CMA 2016 #66 · Agenda item attachment · Mar 21 2016

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE MEDFORD 1 EVERETT HELMON SOMERVILLE MAPC METROPOLITAN AREA PLANNING COUNCIL Metropolitan Area Planning Council Final Plan FEMA Approval Pending Adoption March 11, 2016

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND CREDITS This plan was prepared for the City of Cambridge by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) under the direction of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The plan was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Grant Program. MAPC Officers President: Lynn Duncan Vice President: Keith Bergman Shironda Almeida Secretary: Treasurer: Taber Keally Executive Director: Marc. D. Draisen Credits Project Manager: Martin Pillsbury Lead Proiect Planner:.. Barry Keppard Susan Brunton Mapping/GIS Services: Bill Wong, Rebecca Schofield Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director: Kurt Schwartz Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner: Leo Roy (continued next page)

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE Cambridge Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Steering Commiftee Lisa Peterson Deputy City Manager Brian Gover Local Emergency Planning Committee / Fire Department Gerard Mahoney Emergency Planning and Coordination / Fire Department Police Department Joseph Wilson Department of Public Works Owen O'Riordan John Nardone Department of Public Works Community Development Department John Bolduc Sam Lipson Public Health Department Public Health Department Lynn Schoeff Steve Lenkauskas Electrical Department Inspectional Services Department Mike Nicoloro Jennifer LeTourneau Conservation Commission Sam Corda Cambridge Water Department Bill Van Schalkwyk Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nick Hambridge Harvard University :

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hazard Mitigation planning is a proactive effort to identify actions that can be taken to reduce the dangers to life and property from natural hazard events. In the communities of the Boston region of Massachusetts, hazard mitigation planning tends to focus most on flooding, the most likely natural hazard to impact these communities. The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires all municipalities that wish to be eligible to receive FEMA funding for hazard mitigation grants, to adopt a local multi-hazard mitigation plan and update this plan in five year intervals. PLANNING PROCESS Planning for the Cambridge Hazard Mitigation Plan update was led by the Cambridge Local Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, composed of staff from a number of different City Departments. This committee discussed where the impacts of natural hazards most affect the City, goals for addressing these impacts, and hazard mitigation measures that would benefit the City. Public participation in this planning process is important for improving awareness of the potential impacts of natural hazards and to build support for the actions the City takes to mitigate them. The City hosted public meetings two times during the process with the two meetings occurring January 9, 2013 and January 10, 2013 and a third meeting that occurred March 18, 2014. The draft plan was then posted on the City's website for public review. RISK ASSESSMENT The Cambridge Hazard Mitigation Plan assesses the potential impacts to the City from flooding, high winds, winter storms, brush fire, and geologic hazards. Flooding, driven by hurricanes, northeasters, and other storms, clearly presents the greatest hazard to the City, most especially in locations that are low-lying or where drainage and conveyance systems can be overwhelmed during storm events with significant precipitation. The Cambridge Local Committee identified those areas where flooding most frequently occurs, comprising 17% of the City's land area, and over 3,100 building structures worth an estimated $907,000,000. HAZARD MITIGATION GOALS 1. Goal: Protect the health and safety of the public. • Encourage people to be prepared before, during and after a hazard event. • Identify at-risk populations and keep up to date list of locations • Ensure that services related to public health can function during and after a hazard, e.g., sanitation, water, debris removal, hospitals, and emergency services.

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE • Ensure that evacuation can happen in an organized and efficient manner. • Minimize secondary impacts from hazards, such as the release of pollutants. 2. Goal: Protect existing properties and structures. • Provide resources for residents and businesses to make their buildings and properties more disaster resistant. • Educate the public on measures they can take to protect their property. • Maintain existing mitigation structures. Ensure that future development / redevelopment does not make existing properties more vulnerable to hazards. Ensure that critical facilities are protected from hazards. • Complete separation of combined sewers 3. Goal: Ensure that essential services can function during and after a hazard event. Ensure that critical infrastructure is protected from natural hazards. • Ensure that people (key service providers and employees) can get into the city to provide services. • Build resiliency into the system for faster recovery, e.g., electricity distribution system. 4. Goal: Avoid chaos and confusion with good communication. • Have an effective communication plan. Perform outreach to non-English speakers and other vulnerable populations before, during and after hazard events • Coordinate efforts with the private sector and institutions and with neighboring communities. 5. Goal: Work regionally to mitigate impacts from natural hazards and to respond and recover from hazard events. • Continue to participate in regional efforts. • Cooperate with other agencies, communities, and private entities. • Understand priorities and capabilities of other entities to allow for resource- sharing, mutual aid, and entering into memoranda of understanding (MOU). 6. Goal: Determine priorities for directing resources for hazard mitigation and response. Prioritize mitigation projects. 2

