HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-03-14 City Council (8)TO:
City of Polo Alto
anager’s Summary Report
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: Public Works
DATE:
SUBJECT:
March 14, 1996 CMR:183:96
Updated Information on the Federal Emergency Management
Agency’s Special Flood Hazard Areas in Palo Alto
REQUEST
This report conveys staff’s response to Council’s request for updated information on the
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Special Flood Hazard Areas in Palo
Alto.
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report prepared in response to Council’s request.
to discuss this item, staff will agendize it for a future meeting.
If Council wishes
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This informational report does not contain any changes to existing City policies.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On October 30, 1995, Council approved a request by Council Members Andersen, Huber,
and Kniss to direct staff to prepare a report on the status of the FEMA-designated special
flood hazard areas in Palo Alto and the actions required to eliminate the flood hazards.
In response, the following information regarding the National Flood Insurance Program,
its requirements, and the specific flood hazards in Palo Alto is submitted.
Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968 to provide
flood insurance to residents and businesses in communities that elect to participate in the
program. In return, FEMA imposes floodplain management requirements on the
participating community. Palo Alto initially elected to take part in the NFIP in 1979.
FEMA has delineated Palo Alto’s Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) on its Flood
Insurance Rate Maps for those areas subject to flooding in the one percent flood. They
have identified two distinct types of flood hazards in Palo Alto, freshwater flooding and
saltwater flooding. Several areas of the City are subject to freshwater flooding, which is
CMR:183:96 Page 1 of 12
caused by the overtopping of local creeks in the event of the one percent flood. In
addition, a large area on the eastern side of the City is subject to saltwater flooding in the
event of failure of the bayfront levees during the one percent high tide on San Francisco
Bay.
There are two basic requirements applicable to properties in a FEMA-designated SFHA:
flood insurance and special building requirements, as discussed below.
The flood insurance requirement is not administered by the City of Palo Alto. Federally-
backed lending institutions are mandated by law to require borrowers to obtain flood
insurance for all loans issued for structures within an SFHA. Since virtually all lenders
are backed by the federal government in some manner, this essentially means that every
property owner within an SFHA who has an outstanding mortgage on their real property
is subject to this requirement. Annual flood insurance premiums for single-family homes
are in the $300 to $500 range. The availability of flood insurance in Palo Alto is a direct
benefit of the City’s participation and good standing in the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP). If the City ever withdrew or were suspended from the NFIP, flood
insurance would not be available to residents and businesses in the SFHA. Due to the
mandatory flood insurance requirement, this would make it impossible to obtain a home
mortgage or commercial loan secured by a property in the SFHA.
City staff is responsible for enforcing the special building requirements, which have been
incorporated into Chapter 16.52 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC). For new
construction or substantial improvement to an existing structure within an SFHA, the
PAMC requires that the lowest floor must be constructed, at or above the base flood
elevation as established on FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Map. In late April, staff will
submit a report to Council recommending referral of revisions to PAMC Chapter 16.52
dealing with substantial improvements to the Policy and Services Committee.
Beginning in 1986, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) began an accelerated
flood control program in.Palo Alto. The District has spent approximately $33 million to
upgrade the Palo Alto Flood Basin and Matadero, Barron, and Adobe Creeks, to
accommodate the runoff from a one percent storm event. As a result of these District
flood control projects, approximately 325 properties have been, or will be, removed from
the SFHA. Following completion this calendar year of the District’s ongoing work on
Matadero and Barron Creeks in Barron Park, the remaining flood hazards in Palo Alto will
be from San Francisco Bay tides, Adobe Creek at E1 Camino Real, and San Francisquito
Creek. Approximately 3,750 properties will remain in the SFHA. In order to eliminate
the threat of saltwater flooding, the Bayfront levees would need to be strengthened and
raised to an elevation at least three and one-half feet above the projected high tide level.
The District has plans to replace the existing Adobe Creek culvert at E1 Camino within the
next several years to eliminate the flood hazard at that location. San Francisquito Creek
is the only remaining natural creek in Palo Alto that has not been channelized with
CMR:183:96 Page 2 of 12
concrete along some portion of its length. A comprehensive flood control solution that is
both economically and environmentally feasible has not yet been identified.
