AGENDA #4a

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:       Calling a Public Hearing on November 22, 2004 Regarding the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan 2004.

 

DATE:             November 8, 2004

 

 

The attached resolution would call a Public Hearing on November 22, 2004, regarding the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan 2004.

 

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

 

North Carolina Senate Bill 300 requires that all communities in North Carolina adopt a local Hazard Mitigation Plan.  In response to this legislation, the Town of Chapel Hill prepared a Hazard Mitigation Plan and presented it for review and comment at a Public Hearing on May, 13, 2002.  No comments were received at Hearing.  Subsequently, the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan was adopted by the Council on June 10, 2002.  The Town’s Plan was submitted to and accepted by the North Carolina Department of Emergency Management in accordance with the requirements of the legislation.

 

Since adoption of the Town’s first Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2002, revisions and new requirements for local plans have been promulgated by the Federal government as part of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000.  These requirements include more detailed mapping, expanded stakeholder participation, and new and more detailed criteria regarding hazard identification, community vulnerability, hazard mitigation means and measures, local application(s), and up-dating procedures.

 

Prior to Council adoption of a revised Hazard Mitigation Plan and submittal to the State for approval, the Town is required to hold a Public Hearing to receive public comment on the Plan.

 

If the Council adopts the attached resolution calling a Public Hearing on November 22, 2004, to receive comments on the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan 2004, Town staff would place ads in local newspapers announcing the Hearing.  We would also place drafts of the proposed Plan for public review on the Town’s web site at    http://townhall.townofchapelhill.org/stormwater/docs/hazard_mitigation_plan_2004.pdf, in the Town Library, and in the Engineering Department and Clerk’s Office at Town Hall.

 

 

 

 

NEXT STEPS

 

If a Public Hearing on the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan 2004 is held on November 22, 2004, we will include an action item on the regular Council meeting agenda that same night requesting that the Council adopt the Pan and directing the Manager to forward it to Federal Emergency Management Agency and to the State so that the Town can remain eligible for disaster relief funds.

 

MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Council adopt the following resolution calling a Public Hearing on November 22, 2004, to receive comments on the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan 2004 and directing the Town Manager to publish the required notices and to place drafts of the Plan on the Town website, in the Town Library, and in the Engineering Department and Clerk’s Office at Town Hall.

A RESOLUTION CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2004 (2004-11-08/R-3)

 

WHEREAS, the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill desires to remain eligible for State and Federal disaster relief and mitigation funds in the event of a declared disaster within or including the Town of Chapel Hill; and

WHEREAS, the Council recognizes the value of having a plan in place for identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating potential and real hazards that would affect Chapel Hill and its residents in the event of a disaster; and

WHEREAS, the Council adopted a Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2002 in accordance with the requirements of North Carolina Senate Bill 300; and

WHEREAS, revisions to the Town’s currently adopted Hazard Mitigation Plan are necessary in response to Federally mandated requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000; and

WHEREAS, in order to remain eligible for State and Federal disaster relief and mitigation funds, local governments must adopt a hazard mitigation plan that complies with the currently mandated requirements and the plan must be accepted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and

WHEREAS, prior to adoption by a local government, a Public Hearing must be held on a new or substantially revised Hazard Mitigation Plan;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council calls a Public Hearing at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, November 22, 2004, in the Council Chamber at Town Hall, 306 N. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina to receive public comment on the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan 2004.

 

This is the 8th day of November, 2004.