PO Box 28454 Portland, OR 97228
PHONE: (503) 626-8197
oapa@oregonapa.org ● http://www.oregonapa.org
February 11, 2015
RE: HB 2633 Relating to development in natural hazards areas
Dear Chair Clem, Members of the House Committee on Rural Communities, Land Use, and
Water
The Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA) represents over 800
professional and citizen planners in the State of Oregon and would like to suggest changes to
HB 2633. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important issue for Oregonians.
We understand the importance of planning for natural hazards. Currently every city and county
must include a section pertaining to “Areas Subject to Natural Hazards” (Statewide Planning
Goal 7) in its Comprehensive Plan. The Goal 7 section of Comprehensive Plans present the
policy framework for hazard regulations at the local level. In addition, every Oregon County and
City must adopt (and update every five-years) a non-regulatory Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) approved Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP) in order to
qualify for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) funding.1 HMA includes grants for hazard
mitigation planning and projects that are available before a hazard event occurs as well as in
the event of a presidentially declared natural disaster.
At issue is the fact that while many of the non-regulatory local NHMPs in the state are current,
many comprehensive plans in Oregon have not been updated since they were originally
developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Of the communities that have updated their
comprehensive plans, many of those did not update the Goal 7 section specifically. Thus, while
comprehensive plans may contain a Goal 7 section, in numerous cases throughout the state
those comprehensive plans do not incorporate the most up-to-date data regarding natural
hazard risks. This situation leaves citizens and property (particularly as it relates to new
development) increasingly vulnerable to natural hazard events. The reasons for this are many,
but often come down to a lack of funding at both the state and local level. Notably, funds
available for hazard planning through the FEMA HMA program present a compelling
opportunity to leverage federal dollars to help support local hazard planning.
While the intent of HB 2633 is laudable, and we support the intent of this bill, OAPA has the
following concerns with the current version:
1
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance consists of three federal grant programs: Pre-Disaster Mitigation, Hazard
Mitigation Grant Program, and Flood Mitigation Assistance.
OAPA, Page 2
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HB 2633 states that the Land Conservation and Development Commission “shall adopt
administrative rules” and shall “establish a program, or may modify an existing
program.” How will the new administrative rules and programs coordinate with the
existing comprehensive plan Goal 7 elements and Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans?
There is extensive new data on natural hazard risks (new tsunami mapping for the entire
coast, landslide data, floodplain mapping, wildfire risk assessments, etc.). How would
this data be incorporated into local comprehensive plans and natural hazard mitigation
plans? How will the state avoid the implementation issues it experienced with the
rollout of Senate Bill 12 (1999) related to rapidly moving landslides?
How will these hazards be inventoried? State agencies are already working on updating
hazard data, how will this be incorporated?
The suggested $50,000 is unlikely to cover the full costs of rulemaking. We suggest
increasing it to at least $150,000.
Local governments will incur costs to update their Goal 7 element of their
Comprehensive Plans and their Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans. The legislation should
consider including funding to cover most of this cost. (Reference Senate Bill 12 (1999)
history for context.
Given the vulnerability of many Oregon communities to natural hazard events, OAPA developed
a policy white paper about this topic (see attached Resiliency: A Holistic Approach (Dec 2014)).
This white paper describes natural hazard planning in Oregon and suggests a more holistic
approach to thinking about natural hazard planning.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this legislation.
Sincerely,
Jason Franklin, AICP, President
Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association