There are three ongoing activities that affect San Francisquito Creek: the Coordinated
Resource Management and Planning (CRMP) process, the District’s reconnaissance study
of flood control options, and FEMA’s restudy of flooding potential. The CRMP process
is a dialogue amongst interested parties to promote the enhancement and health of the San
Francisquito Creek watershed by identifying major problems, planning objectives, and
future actions. The end product of this collaborative effort will be a San Francisquito
Creek Watershed Plan, which identifies the common goals and objectives of the CRMP
participants. The District and San Mateo County have recently begun a reconnaissance
study of flood control options for San Francisquito Creek. The study will define flooding
and erosion problems, possible alternative solutions and impacts, and potential funding
sources. San Francisquito Creek is one of many creeks, including 13 others in Santa Clara
County, that is being reexamined as a result of revisions to FEMA’s policies. In
preliminary meetings with FEMA staff, they indicated that there will be an additional 800
Palo Alto properties (a 60 percent increase) designated within the SFHA on the revised
Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) as a result of the restudy. Staff will return to Council
to discuss the results of this study and possible courses of action after FEMA completes
its reassessment in May or June 1996.
FISCAL IMPACT
This report has no fiscal impacts to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
An environmental assessment is not required for this informational report.
PREPARED BY: George Bagdon, Assistant Director of Public Works
DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW:
-/ 6LENN
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
Manager
CMR:183:96 Page 3 of 12
City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s .Report
SUBJECT:Updated Information on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
Special Flood Hazard Areas in Palo Alto
RECOMMENDATION
This report has been prepared in response to Council’s request for updated information.
No Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
On October 30, 1995, Council approved a proposal by Council members Andersen,
Huber, and Kniss to direct staff to prepare a report on the status of the FEMA-designated
special flood hazard areas in Palo Alto and the actions required to eliminate the flood
hazards. In response, the following information regarding the National Flood Insurance
Program, its requirements, and the specific flood hazards in Palo Alto is submitted.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This informational report does not contain any changes to existing City policies.
DISCUSSION
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Historically, the nation’s private insurance companies have been unwilling to offer flood
insurance, due to the potentially catastrophic level of claims from even a single major
flood. To remedy this situation, Congress established the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP) in 1968 to provide flood insurance underwriting. NFIP-sponsored flood
insurance is made available to residents and businesses in communities that elect to
participate in the program. In return, to reduce its level of risk, the federal government
imposes requirements on the participating community, including the codification of federal
floodplain management regulations into local ordinances. Council first incorporated the
federal requirements into the Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) in 1979, by adopting
PAMC Chapter 16.52, "Flood Hazard Regulations." This Municipal Code section was
last revised in 1988 to reflect updated federal regulations.
Flood Insurance Rate Maps
Once a community elects to participate in the NFIP, FEMA initiates a study of local
hydrologic and geographic conditions to determine the extent of the flood hazard in that
community. FEMA retains an engineering consultant to study local rainfall patterns,
stream capacities, and ground elevations and to analyze this data to assess the risk of
flooding. The results of the study are published in a Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and an
CMR:183:96 Page 4 of 12
accompanying set of Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM). The FIRMs delineate the
Special Flood Hazard Areas within a community, which are those areas subject to flooding
in the one percent flood. The one percent flood has a one percent chance of occurring in
any given year. It is sometimes referred to as the 100-year flood, because it is the flood
that would be equaled or exceeded on an average of one time every hundred years,
measured over a long time period. The initial FIS and set of FIRMs for Palo Alto were
published in 1979. Revised documents were issued by FEMA in 1989, based on a restudy
of Matadero Creek flooding and updated information on expected maximum high tide
levels in San Francisco Bay.
Flood Hazards in Palo Alto
FEMA has identified two distinct types of flood hazards in Palo Alto, freshwater flooding
and saltwater flooding. Several areas of the City are subject to freshwater flooding, which
is caused by the overtopping of local creeks in the event of the one percent flood. In
addition, a large area on the eastern side of the city is subject to saltwater flooding in the
event of failure of the Bayfront levees during the one percent high tide on San Francisco
Bay.
With respect to freshwater flooding, the urban portion of Palo Alto is divided into four
separate watersheds, each drained by one of the local creeks: San Francisquito, Matadero,
Barron and Adobe. At the time of the 1989 Flood Insurance Study, none of these creeks
had the capacity to convey the storm runoff from the one percent flood. During a one
percent flood, excess water would be expected to overtop creek banks and spill into
adjacent neighborhoods at several locations within the City. FEMA designates these areas
as Special Flood Hazard Areas on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps if the projected depth
of the flood waters exceeds one foot (see map, Attachment 1). Flooding is generally
caused by an undersized creek channel or by localized constrictions at culverts beneath
street crossings. Since 1989, some of the flood hazards identified by FEMA have been
eliminated through the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s flood control projects. These
projects will be discussed in a later section of this report.
