organized by project consultants Placeworks and Community Planning Collaborative (CPC). During this workshop, an overview of the project was provided, Q and A, and a breakout session where stakeholders provided their input and expressed their concerns. We also promoted the various websites that provided more information about this project. The notes gathered from these sessions will help provide additional insight for the update of the Safety Element.  

Love Our Earth Festival 

On Saturday April 13, staff participated in an event promoting sustainability and building resilient communities. Staff was present promoting the Environmental Justice and Saftey Element updates. There were two mapping activities for each element update. For the Safety Element, we asked participants to identify which natural hazards concern them and/or which natural hazards have affected them. There were labels identifying a natural hazard and asked if they could place them on the map. There are some pictures below from the event.

Rock 'N' Roar at Cesar Chavez Middle School

On Saturday May 4th, staff participated in a family event promoting the various programs of the Ravenswood Educational Fund and other community partners. This event allowed staff another opportunity to further community engagement and promote the Safety and Environmental Justice Elements update process with students and residents. Staff put together an interactive activity that introduced typical issues that would be discussed in both elements. Participants picked a statement out of a box and had to decide if it was related to the Safety Element or Environmental Justice Element. There are some pictures below from the event. 

PREP Spanish Speaking Workshop

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 6:00 PM, Climate Resilient Communities (CRC) hosted a Spanish speaking workshop introducing the PREP project (Safety Element update). CRC staff members provided an overview of the Safety element, what natural hazards that could affect the City and its residents. The workshop also included a gallery walk where residents provided their comments for each natural hazard. There are some pictures below from the event.