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Council adopts peninsula-wide hazard mitigation plan to preserve FEMA grant eligibility
Summary
The council unanimously adopted Resolution R26-12 adopting the Palos Verdes Peninsula multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, a step staff said preserves FEMA grant eligibility and may allow the state to cover local match under AB 2140.
The Palos Verdes Estates City Council voted unanimously on April 14 to adopt the 2026 Palos Verdes Peninsula multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (Resolution R26-12), a collaborative plan prepared with three neighboring cities and two geological hazard abatement districts to identify and reduce risk from earthquakes, landslides and wildfires.
Kristen Jo, the city's emergency preparedness and community outreach coordinator, described the plan as the product of a peninsula-wide planning partnership and said adoption preserves the city's eligibility for FEMA mitigation funding. "Adoption of this plan also maintains the city's eligibility for FEMA funding," the coordinator told the council.
Consultant Megan Brotherton of Black & Veatch summarized the planning process, public outreach and the plan's risk-ranking methodology (probability, impact, spatial extent, warning time and climate-change considerations). The plan includes mitigation strategies such as improving communications during events, retaining-wall repair to mitigate landslides and fuels-reduction/weed-abatement programs to reduce wildfire risk across jurisdictions.
Brotherton explained that integrating the mitigation plan into the safety element of each city's general plan can enable the state to cover the typical 25% local match on some FEMA grants through AB 2140. Staff told the council that Cal OES and FEMA will review the plan and may request minor edits; those changes do not require readoption by the council.
Council members discussed joint versus individual grant applications for projects that cross jurisdictional boundaries, and consultants said the plan provides flexibility for both joint projects (for example fuels reduction) and city-specific infrastructure applications (stormwater, seismic retrofits). The council then moved to adopt the resolution; the vote was unanimous.
Staff said final FEMA approval will follow state review and minor edits; once FEMA approves, grant eligibility for mitigation funding would be effective immediately.
