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Medical Lake presents draft hazard mitigation plan; opens public comment through Feb. 18
Summary
Consultants and staff told the Planning Commission the draft plan ranks wildfire as the top risk and outlines mitigation actions such as defensible space, floodplain management and continuity planning; the draft is posted for comment through Feb. 18 before council, state and FEMA review.
Medical Lake officials and a hired consultant presented a draft Local Hazard Mitigation Plan to the Planning Commission on Jan. 23, 2025, and opened a public comment period running through Feb. 18. The consultant told commissioners the draft ranks wildfires as the community's top hazard and proposes actions intended to preserve life and maintain access to state and federal hazard mitigation funding.
The plan matters because completing a FEMA‑ and state‑approved mitigation plan preserves eligibility for mitigation grants and lays out steps the city would use to reduce future disaster losses. The presentation outlined how the plan was developed, the highest‑ranked hazards, suggested mitigation actions and next administrative steps.
Bobby Jackson, identified in the meeting as a consultant with the contractor working on the plan, said the process began with a planning team, public and stakeholder surveys and a workshop that produced a prioritized list of hazards. "Wildfires ... was number 1 with 3.5," Jackson said, summarizing the plan's calculated priority risk index. He described other identified hazards as drought, severe weather, flooding, earthquake, volcanic activity and landslides and said the ranking combined probability, consequences and community recovery capacity.
The draft links proposed goals to specific mitigation actions and priorities. Examples cited in the presentation include: developing a special‑needs population map to support evacuations; promoting defensible space around properties; strengthening floodplain management regulations; seismic retrofits and hardening or adding redundancy for critical facilities and water systems; conducting community drills and continuity‑of‑operations planning for municipal services; and improved public outreach and evacuation/shelter planning.
Jackson explained the public‑engagement steps that informed the plan, saying surveys and stakeholder interviews were posted and analyzed, and results were incorporated into the draft. "It will continue to be published to that location until 18th February," Jackson said, noting the city would consolidate comments, update the draft, present to the City Council and then seek state and FEMA approval.
Commissioners asked questions about drills and shelters. When Commissioner Carl Munson asked whether the city had run a full community evacuation drill, Jackson described a progression of exercises (tabletop, functional and full‑scale) and said the contractor had conducted large‑scale exercises in other jurisdictions. On using the high school as a shelter, Jackson said the Red Cross typically evaluates and approves shelter sites and that a specific study would be needed to confirm whether the high school met shelter requirements for power, water and capacity.
City staff said the draft is posted on the city's hazard mitigation page and that a council presentation is planned; the consultant confirmed comments will be reviewed and integrated before state and FEMA submittal. No formal vote on the plan occurred at the meeting; the item was presented for review and public input.
The Planning Commission meeting also included other agenda business and public comment on wetlands and the city's comprehensive plan.
