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Council adopts updated Emergency Operations Plan; chief proposes community preparedness exercise
Summary
The City Council approved a condensed, hyperlinked Emergency Operations Plan on Nov. 3 and directed staff to proceed with training and a limited public preparedness exercise to improve emergency response coordination.
The Carmel‑by‑the‑Sea City Council unanimously adopted an updated Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) on Nov. 3 that consolidates the city’s guidance into a smaller, hyperlinked document and formalizes modern incident‑management practices.
What changed Chief Doug Trayer presented the revised plan, which replaces a previous 422‑page bound manual with a 96‑page hyperlinked document that points to frequently updated playbooks, evacuation maps and county resources. The revisions emphasize an "EOC in a box" approach — the ability to stand up an Emergency Operations Center in different city facilities or work with the Monterey County EOC — and define roles and responsibilities for staff, CERT volunteers and VIP/volunteer marshals.
Key elements highlighted - Unifies incident command procedures under the National Incident Management System/ICS framework. - Identifies top hazards for Carmel (wildfire, pandemic/public‑health events, earthquake) via a THIRA/THIRA‑equivalent hazard assessment. - Adds CERT and VIP roles and proposes a community‑oriented preparedness exercise modeled on Mill Valley’s annual program. - Clarifies how the mayor and council receive information and their role in communications during an incident.
Council questions and follow up Council asked about EOC location security, how hyperlinks and county materials will be maintained, and public notification coverage; staff said maintenance and county coordination are in place and that training sessions with county fire and emergency management will follow. Chief Trayer proposed a well‑messaged April drill that would use finite, opt‑in participation and staging areas to avoid creating undue disruption for vulnerable residents.
Vote and next steps By unanimous roll call the council adopted Resolution 2025‑096 accepting the updated EOP. Staff will schedule training with county partners, refine public‑notification systems and plan a limited, well‑messaged preparedness exercise with careful outreach to fragile populations and community facilities.
