BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Approve the 2021 Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Program for Public Information; a program under the Community Rating System of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program. (Previously Listed as Item 8.1)
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Review the 2021 Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Program for Public Information; and
B. Approve the implementation of the PPI 5-Year Plan for the Community Rating System Program.
Body
SUMMARY:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires the elected body of each community who participates in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) to approve a Multi-Jurisdictional Program for Public Information (PPI) (5-Year Plan) to receive points under the CRS program. The PPI was introduced into Santa Clara County’s CRS program in 2013 and participation is voluntary. In the PPI process, communities can work together to decide which flood risk reduction messages are the most appropriate and design a program to deliver those messages. The number of points earned as a result of having an approved PPI will vary depending on how extensive a program is implemented within each participating community’s jurisdiction. Staff estimate that the 2021 Santa Clara County PPI (Attachment 1) recommended to the Board, will earn from 80-200 points per Santa Clara County community in Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (Valley Water) CRS User Group. These points contribute to discounts on flood insurance for the participating communities’ constituents.
CRS Program Background
CRS is a voluntary program under the NFIP that allows communities to earn flood insurance premium discounts for their residents and businesses. Communities earn CRS points for activities that promote good flood risk reduction practices, including implementation of outreach activities under the PPI. Communities are assigned class ratings based on the points earned. CRS Class ratings are assigned at 500-point increments and each improvement in class rating nets an additional 5% discount for property owners who pay flood insurance premiums in participating communities. Since Valley Water is not a land-use agency, the points Valley Water earns as a fictitious community provide a foundation for the communities to build upon. FEMA approved this unique arrangement in 1998. The total savings for Santa Clara County residents from CRS discounts is approximately $2.37 million a year.
PPI Must Be Renewed Every Five Years
Every five years, CRS communities must update the PPI. Each year, the CRS communities must re-convene to evaluate whether the flood risk reduction messages are still appropriate and adjust the PPI, as needed. Additionally, a report to FEMA must be submitted annually describing the PPI implementation and the report is shared with each participating community governing body. On April 14, 2015, Valley Water’s Board adopted the original 2015 Santa Clara County PPI 5-Year Plan.
In February 2020, Valley Water hosted the start of the 5-year PPI process, in which fifteen (15) communities worked together to review and update the 2015 PPI. These communities included the current eleven (11) participating CRS communities (the Cities of Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Valley Water) and four (4) communities that were interested in applying to become a CRS community (the Town of Los Gatos and the Town of Los Altos Hills, the City of Saratoga, and the County of Santa Clara). Staff and external stakeholders from each of the communities participated in the drafting of the document. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many communities had to shift priorities to respond to the public health crisis; therefore, FEMA provided an extension of completing of the PPI to early 2021. Valley Water reconvened the participating communities and stakeholders in October 2020 to begin developing the new 5-year PPI for Santa Clara County.
The PPI must be developed by a committee comprised of both staff and non-governmental representatives from each of the participating communities, known as the PPI Committee. Each participant brought unique perspectives and suggestions that enhanced outreach plan. In addition to FEMA’s standard messages, two messages were identified as important to Santa Clara County. The first was encouraging residents and workers to make a personal family emergency plan. The second was urging drivers to slow down on wet roads and avoid driving through ponded water to reduce traffic accidents.
The draft PPI was reviewed by FEMA to ensure its provisions fully comply with FEMA requirements, prior to approval by any participating agency’s government body.
Once Valley Water approves the PPI 5-Year Plan, it will be provided to participating jurisdictions to present to their government bodies for approval and implementation.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with this item.
CEQA:
The recommendation action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have the potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: 2021 SC County Multi-Jurisdictional PPI
Attachment 2: PPI Appendix A
Attachment 3: PPI Appendix D
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Marta Lugo, 408-630-2237