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE • Continue to program mitigation projects in the 5 and 10 year CIP. • Pursue various funding sources. Encourage private property-owners to implement measures to protect their own property. 7. Protect natural resources Identify mitigation strategies that preserve or restore the function of natural systems. Protect indigenous wetland areas, undeveloped floodplains and other natural features that provide mitigation of natural hazards. Introduce green infrastructure elements, where possible, to reduce impervious surfaces and introduce natural systems. 8. Create capacity to monitor existing changes • Identify and understand how climate change many alter where and how the City is vulnerable to natural hazards. • Review and update current mitigation activities to anticipate future changes in vulnerabilities. • Review and update current emergency preparedness and response activities to anticipate future changes in vulnerabilities. HAZARD MITIGATION STRATEGY The Cambridge Local Committee identified a number of mitigation measures that would serve to reduce the City's vulnerability to natural hazard events. A primary focus of the measures was maintaining and improving the integrity of the drainage system through addressing maintenance and reconstruction issues. A secondary emphasis is on boosting the general emergency planning capabilities of the City so that both hazard mitigation and emergency management can be handled efficiently and effectively. Lastly, the City has included a set of measures that are aimed at identifying and addressing how vulnerabilities to natural hazards may change due to Climate Change. Overall, the hazard mitigation strategy recognizes that mitigating hazards for Cambridge will be an ongoing process as our understanding of natural hazards and the steps that can be taken to mitigate their damages changes over time. The Hazard Mitigation Strategy will be incorporated into other related plans and policies. 3

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE PLAN REVIEW AND UPDATE PROCESS Table 1 Plan Review and Update Reviews and Updates Chapter I|I - Public The Cambridge Local Committee emphasized public participation for Participation the update of the Hazard Mitigation Plan, discussing strategies to enhance participation opportunities at the first local committee meeting. During plan development, the plan was discussed at public meetings hosted by the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the Climate Protection Action Committee. Both meetings were publicized. The plan was also made available on the City's website for public comment. IV - Risk MAPC gathered the most recently available hazard and land use data and met with City staff to identify changes in local hazard areas Assessment and development trends. City staff reviewed critical infrastructure with MAPC staff in order to create an up-to-date list. MAPC also used the most recently available version of HAZUS and assessed the potential impacts of flooding using the latest data. V - Goals The Hazard Mitigation Goals were reviewed, updated, and endorsed by the Local Hazard Mitigation Committee. The list of existing mitigation measures was updated to reflect current VI - Existing Mitigation mitigation activities in the City. Measures Mitigation measures from the 2008 plan were reviewed and assessed VII & VIII - Hazard as to whether they were completed, on-going, or deferred. The Local Committee determined whether to carry forward measures into the Mitigation 2014 plan or delete them. The 2014 Hazard Mitigation Strategy Strategy reflects both new measures and measures carried forward from the 2008 plan. The Committee prioritized the new set of measures based on current conditions. IX - Plan This section of the plan was updated with a new on-going plan implementation review and five year update process that will assist Adoption & Maintenance the City in incorporating hazard mitigation issues into other City planning and regulatory review processes and better prepare the City to update the plan in 2019. As indicated on Table 22, Cambridge has made significant progress on advancing and implementing mitigation measures from the 2008 Hazard Mitigation Plan. Many measures identified in that plan were completed, such as construction of numerous projects to address drainage issues related to Combined Sewer Overflows, and others have seen

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2015 UPDATE major progress, such as having 40% of the city undergo hydraulic modeling. There are measures that still require action and that will require additional capital, equipment, and manpower. Moving forward into the next five year implementation period, there will be many more opportunities to incorporate hazard mitigation into the City's decision making processes, especially as Cambridge completes its Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Preparedness Plan.