The arrival of the New Year marked the
completion of the initial phase of the Department’s Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS)
Initiative. As of December 1999, all 67 Florida counties and the majority of
Florida’s municipalities are participating in the program, and all have submitted a
final report on their strategy. Since that time, the Department of Community Affairs has been
reviewing the reports for consistency with the original LMS guidelines. Every county will
receive a memorandum identifying those tasks which still need completion. The Department
of Community Affairs strongly encourages each county to address these issues, as funding
eligibility could be effected.
Recently, a number of communities have asked what they can do to bolster and strengthen
their mitigation program. In other words, what is the next step or phase of the Local
Mitigation Strategy initiative? Phase II of the Local Mitigation Strategy is an effort by
the Department of Community Affairs to provide support to Florida’s 67 counties to
enhance their mitigation program. The following is a summary of Department activities
related to Phase II of the LMS:
| 1. Technical Support – In its
review of LMS deliverables, Department staff noted deficiencies, both minor and major, in
some counties’ final report. One of the Department’s principal goals is to
ensure each county’s full compliance with the original LMS guidelines. The Department
of Community Affairs is committed to providing adequate technical assistance to help
counties meet these requirements. In addition, those counties which met or exceeded the
minimum requirements will be offered training to augment their mitigation efforts.
|
The
Department’s training package includes (but is not limited to):
Eventually, this training will be made available to all counties. For now, it is only offered to those counties which submitted exemplary LMS reports. A separate letter will be sent to these counties within the next few weeks. |
2. Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Rule – The
Department of Community Affairs has drafted a rule for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program that
would require communities to have an updated Local Mitigation Strategy as a prerequisite
for grant funding. The proposed rule passed an internal legal review and will soon undergo
a formal public hearing.
3. Planning and Growth Management – Emergency management and growth
management officials at the Department of Community Affairs are working together with
local governments to implement the Local Mitigation Strategy in the planning process.
Planners from the Division of
Community Planning will meet with local officials to describe mitigation
concepts and to identify ways of incorporating portions of the LMS into local
comprehensive plans. Additionally, the Division of Community Planning will work with
Broward, Columbia, Levy, Martin, Polk, Taylor, Volusia and Walton counties to help
reconcile their repetitive loss properties. The Department of Community Affairs will then
contract with an engineering firm to help these counties determine the most effective
mitigation alternative - elevation, relocation or acquisition - for a select number of
repetitive loss properties.
Questions regarding the Local Mitigation Strategy initiative or the Department’s
technical support should be directed to the appropriate county’s LMS contract
manager. Additional information can be obtained by calling 850-413-9884.