With respect to saltwater flooding, much of the eastern portion of the City is at a lower
elevation than high tide levels in San Francisco Bay. This land is protected from saltwater
inundation by a system of levees along the bayfront. FEMA has reviewed the Bayfront
levees in Palo Alto and determined that they do not provide an acceptable level of
protection from the one percent high tide event for two primary reasons. First, the levees
do not conform to FEMA’s engineering standards for fill materials and construction
technique. The levees were built largely with Bay mud rather than higher quality imported
fill, and the placement and compaction of the material was not inspected and tested by
qualified personnel. The second deficiency of the levees is their "freeboard"; that is, the
height of the levees above the projected high tide level. Because the levees do not have
a minimum of three and one-half feet of freeboard, FEMA considers them susceptible to
failure during the one percent high tide, which is projected to reach eight feet above sea
CMR:183:96 Page 5 of 12
level. In the event of such a levee failure, saltwater would inundate all land below eight
feet in elevation. These low-lying areas have been mapped as a Special Flood Hazard
Area on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (see map, Attachment.i).
Requirements in Special Flood Hazard Areas
There are two basic requirements applicable to properties in a FEMA-designated Special
Flood Hazard Area (SFHA): flood insurance and special building requirements.
The flood insurance requirement is not administered by the City of Palo Alto. Federally-
backed lending institutions are mandated by law to require borrowers to obtain flood
insurance for all loans issued for structures within an SFHA. Since virtually all lenders
are backed by the federal government in some manner, this essentially means that every
property owner within an SFHA who has an outstanding mortgage on their real property
is subject to this requirement. Annual flood insurance premiums for single-family homes
are in the $300 to $500 range. The availability of flood insurance in Palo Alto is a direct
benefit of the City’s participation and good standing in the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP). If the City ever withdrew or were suspended from the NFIP, flood
insurance would not be available to residents and businesses in the SFHA. Due to the
mandatory flood insurance requirement, this would make it impossible to obtain a home
mortgage or commercial loan secured by a property in the SFHA.
City staff is responsible for enforcing the special building requirements, which have been
incorporated into Chapter 16.52 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code. These requirements
apply to new construction and "substantial improvement" of existing structures within an
SFHA. A "substantial improvement" is defined as any repair, reconstruction, or
improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market
value of the existing structure. The primary special building requirement involves the
elevation of the lowest floor of a structure. For new construction or substantial
improvement to an existing structure within an SFHA, the lowest floor must be constructed
at or above the base flood elevation, as established on FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Map.
For substantial improvements, the floor elevation requirement extends to the entire
structure, which means that existing floors also have to be raised if they are below the
minimum elevation. In the most severe case, this would require a property owner to build
or raise the lowest floor five to six feet above the existing ground level. Other special
building requirements include installation of adequate openings beneath the floor to allow
for passage of floodwaters, placement of building utilities (e.g. water heater, electrical
panels, etc.) above the flood level, use of water-resistant building materials, and
certification of lowest floor elevations by a registered engineer or surveyor.
The concept of retrofitting existing buildings when they are "substantially improved" is
consistent with the mission of the NFIP. FEMA has two primary roles as the
administrator of the NFIP. First of all, FEMA has a responsibility to ensure that local
communities comply with sound floodplain management practices in order to promote
CMR:183:96 Page 6 of 12
public safety. In addition, FEMA acts as an insurance company, making flood insurance
available to residents and businesses nationwide. As an insurance provider, FEMA is
motivated to minimize the number of at-risk properties, in order to reduce the potential
damage claims by policy holders in the event of a major flood. According to FEMA, the
50 percent threshold used to defme "substantial improvement" was chosen "as a
compromise between the extremes of 1) prohibiting all investment to structures in flood
hazard areas which do not meet minimum FEMA floodplain management requirements,
and 2) allowing structures to be improved in any fashion without regard to the hazard
present."
Community. Rating System
FEMA created the Community Rating System (CRS) program in 1990 to provide reduced
flood insurance premiums to proactive communities that perform floodplain management
activities beyond the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Program participants earn credit points for activities such as public education and outreach,
open space preservation, drainage system maintenance, and floodplain mapping. Palo Alto
has taken part in the CRS program since its inception, enabling residents and businesses
to receive a 10 percent reduction in their flood insurance premiums. FEMA recently
performed an audit of the City’s CRS activities and found staff’s practices and
documentation to be in compliance with their requirements. Staff recently submitted a
renewal application to FEMA for continued participation in the CRS program, as required
every five years. Staff will continue to seek opportunities to qualify for additional CRS
credit points in order to receive higher insurance premium discounts in future years.
