City staff brief commission on 2025 Hazards and Climate Resilience Plan update

Melissa Higbee, resilience program manager in the Office of Resilience and Capital Planning, told the Commission on the Environment that the 2025 update to the city's Hazards and Climate Resilience Plan is a citywide strategy to protect people and infrastructure from climate-related hazards and to remain eligible for federal and state funding.

Higbee said the plan complements the climate action plan by focusing on adaptation and hazard mitigation. She described the plan's scope as covering 13 hazards, incorporating new science on extreme precipitation and groundwater response to sea-level rise, and consolidating earlier work: the previous plan listed 96 actions and the update prioritizes 74 actions based on feasibility and benefits.

The program manager emphasized that the plan is a federal requirement for FEMA grant eligibility and supports state compliance under SB 379; it must be updated by July 2025 to retain eligibility for key funding sources. Higbee noted the draft is available for public comment through September, that staff are briefing community groups and the Board of Supervisors, and that the final draft will be submitted to Cal OES and FEMA in October for review.

Commissioners praised the update and opened the floor for questions; there were no public speakers on the item. Higbee said staff will continue targeted engagement with environmental-justice communities and work with departmental partners to align resilience measures with building electrification, nature-based solutions, energy resilience at critical facilities, and affordable housing rehabilitation guidelines.

Next steps: the department will collect feedback during the public comment period, finalize the draft for submission to Cal OES and FEMA, and then seek Board of Supervisors adoption following the agencies' review period.