The public will likely have one more chance to comment on a plan that identifies natural and man-made hazards in Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and the Lucia Mar Unified School District before it's formally adopted.

The document is tentatively set to be considered Tuesday by the Lucia Mar board, which could be the last public hearing before final adoption.

On Monday, the Grover Beach City Council unanimously adopted its portion of the multijurisdiction hazard mitigation plan that also involves the city of Arroyo Grande and Lucia Mar.

The two cities and the school district joined forces to lower costs in developing the plan.

“This was a collaborative effort,” said Robert Neumann of Category Five Consultants, which assisted in developing the plan along with a group of key stakeholders and the public.

Arroyo Grande was the first jurisdiction to approve the plan earlier this year. Pismo Beach adopted its own plan earlier this year.

No one from the public spoke up regarding the plan at public hearings held previously in Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach.

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“Unfortunately, when it's not raining and storming, the public is not all that inclined to come and talk about flooding,” Neumann told the Grover council.

However, “We were able to endear some support from the public,” he said.

The plan assesses each agency's vulnerability to natural and human-caused hazards and develops strategies to reduce risks associated with them.

In Grover Beach, earthquake, flood, tsunami, extreme weather and terrorism are identified as potential hazards that could affect the city's critical facilities and infrastructure, according to the plan.

An earthquake is the greatest threat to the two cities and school district, the plan states.

The plan includes 22 mitigation actions for Grover Beach, which include keeping city staff and elected officials up to date on trends and developments in disaster preparedness, educating the public on disaster preparedness, training police and fire department supervisors and officers on activating the county's early warning system.

The plan also calls for supporting development of the County Regional Community Emergency Response Team, surveying department heads on their disaster preparedness, mapping petroleum pipelines within the community and working cooperatively with federal and local flood-related agencies.

The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires all local, county and tribal governments to develop a hazard mitigation plan in order to receive federal funds after natural disasters and to apply for mitigation grants before disasters occur, according to a city staff report.

“There are a tremendous amount of resources out there,” said Neumann, referring to funds available both before and after a disaster strikes.

If adopted by the three jurisdictions, the plan would be forwarded to the state Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a Grover Beach staff report.

June 10, 2007