Local mitigation strategy (LMS) - Volusia County Government

SECTION 2: PLANNING PROCESSthe investments made before a hazard event will significantly reduce the demand for post-disasterassistance by lessening the need for emergency response, repair, recovery and reconstruction.Furthermore, mitigation practices will enable local residents, businesses and industries to re-establishthemselves in the wake of a disaster, getting the community economy back on track sooner and withless interruption.The benefits of mitigation planning go beyond solely reducing hazard vulnerability. Measures such asthe acquisition or regulation of land in known hazard areas can help achieve multiple community goals,such as preserving open space, maintaining environmental health and enhancing recreationalopportunities. Thus, it is vitally important that any local mitigation planning process be integrated withother concurrent local planning efforts, and any proposed mitigation strategies must take into accountother existing community goals or initiatives that will help complement or hinder their futureimplementation.2.2 HISTORY OF HAZARD MITIGATION PLANNING IN VOLUSIA COUNTYVolusia County’s hazard mitigation planning efforts began in 1997 with the formation of the VolusiaPrepares Committee. The Volusia 2020 Committee developed the first LMS in 1999 (adopted 2000), aspart of the Florida Department of Community Affairs LMS Initiative. The last version of the LMS wasupdated in 2004 (adopted in 2005). This multijurisdictional planning effort was led by Volusia Prepares,with support from the Mitigation 20/20 program.2.3 PREPARING THE 2009 LMSThe 2009 LMS update was prepared by the Volusia Prepares LMS Working Group with assistance fromPBS&J, a consultant who provided professional mitigation planning services. The LMS Update processwas lead by the LMS Working Group Chair, Robert Rogers, Volusia County Emergency ManagementPlans Coordinator Larry LaHue and Volusia County LMS Coordinator Pat White. The LMS was updatedduring June to August, 2009.Per the contractual scope of work 1 , the consultant team utilized the mitigation planning processrecommended by FEMA (Publication Series 386) and recommendations provided by Florida Division ofEmergency Management mitigation planning staff. A Local Mitigation Plan Crosswalk, found inAppendix C, provides a detailed summary of FEMA’s current minimum standards of acceptability forcompliance with the DMA 2000 and notes the location of where each requirement is met within thePlan. These standards are based upon FEMA’s Interim Final Rule as published in the Federal Register onFebruary 26, 2002, in Part 201 of the 44 Code of Federal Regulations.The 2009 LMS was prepared using an updated plan outline and incorporated relevant content from the2005 LMS. The LMS Working Group updated various parts of the 2005 LMS, as exemplified below:StakeholdersThe LMS Working Group identified additional stakeholders that they would like to participate in theLMS update process. These stakeholders were invited to subsequent meetings.1 A copy of the negotiated contractual scope of work between Volusia County and PBS&J is available throughVolusia County upon request.Volusia County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation PlanFebruary 20102:2