Providence City Council adopts 2024 hazard mitigation plan to qualify for FEMA grants
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Summary
The council voted unanimously to adopt the city's updated 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan, a roughly 300-page, five-year update that adds 19 mitigation actions and new hazards (including electrification and invasive species). Adoption was required to unlock FEMA funding, including BRIC grant opportunities.
The Providence City Council voted to adopt the city’s 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan, approving a resolution that city staff said is required for continued eligibility for several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mitigation grants.
Director Claire Caservo, who led the plan update process, told the council the plan is a statutorily required, five-year comprehensive hazard-identification and mitigation document. “The multi hazard mitigation plan is a comprehensive hazard identification and mitigation plan that we update by statute every 5 years,” Caservo said, and adoption by the governing body is necessary to remain eligible for federal mitigation grants.
The plan update took about nine months, Caservo said, and included four meetings of a local hazard mitigation committee and five public workshops (four in-person and one virtual) offered in English and Spanish. Staff said 32 community members and representatives of multiple city departments and stakeholders participated in the committee process.
The update adds three hazards of concern not in the prior plan: infestation and invasive species; an expanded category of “terrorism and active threat;” and “electrification,” which staff defined as the risks associated with growing numbers of lithium-ion batteries in electric bikes, scooters and vehicles. “There’s been a number, unfortunately, of apartment fires…caused by electric bikes and electric scooters,” Caservo said. She added that electric-vehicle fires can be difficult to extinguish and can disrupt transportation and city operations.
Staff said the plan now includes 19 newly added mitigation actions (in addition to actions carried forward from the prior plan). Caservo listed headline items added to the plan, including an adopt-a-storm-drain program; a lithium-ion battery outreach campaign; upgrades to sirens at the port; lightning-warning systems at city parks; a post-earthquake dam inspection process; a prioritized investment list to harden critical buildings; an all-hazards design standard for critical buildings; an inventory of critical buildings; generators for some critical facilities; continued technology and training investments; a citywide stormwater master plan; strengthened cybersecurity planning; maintenance and dredging standards for the Pleasant Valley Parkway; regular exercises of Fox Point hurricane barrier road plates; guidance on storage of battery-powered mobility devices; and actions to strengthen the city tree canopy.
A staff member, Sarah, told council members the plan had completed FEMA’s review as “approved pending adoption” (APA). “In order for the plan to come into effect, it must be adopted according to CFR by the governing body,” Sarah said, referencing the Code of Federal Regulations and FEMA’s APA designation. She also said adoption was time-sensitive for grant deadlines: staff identified roughly $2.3 million to $2.5 million in potential BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) grant opportunities that require the adopted plan to be submitted by Feb. 1; staff also said the city has about $160,000 already awarded that cannot be distributed until the plan is formally adopted by the council.
Council discussion focused on the plan’s scope and the realistic timeline for completing listed mitigation actions. Caservo and other staff emphasized that the presence of an action in the plan does not imply the city currently has the resources to complete it within five years; rather, listing actions improves competitiveness for federal grant funding. “That does not mean that we must accomplish all of these,” Caservo said. The plan will require an annual update cycle to report progress on actions to the public and the local hazard mitigation committee, and a full statewide update every five years.
Councilor Neftalal moved to approve the resolution to adopt the 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan; Councilmember Reyes seconded. The motion carried; the council voted in favor with all members present voting “aye,” and the clerk declared the motion approved.
After the vote, staff said they would post the full plan (a roughly 300-page digital document) to the city website and circulate the file to council members and committee participants.
Votes at a glance: Resolution adopting the 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan — Moved by Councilor Neftalal; seconded by Councilmember Reyes; outcome: approved (unanimous, 5–0).