Elimination of Flood Hazards Resulting from Santa Clara Valley Water District Flood
Control Projects
Beginning in 1986, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) began an accelerated
flood control program in Palo Alto. The accelerated program was made possible by
additional funding generated by benefit assessments approved by voters in the District’s
Northwest Flood Control Zone (which includes Palo Alto) in 1982 and 1986. All revenue
generated from property in the zone is used to fmance creek maintenance and flood control
projects within the zone. The District has spent approximately $33 million to upgrade the
Palo Alto Flood Basin and Matadero, Barton, and Adobe Creeks to accommodate the
runoff from a one percent storm event (see map, Attachment 2). The District flood control
program can be summarized as follows:
Palo Alto Flood Basin
Construction cost: $ 550,000
Project time frame: 1986
Project scope:.Raising of perimeter levee to a minimum height of 6.1 feet above sea
level
CMR:183:96 Page 7 of 12
Matadero Creek
Construction cost:
Project time flame:
Project scope:
$ 21.1 million
t988 - present (estimated completion date is Fall 1996)
Placement of flood walls along top of channel or construction of
enlarged channel from E1 Camino Real to Palo Alto Flood Basin.
Replacement of vehicular bridges at Greer Road, Louis Road, Ross
Road, Middlefield Road, Cowper Street, Waverley Street, Caltrain
tracks, Park Boulevard, Lambert Avenue, and E1 Camino Real.
Construction of underground bypass culvert from Bol Park to E1
Camino Real in order to retain existing natural creek through Barron
Park.
Barron Creek
Construction cost:
Project time frame:
Project scope:
$ 900,000
1988
Placement of flood walls along top of channel from Louis Road to
Palo Alto Flood Basin.
Construction of underground diversion culvert to Matadero Creek
along Bol Park bicycle/pedestrian path in order to retain natural creek
through Barron Park and eliminate need to improve channel between
Laguna Avenue and Louis Road (cost included in Matadero Creek
total).
Adobe Creek
Construction cost:
Project time frame:
Project scope:
$10.6 million
1986 - 1992
Construction of enlarged channel from Miller Avenue to Palo Alto
Flood Basin.
Replacement of vehicular bridges at Louis Road, Middlefield Road,
Charleston Road, Alma Street, and the Caltrain tracks.
As a result of these District flood control projects, approximately 5,900 properties have
been, or will be, protected from freshwater flooding for up to the one percent flood. Of
this total; 325 properties will be removed from the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) on
FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (see map, Attachment 3). The remaining 5,600
properties remain in the SFHA either because they are also subject to saltwater flooding
or were never included in the SFHA because they were subject to freshwater flooding less
than one foot in depth.
CMR:183:96 Page 8 of 12
Remaining Flood Hazards in Palo Alto
Following completion this calendar year of the District’s ongoing work on Matadero and
Barron Creeks in Barron Park, the remaining flood hazards in Palo Alto will be from San
Francisco Bay tides, Adobe Creek at E1 Camino Real, and San Francisquito Creek.
As described above, FEMA projects that the Bayfront levees would fail in the event of the
one percent high tide on San Francisco Bay..The District has estimated the potential
damage from this event to be over $75 million. Approximately 2,400 Palo Alto properties
are included in the FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area because of the risk of
saltwater flooding. In order to eliminate the threat of saltwater flooding, the Bayfront
levees would need to be strengthened and raised to an elevation at least three and one-half
feet above the projected high tide level. Some levee segments would have to be raised five
feet, although most of the levee is within three feet of the required minimum height. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers performed a study of the Bayfront levees in the mid-
1980’s, but concluded that it would not be cost-effective for the federal government to fund
a levee improvement project. In 1990, the Santa Clara Valley Water District asked
Council to support their efforts to lobby for a federally-financed levee improvement project
in the South Bay, but Council directed staff not to pursue such a course of action. It is
estimated to cost at least $5 million to upgrade the levees to FEMA standards. In addition
to the high construction cost, a large-scale earthmoving project in the Baylands would
potentially have significant environmental impacts to mitigate. The total project cost
including any land purchase and mitigation measures could approach $15 million.
