FEMA Region X – Risk MAP Discovery Interview
Lower Willamette - Tualatin Watersheds
City of Cornelius, Oregon
August 7, 2012; 10:00am Pacific Time
City of Cornelius
Tim Franz –Associate Planner
Terry Keyes – City Engineer
Oregon DLCD
Steve Lucker – State Risk MAP Coordinator
STARR (FEMA Contractor)
Becca Croft – Interviewer
Jonathan Johnson – GIS Specialist
Jennifer Anticknap – Recorder
The following information was collected during the Interview. Unless otherwise noted, all comments are
from City of Cornelius representatives.
I.
Contacts
 The contact list was updated with corrections.
 Rob Drake (City Manager) was added to the contact list.
 City staff will report project status directly to the mayor.
STARR (J. Johnson) reviewed the GIS data that has been collected for the City of Cornelius and explained
the types of additional data that could be beneficial to the project: parks, environmentally sensitive
areas, critical habitats, building footprints, parcels, topographic data (LiDAR, etc.).
II.
III.
Topography, LiDAR, and GIS
 All GIS data for the City of Cornelius is managed by the Metro Regional Land Information
System. STARR should contact Metro for additional GIS data.
Planning
 The fire department administers the mitigation and emergency management plans.
Currently the City of Cornelius Fire Department is being coordinated in conjunction with
the City of Forest Grove Fire Department. The Fire Chief with the City of Forest Grove is
Michael Kinkade.
 The City of Cornelius and the City of Forest Grove are currently going through mitigation
plan updates.
 There are no known repetitive loss structures in the city as most structures are built out
of the floodplain.
 Neither T. Franz nor T. Keyes was aware of any participation by the City in a hazard
mitigation grant program.
 Essential/critical/important facilities were identified and recorded on the map. Most of
the areas where the essential/critical/important facilities are located are located along a
ridge line/high point in the community. This area sits approximately 2 feet higher than
the surrounding city areas.
Risk MAP Discovery Interview – Lower Willamette - Tualatin Watersheds
City of Cornelius – August 7, 2012
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
Page 2 of 3
Earthquakes
 Neither T. Franz nor T. Keyes has ever experienced an earthquake in the city, nor are
they aware of any earthquake hazards.
Wildfires
 The wildfire threat is minimal. The city is surrounded predominately by agricultural
lands.
Landslides
 There are no historic landslides and there is no potential development in areas that
could be prone to landslides.
Severe Storms
 There have been no storms out of the ordinary.
 Power grid is considered stable; there has not been an incident or need to shelter
residents because of extended power outages resulting from storms.
 The primary source for residents to obtain information in a storm event is the local
news, City of Cornelius website and in the internet. The City posts their information
regarding severe storms from the National Weather Service, especially during winter
storm events.
Flooding
 There is a high ground water table within the city.
 The floodplains as shown look accurate to the community.
 There are no development issues on the edges of the floodplains. Most of the lands on
the edges of the floodplains, or areas of potential flooding, are set aside for green
space.
 Most of the questions the community receives regarding floodplain issues are related
to when the new maps are coming and what impact will that have on their insurance
rates.
 The LOMA clusters in the city are on large lots; structures are all out as they are build on
the rise of land but the lots are large and end in wetland areas, hence the need for
LOMAs.
Levees
 T. Franz and T. Keyes are not aware of any levees within Cornelius.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
 Environmentally Sensitive Areas follow the floodplain lines/rivers (Council Creek and
Tualatin River) bordering the city.
 Wetlands along both Council Creek and the Tualatin River are protected by the US Army
Corp and the State with buffers and the requirement to preserve and plant trees if
development occurs.
Communications and Outreach
 T. Franz is the acting floodplain administrator (FPA). The City of Cornelius does not have
a dedicated FPA position.
Risk MAP Discovery Interview – Lower Willamette - Tualatin Watersheds
City of Cornelius – August 7, 2012

XII.
Page 3 of 3
There is a floodplain management process in place, although there is little land in the
floodplain that could be developed.
 Hazard information for is on the City’s website. The City does have its floodplain code
online and available to the public.
 The most effective communication being used is a monthly newsletter that is delivered
to all residents with their monthly utility statement.
 The City would be interested in tools/templates to communicate general hazard
information.
 City Council meets once per month and would be a venue for additional hazard
presentations/discussions.
Other
 T. Franz and T. Keyes found the WebEx meeting format useful and especially liked the
ability to annotate their concerns as the meeting went on.