Clearlake adopts Lake County multi-jurisdiction hazard mitigation plan annex

Clearlake City Council on Sept. 4 voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 2025-31, incorporating the Lake County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan into the Clearlake General Plan safety element.

The plan update was prepared by the county Office of Emergency Services in partnership with the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport and consultant The Resiliency Initiative. Faith Newton of the Resiliency Initiative summarized the process for the council, saying the countywide base plan and city annex reflect a review of local hazards, public workshops, a hazard mitigation planning committee and mapping of mitigation actions unique to each jurisdiction.

Newton told the council the Clearlake annex identifies 32 mitigation actions in varying stages — some in progress and others not yet begun — and that the plan has cleared the California Office of Emergency Services and FEMA review. Adoption by each local jurisdiction is required for the plan to be final; Clearlake’s action is one of three local adopters in the process.

Director Labo presented the staff report and noted that adopting the plan allows the city to be eligible for certain federal mitigation grants and ensures consistency with FEMA requirements for local hazard mitigation planning.

During public comment, a resident asked staff to add a 2017 disaster declaration (the October 2017 “sulfur fire”) to a table of past disaster declarations; staff said they would amend the record to include it. The council approved the resolution as amended.

Ending: With the resolution adopted, city staff said the next steps are to file the local adoption documentation with county and state partners so the 2025 multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan becomes final and eligible for associated grant programs.