Although Adobe Creek has already been enlarged to accommodate the one percent flood
between the Palo Alto Flood Basin and Miller Avenue, the Water District is currently
finalizing a study of the flood potential of Adobe Creek upstream of E1 Camino Real.
Most of the identified capacity deficiencies are located in the upper portions of the
watershed in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Within Palo Alto, District staff has
determined that Adobe Creek is subject to flooding due to the undersized culvert at E1
Camino Real at the City’s southern boundary. The study recommends the removal and
replacement of the culvert in order to eliminate the flood hazard. The District’s draft study
and accompanying environmental document will be available for public review later this
spring. Staff has been discussing the culvert replacement project with the District in order
to identify ways to incorporate design features that will improve the appearance of this
southern gateway into the City and to ensure that the project is compatible with the
redevelopment of the adjacent Hyatt Palo Alto site. Staff will return to Council with
updated information on this project when it becomes available.
San Francisquito Creek is the only remaining natural creek in Palo Alto that has not been
channelized with concrete along some portion of its length. Upon completion of the Water
District’s ongoing flood control projects, it will also be the only remaining source of
freshwater flooding. San Francisquito Creek poses a significant threat to residents of Palo
Alto, Menlo Park, and East Palo Alto. In Palo Alto alone, FEMA has determined that
CMR:183:96 Page 9 of 12
approximately 1,350 parcels are subject to flooding of one foot or more in the event of a
one percent flood in the creek, and the District has estimated the potential flood damage
to be $140 million.
At this point, the existing vehicular bridges at Middlefield Road and Chaucer Street are
the bottlenecks in the creek cross-section that result in the overtopping of the banks. It
is feasible to reconstruct these bridges so that they would not obstruct creek flow. If the
bridges were modified, however, the flow rate downstream would increase during large
storms, most likely resulting in overtopping of the creek at new locations. In addition to
flooding new parts of the City, such overtopping could inundate some of the same
properties currently subject to flooding. Unfortunately, the specific impacts of replacing
the two bridges are unknown because past studies have not addressed this scenario. As
described later in this report, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and San Mateo County
have recently begun a reconnaissance study of flood control options for San Francisquito
Creek.. Such a study would identify the steps necessary to evaluate the impacts of
replacing the Middlefield Road and Chaucer Street bridges. The study is scheduled for
completion this summer. In the meantime, it would be not be prudent to proceed with a
bridge replacement project until its consequences on the remainder of the creek have been
identified.
San Francisquito Creek Issues
In the past several years~ there has been growing public appreciation of the value of San
Francisquito Creek as a community asset to be protected, as well as an increased interest in
addressing its .flooding potential. This section of the report will address three ongoing
activities affecting San Francisquito Creek: the Coordinated Resource Management and
Planning process, the Water District’s reconnaissance study of flood control options, and
FEMA’s restudy of flooding potential.
In November 1994, staff reported to Council on the City’s participation in the Coordinated
Resource Management and Planning (CRMP) process to develop a watershed management
plan for San Francisquito Creek (CMR:506:94). In order to develop a regional plan for the
San Francisquito Creek watershed, federal, state, regional, and local governmental agencies;
businesses; community groups; and individuals have joined together in the CRMP process.
The purpose of the CRMP process is to promote the enhancement and health of the San
Francisquito Creek watershed, by stimulating dialogue amongst the interested parties and
identifying major problems, planning objectives, and future actions. The end product of this
collaborative effort will be a San Francisquito Creek Watershed Plan, which identifies the
common goals and objectives of the CRMP participants. Individual task groups have been
convened to develop goals and objectives for six specific issues affecting the creek: natural
resource protection, flood and erosion control, water pollution prevention, land use planning,
social issues (e.g. homelessness and public access), and public education. Representatives
from the Public Works, Police, Planning and Community Environment, and Community
Services Departments are participating in the task group meetings.
C1V[R:183:96 Page 10 of 12
In April 1995, Council approved a request by the CRMP Steering Committee to endorse a
joint flood and erosion control study of San Francisquito Creek by the Santa Clara Valley
Water District (District) and the San Mateo County Public Works Department
(CMR:166:95). Consequently, the City Manager sent a letter to the District’s General
Manager supporting the study, offering the assistance of City staff, and presenting the
Council’s concerns. The letter emphasized the Council’s interest in pursuing solutions which
do not damage the unspoiled character of the creek and in conducting the study with ample
opportunities for public comment and participation. The District and San Mateo County
have agreed to conduct the study of San Francisquito Creek, and the necessary funding has
been provided in their FY 1995-96 budgets.
