Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

2023 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Development

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines hazard mitigation as, “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards.”   Another way to understand hazard mitigation is as the prevention component of the emergency management process. (see figure)

• Preparedness activities are the emergency plans, training, drills, and exercises that individuals, communities and first responders participate in on almost a daily basis.  These are things done to get ready for an emergency or disaster before it happens. 
• Response is the short-term, emergency actions taken to address the immediate impacts of a hazard event or disaster. 
• Recovery is the longer-term process of restoring the community back to normal or pre-disaster conditions. 
• Mitigation, or prevention, activities are actions that will prevent or eliminate losses, even if an incident does occur. Mitigation can reduce or eliminate the need for an emergency response and greatly reduce the recovery period.

To address Hazard Mitigation in the City of Placentia, the City is in the process of developing a 2023 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). 

Flood, earthquake, fire, and severe weather are just a few of the natural hazards of concern to the City of Placentia.  While natural hazards such as these cannot be prevented, an LHMP forms the foundation for a community's long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses by breaking the repeated cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction.   Communities with a FEMA- approved LHMP are eligible for FEMA pre- and post-disaster grant funding and are better positioned to respond and recover when disasters occur.  

The LHMP development process is as important as the plan itself.  It creates a framework for risk-based decision making to reduce damages to lives, property, and the economy from future disasters.

2023 LHMP 

The City of Placentia kicked off their LHMP with meetings in early March 2023.  The LHMP  addresses hazards of concern to the City, assesses the likely impacts of these hazards to the people and assets of the City of Placentia planning area, and establishes hazard mitigation goals and prioritizes mitigation actions and projects to reduce the impacts of future disasters on people and property as well as to critical facilities and infrastructure.

Opportunities for Input

Members of the community have a very important role in this process. The 2023 Public Review Draft LHMP is available for review and comment by the public and all interested stakeholders.  Final public and planning committee meetings will also be held on the Draft LHMP.  See below for details.

Public Review Draft

The 2023 LHMP Public Review Draft is ready for download:

Click here to view the draft plan.

Comments on the Public Review Draft (due by Thursday November 9, 2023) 

There are several options for providing comments on the LHMP Public Review Draft:

• Email comments to Jeanine.foster@fostermorrison.com or ppowers@placentia.org
• Drop off written comments or send by mail to:  City of Placentia, Administration Department, Attn. Patrick Powers, 401 E. Chapman Ave. Placentia, CA 92870
• Bring comments to the public or planning committee meeting 

Final Public and Planning Committee Meetings 

All interested stakeholders and members of the public are welcome to attend either of these meetings to review and provide comments on the draft LHMP.

Public Meeting

November 1, 2023 (Wednesday) 5:30 – 7:00 pm

City of Placentia City Hall

401 E. Chapman Ave. Front Community Room

Planning Committee Meeting

November 2, 2023 (Thursday) 9:00 – 11:30 am

City of Placentia City Hall

401 E. Chapman Ave. Front Community Room

For more information on this project and how to be involved, contact Patrick Powers at (714) 993-8214/ ppowers@placentia.org