Cupertino planners review state-mandated safety element update, flag evacuation and wildfire concerns

The Cupertino Planning Commission held a study session July 8 to review a state law-mandated update to the city's health and safety element, hearing a PlaceWorks presentation that emphasized risks from flooding, extreme heat and wildfire and outlined policy concepts for evacuation, fire safety, hazardous materials and climate resilience.

PlaceWorks project manager Jacqueline Protsman Rohrer told the commission, "A safety element is 1 of the mandatory elements of a general plan focusing on natural and human caused hazards within and surrounding Cupertino, as well as emergency preparedness and response." The presentation explained the update is required after the city's housing element update and will integrate with the Climate Action Plan, the multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan and the city's emergency response plan.

The consultant team described two technical studies prepared for the update: a vulnerability assessment carried out under SB 379 (government code section 65302.6/65302(g) requirements) and an AB 747 evacuation study completed by Fair & Pierce that maps routes, locations and capacity under different hazard scenarios. The vulnerability assessment examined exposure and adaptive capacity for 45 population groups and city assets and…