The District has taken the leadership role in the San Francisquito Creek flood and erosion
control study. District staff has been meeting with San Mateo County personnel to discuss
the specific scope of the study and the roles of the various participating agencies and interest
groups. The District has termed the study a "reconnaissance level analysis" with the
objective of defining flooding and erosion problems, possible alternative solutions, and
potential funding sources using currently available information. Although funding
constraints will not allow for extensive new field investigations, stream monitoring,
surveying, or technical analyses, the reconnaissance level analysis will include an assessment
of the requirements for a follow-up feasibility study and environmental impact report. In
order to facilitate public participation, staff conducting the study will meet regularly with the
CRMP flooding and erosion control task group to report progress and obtain feedback. In
addition, public forums will be held to solicit input from other interested parties.
In 1990, FEMA retained an engineering consultant to restudy the flooding potential of San
Francisquito Creek. San Francisquito Creek is one of many creeks, including 13 others in
Santa Clara County, that is being reexamined as a result of revisions to FEMA’s levee policy.
In conducting these restudies, FEMA’s consultants focus attention on earthen levees that
have been built above the natural ground level along the edges of streams to prevent
flooding. The key factor in their analysis is the height of the levee above the creek water
level during the one percent storm event. Unless the creek levee has a minimum of three feet
of freeboard above the water level, FEMA’s revised policy assumes that the levee will fail.
Consequently, in areas with substandard freeboard, FEMA’s consultant is directed to study
the creek flooding as if the levee does not exist. Naturally, this policy results in a prediction
of more water overtopping the creek bank and more properties subject to flooding. In
preliminary meetings with FEMA staff and their consultant, they indicated that there will be
an additional 800 Palo Alto properties (a 60 percent increase) designated within the Special
Flood Hazard Area on the revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) as a result of the
restudy. There will be similar impacts in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto from the San
Francisquito Creek restudy, and over 20,000 new properties added to the FIRMs in cities
throughout Santa Clara County as a result of concurrent studies on other creeks. Some other
cities have already received their map revisions and are in the process of presenting the
information to their City Councils. In Palo Alto’s case, however, the consultant’s work and
CMR:183:96 Page 11 of 12
the draft map revisions are currently being checked by FEMA’s independent review
consultant. The study document and preliminary map revisions are expected to be submitted
to the City in May or June 1996. Staff will return to Council with a updated report when the
preliminary maps are issued. The preliminary maps will be made available for public review
and are subject to a 90-day appeal period before they become final.
FISCAL IMPACT
This report has no fiscal impacts to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
An environmental assessment is not required for this informational report.
NEXT STEPS
Staff will return to Council with
information becomes available:
information on the following topics when more
Planning Study/Engineer’s Report/EIR for replacement of Adobe Creek culvert at
E1 Camino Real
SCVWD/San Mateo County Reconnaissance Study of flood control options for San
Francisquito Creek
3.Preliminary Maps from FEMA’s San Francisquito Creek restudy
ATTACHMENTS
1 - Special Flood Hazard Areas in Palo Alto
2 - Santa Clara Valley Water District flood control projects
3 - Areas eliminated from the Special Flood Hazard Area as a result of SCVWD flood
control projects
Ken Nauman, FEMA
Kay Whitlock, Santa Clara Valley Water District
Randy Talley, Santa Clara Valley Water District
Debbie Mytels, San Francisquito Creek CRMP
Susan Frank, Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce
Gil Eakins
Richard Probst
John Paul Hanna
CMR:183:96 Page 12 of 12
Attachment 1
Special Flood Hazard Areas in Palo Alto
Cr
~ Saltwater flood area
Freshwater flood area Scale
0 0.5 1~-~_~--~---~_.~’
Miles
2
AB 14800
ATTACHMENT 2
PALO
ALTO
TO CR
PALO
FLOOD
STANFORD
LEGEND
CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS
BYPASS CULVERT
0 BRIDGE REPLACEMENT
c)
z<
Z
FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS
PALO ALTO
Santa Clara Valley Water Distrkt 0
60-_. NORTHWEST ZONE
Attachment 3
Cr
I~Areas eliminated from Special
Flood Hazard Area
Areas remaining in Special
Floo.d Hazard Area
Scale
0 0.5 t
Miles
2
AS ~ ¢gO0