WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city of West Hollywood indicated in a press release on Thursday, September 7 that the Community Safety Department is working on next steps to update the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and making it available on the city’s website to collect feedback. The draft Plan will be posted online from Thursday, September 7 thru Monday, September 25. Community members can provide feedback at: https://go.weho.org/hazardplan.
Local Hazard Mitigation Plans are aimed to serve as guides for communities to reduce adverse impacts from natural and human-caused hazards. West Hollywood’s updated Local Hazard Mitigation Plan will provide a roadmap that identifies hazards affecting the community and outlines actions that can be taken to limit negative impacts on residents, businesses, and the community. Local Hazard Mitigation Plans will provide an opportunity to access funding for specified actions to mitigate identified hazards.
Community outreach on updating the City’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan started in Spring 2023. Hazards included in the update involved wildfire, earthquake, extreme heat and rainfall, flooding, high winds, drought, terrorism, and hazardous materials incidents. Local Hazard Mitigation Plan must be updated every five years and reviewed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
West Hollywood’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan has been revised from earlier versions, with specific attention given to FEMA’s recent guidance from April 2023 requiring a sharper focus on climate impacts and equity. The Plan will allow West Hollywood to further champion the actions needed to meet the global and local challenges of hazardous materials and reaffirm the region as “vibrant, sustainable, and resilient leadership city for current and future generations.”
For more details about the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan contact Margarita Kustanovich, West Hollywood’s Emergency Management Coordinator, by phone at (323) 848-6414 or by email at safety@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.
By Trevor