Planning commission recommends hazard-element amendment to reference Hayward Local Resilience Plan

The Hayward City Planning Commission on March 27 unanimously recommended the City Council adopt a minor amendment to the hazards element of the Hayward 2040 General Plan to incorporate a footnote linking to the Hayward Local Resilience Plan (LRP). The recommendation passed on a roll-call vote of the commissioners present; Commissioner Goodbody was absent.

Ryan Hamre of the Hayward Fire Department presented the amendment and said the change is intended to align the general plan with Assembly Bill 2140 and to preserve eligibility for state and federal disaster assistance programs, including reimbursement under the California Disaster Assistance Act and federal programs administered by FEMA. Staff noted the LRP, prepared as a five‑year update to the local hazard mitigation plan, was adopted in February 2023 and that adding a cross-reference is a minor text amendment that does not create new environmental impacts under CEQA.

Commissioners asked about programmatic priorities and community outreach. Staff and the fire-department representative said Hayward’s highest hazard ratings in regional analyses are earthquake and wildfire, that the city is actively pursuing vegetation-management and home-hardening efforts, and that staff are preparing mailings to residents in newly mapped high-hazard areas and maintaining a defensible-space and home-hardening resource section on the City of Hayward website. The presenter also said evacuation modeling and public notification use the countywide Genesis system.

Several commissioners emphasized that written policies require concrete implementation and funding to be effective. Commissioner Lowe moved to recommend the amendment to the City Council; Commissioner Stevens seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote (Franco Clausen: yes; Hammond: yes; Lowe: yes; Myers: yes; Stevens: yes; Chair Hardy: yes; Commissioner Goodbody absent). City Council public hearing and adoption were tentatively scheduled for April 22, 2025; after council adoption the city will submit the amended hazard element and associated resolution to the California Office of Emergency Services.

Staff described the change as a footnote linking the two documents rather than a substantive rewrite; the primary near-term effect is to preserve eligibility for post-disaster funding and to clarify the city’s hazard-planning documents for state reviewers.