HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2407-3201CITY OF PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
Regular Meeting
Monday, August 05, 2024
Council Chambers & Hybrid
5:30 PM
Agenda Item
12.Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Evaluation Report for the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional
Program for Public Information on Flood Preparedness and Awareness, and the
Resulting Community Rating System Flood Insurance Discounts
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: August 5, 2024
Report #:2407-3201
TITLE
Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Evaluation Report for the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional
Program for Public Information on Flood Preparedness and Awareness, and the Resulting
Community Rating System Flood Insurance Discounts
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
The Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary program under the Federal Emergency
Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program that allows communities to
earn flood insurance premium discounts for their residents and businesses. Communities earn
CRS credit points for activities that promote flood risk reduction practices and encourage
residents and businesses to purchase flood insurance. CRS Class Ratings are assigned at 500-
point increments, and each improvement in Class Rating nets an additional 5% flood insurance
premium discount. The CRS Class Ratings range from 1 to 10, with 10 being the lowest rating
and 1 being the highest. The City of Palo Alto has participated in the CRS program since 1990
and has been rated as a Class 6 community since 2017, affording residents and businesses a
20% or 10% (outside of Special Flood Hazard Area, or SFHA) discount on their flood insurance
premiums. The CRS rating was due to a significant effort on flood awareness and floodplain
management by the City. Neighboring cities have earned similar CRS ratings (Mountain View –
7, East Palo Alto – 8, Los Altos – 8, Sunnyvale – 7).
The CRS Coordinator’s Manual includes the option to implement a regional Program for Public
Information (PPI). Under the PPI, a community or group of communities work together to
create and deliver customized and consistent flood risk reduction outreach messages. By
disseminating these messages, each community earns points that can improve their CRS rating.
The number of CRS credit points earned depends on how extensive the implemented program
is within each community’s boundaries. City of Palo Alto has earned up to 122 points for its PPI
efforts.
City of Palo Alto residents and businesses pay $2.25 million (per FEMA data as of June 1, 2024)
for flood insurance premiums per year. The total savings from the 20% insurance discount
achieved by the City on behalf of its residents due to its CRS participation is approximately
$521,000 per year (per FEMA data as of June 1, 2024). Without CRS, the residents and
businesses would have paid $2.77 million. Palo Alto participates in the Santa Clara County
Multi- Jurisdictional program to enhance the effectiveness of the flood risk messages to
residents, reduce flood risks, and to maintain or improve the City’s CRS rating of 6.
As required by the terms of the PPI, the regional PPI committee must convene annually to
evaluate whether the flood risk reduction messages are still appropriate and adjust them as
needed. A report to FEMA must be submitted annually describing the PPI implementation. The
annual report is transmitted to the council of each participating agency to provide updates on
the various flood preparedness and awareness outreach programs that the Santa Clara County
Multi-Jurisdictional PPI has undertaken for the past year.
ANALYSIS
The annual report for the 2024 Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional PPI is provided as
information for Council1. The report highlights the elements of the flood safety outreach
programs implemented by the eleven Santa Clara County communities (Cupertino, Gilroy, Los
Altos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Santa Clara
County, and Sunnyvale) that participate with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley
Water) in CRS.
Valley Water, along with representatives from each of the participating communities,
developed the original 2015 PPI and the associated annual report. The committee meets
annually to evaluate and approve the PPI. The 2024 report was created based on meetings that
occurred on March 26, 2024 and May 29, 2024. The final version of the 2024 PPI was
presented to and approved by Valley Water’s Board of Directors on June 21, 2024. The
worksheet on Appendix A lists the outreach projects, implementing agencies, and the messages
associated with each of the projects; similarly, Appendix B lists the non-credited CRS outreach
projects.
Every year, participating communities must present the PPI plan to the legislative bodies to
continue receiving CRS credit. The 2023 Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional PPI was
presented to Council on August 14, 20232. Staff will continue to provide information to Council
on the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional PPI on a yearly basis after the end of each Fiscal
1 Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdictional Program for Public information Annual Report; June 21, 2024;
https://cityofpaloalto.org//files/assets/public/v/1/public-works/staff-reports-all/2024/santa-clara-county-multi-
jurisdictional-ppi-2024.pdf
2 City Council, August 14, 2023; Agenda Item#9; SR# 2306-
1647,https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/public-works/engineering-services/sr2306-1647-fy-
2023-annual-crs-flood-insurance-discounts-8.14.2023.pdf
Year to achieve the maximum number of CRS credit points and associated flood insurance
premium discounts for the community.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The review and approval of this informational report has no impact on the City’s budget.
Maintaining this rating and participation in this program saves the Palo Alto community 20% on
flood insurance costs.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The program was discussed and prepared by representative staff from the eleven participating
communities.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is an informational report and not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA).
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer