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Conduct a noticed public hearing; and Consider adopting a resolution approving General Plan Amendment (G-24-01) to update the Public Health and Safety Chapter of the General Plan to address recent State requirements for General Plans, including information relating to evacuation routes, minimum road widths and clearances around structures, mapping of known seismic hazards, current flooding and fire risk conditions, hazard mapping, flooding and fire hazard-related policies, a climate change vulnerability assessment, and comprehensively addressing the short-term and long-term threats posed by climate change; the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to §15061(B)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines
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Published Notice Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
Public Hearing Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Resource Management recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
1. Conduct a noticed public hearing; and
2. Adopt a resolution approving General Plan Amendment Application G-24-01 to update the Public Health and Safety Chapter of the General Plan to address recent State requirements for General Plans, including information relating to evacuation routes, minimum road widths and clearances around structures, mapping of known seismic hazards, current flooding and fire risk conditions, hazard mapping, flooding and fire hazard-related policies, a climate change vulnerability assessment, and comprehensively addressing the short-term and long-term threats posed by climate change.
SUMMARY:
The Public Health and Safety Chapter (Chapter) of the General Plan functions as the State mandated Safety Element of Solano County’s General Plan. This Chapter contains the County’s overarching strategy to protect community members, property, and other community assets against natural and human-caused disasters and other hazardous conditions. This update was triggered by California Government Code §65302(g)(6), which requires that planning agencies “review and, if necessary, revise the safety element upon each revision of the housing element or local hazard mitigation plan, but not less than once every eight years, to identify new information relating to flood and fire hazards and climate adaptation and resiliency strategies applicable to the city or county that was not available during the previous revision of the safety element”.
The County adopted its updated Housing Element in February of 2024, necessitating a review and update to the Chapter. The County last updated this Chapter in 2015.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The costs associated with the Public Health and Safety Chapter update are included in the Department’s FY2024/25 Working Budget and the costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the Department’s FY2024/25 Working Budget.
DISCUSSION:
Technical Edits
Most of the proposed revisions to the Chapter are to add or update technical information. In many cases, updates to State law require the Chapter include information that was not required when the existing Chapter was adopted in 2015. In other instances, relevant information has changed as a result of new studies or analyses, and therefore, there are proposed edits to the Chapter that incorporate this revised information.
The most significant proposed edit to the Chapter adds information about how climate change may affect natural hazards in Solano County, as mandated by California Government Code §65302(g)(4). The proposed revised Chapter includes a section at the beginning of the Chapter that discusses how climate change is expected to make future hazards more frequent and intense, including floods and rising sea levels, droughts, severe weather, extreme heat, wildfire, and human health issues. The revised Chapter includes a Vulnerability Assessment, which identifies the people and assets in Solano County who are most at risk of harm from climate change. There are also new sections in the Chapter on agriculture and ecosystem hazards, drought, extreme heat, and severe weather, including background and policies on hazards identified by the vulnerability assessment not covered in other sections.
The updated Chapter contains proposed revisions to many of the descriptions of hazards, in most cases expanding these descriptions to include more background information and other relevant context. These edits include new and revised information about hazard threats, recent programs to address hazardous conditions, and language that integrates the results of the vulnerability assessment to discuss the likelihood of future threats. These proposed edits also include revised hazard mapping as required by State law and reflect updates to mapped hazard zones. In addition to these edits to the hazard descriptions, the proposed edits include information about the County’s updated Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan and Emergency Operations Plan, and how these documents integrate with the Chapter to provide a unified approach to addressing natural hazards in Solano County. These proposed edits do not include updates to the background information in the Public Health, Air Quality, or Noise sections of the Chapter, beyond minor edits for data accuracy and grammar.
Policy Edits
The proposed changes to the revised Chapter include edits to policies and implementation programs. Several policies have been added or revised related to flooding. These edits reflect commitments by the County and partner agencies to adopt the One Water framework, a holistic, multi-benefit approach to water management activities, including topics relevant to this Chapter such as drought and flooding. These proposed edits include revised and expanded language to promote coordination efforts between the County and partner agencies on flooding issues.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is responsible for reviewing safety elements in fire-prone areas of the state and providing recommendations about how local communities can be more resilient to wildfires. Solano County worked with CAL FIRE staff throughout the development of this revised Chapter, and CAL FIRE officials completed their formal review of the proposed Chapter in June 2024. In response to recommendations from CAL FIRE staff, the proposed Chapter includes new and revised policies for wildfire prevention, mitigation, preparation, and recovery. These policies are based on standard CAL FIRE recommendations and are consistent with wildfire policies in the safety elements of many other communities in California. As a part of the recommendations from CAL FIRE on wildfire and other emergency topics, additional policies are proposed relating to evacuation planning.
Beyond these topic edits, minor edits to policies and implementation programs have been made throughout the proposed updated Chapter. These edits are to clarify intent or make small-scale corrections. They do not affect the overall direction or vision of the policy or implementation program.
Attachment B (B)(C) provide links to a full clean version of the revised Public Health and Safety Chapter, and a redlined version of the chapter and policy changes.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed revisions to the Chapter are exempt under the “common sense” exemption pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines §15061(b)(3). This exemption applies because the proposed revisions do not have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The proposed project involves policies and implementation programs to meet California Government Code §65302(g) requirements, protecting the community from any unreasonable risk associated with the effects of various hazards. The proposed revisions solely update the County’s policy document and do not provide entitlements to any specific development projects and would not result in any direct or indirect physical changes to the environment.
The County is not changing any land uses or zoning standards or making any physical improvements to adopt the proposed project. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the proposed project would have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from CEQA review. A CEQA technical memo is included as an attachment to the Planning Commission staff report (Attachment B (G)), should the Board desire further information.
Public Hearing Notice
A public hearing notice was published in the Daily Republic at least 10 days prior to the public hearing and a link is provided to this in Attachment B (H)).
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board of Supervisors may choose not to approve General Plan Amendment Application G-24-01. However, this is not recommended as the proposed revisions are required by recent State law to be incorporated into city and county Safety Elements throughout the state.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
CAL FIRE staff worked with County staff throughout the development of this revised Chapter and completed a formal review.
On November 7, 2024, the Planning Commission recommended that the Board adopt the proposed amendments.
The proposed amendments were found consistent with the Travis Land Use Compatibility Plan by the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission on November 14, 2024.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION