TOWN OF WINDSOR
AGENDA REPORT

Kim Jordan, Planner III

2026 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan

Adopt a resolution adopting the 2026 Sonoma County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Volume 1 and the Town of Windsor Annex Included in Volume II.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Act (the Stafford Act), as amended by the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000), requires state and local governments to develop and regularly update hazard mitigation plans to meet federal and state planning requirements and as a condition for grant assistance. The Stafford Act requires state, local, and tribal governments that wish to be eligible for federal hazard mitigation grant funds to submit a hazard mitigation plan (HMP) which outlines the processes for identifying the natural hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities of the jurisdiction (United States Code Title 42, Section 5156(a)). Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 44, Part 201 includes regulations that determine the planning process, plan content, and FEMA approval for hazard mitigation plans. 

Hazard mitigation is defined as any action taken to reduce or alleviate the loss of life, personal injury, and property damage that can result from a disaster. It involves long- and short-term actions implemented before, during and after disasters. Hazard mitigation activities include planning efforts, policy changes, programs, studies, improvement projects, and other steps to reduce the impacts of hazards.

A HMP identifies the natural hazards faced by a local jurisdiction or special district (such as a fire district) and measures that can be taken to mitigate these hazards. HMPs are required to be updated every five years to be eligible for FEMA hazard mitigation project grant funding (44 CFR Section 201.6(d)(3)). HMPs include a community profile, hazards assessment, risk assessment, mitigation actions, and implementation and maintenance programs. The HMP is reviewed by the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and requires FEMA review and approval. In order to be eligible for certain grants, the State mandates that jurisdictions have a valid hazard mitigation plan. The State of California is limited to paying no more than 75% of disaster relief funds not covered by FEMA to a local community, unless the affected community has a valid hazard mitigation plan. In this case, the State may pay more than 75% of the disaster relief funds not covered by FEMA. Having an approved HMP also makes the Town eligible for federal grant funds. 

The Town adopted its first Local Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2005.  The Town’s current HMP is the Windsor Annex to the 2021 Sonoma County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which expires in October 2026.

In 2023, the Public Health and Safety Element of the General Plan was updated with the 2023-2031 Housing Element as required by State law. The Emergency Response and Preparedness Section of the 2023 Public Health and Safety Element includes Policy PHS-1.1: Hazard Mitigation Plan which states that the Town will continue to maintain a current FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plan and incorporates the HMP into the General Plan by reference.  

In 2024 the County of Sonoma was awarded a $400,000 planning project grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the preparation of the 2026 Sonoma County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP). The County of Sonoma is the lead agency for the preparation of the 2026 MJHMP.  Twenty-two agencies participated in the 2026 MJHMP, including the County of Sonoma and all nine incorporated municipalities, as well as 11 special districts, including Sonoma County Fire District and Sonoma County Water Agency. 

Public Review Draft MJHMP
The Public Review Draft MJHMP was available for review and comment from October 20, 2025, through November 21, 2025. During this time, presentations were made to the Town Council, Planning Commission, and Parks and Recreation Commission. Preparation of the MJHMP included extensive public engagement, which was combined with the Town's Windsor Ready! outreach and involved Town staff making presentations at Windsor affordable apartments, mobile home parks, the senior recreation center, veterans apartments, and other locations throughout Windsor.  The MJHMP includes a summary of the public outreach conducted by the Town. 

On June 15, 2026, FEMA approved the 2026 draft Sonoma County MJHMP, pending adoption by the local jurisdictions. The MJHMP is required to be adopted by resolution at a public hearing. 

2026 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP)

The MJHMP is organized into four parts (Planning Process, Risk Assessment, Capabilities Assessment, and Mitigation Strategy) in two volumes

• Volume 1. This volume includes all federally required elements of a disaster mitigation plan that apply to the entire planning area (e.g., Sonoma County) - planning process, public engagement strategy, goals and objectives, planning area risk assessment and capabilities assessment, and plan maintenance strategy (Attachment 1, Exhibit A). Volume 1 is also available in Spanish. An executive summary of Volume 1 was prepared and is included as Attachment 2.
• Volume 2.  This volume includes all federally required jurisdiction-specific elements in annexes for all 22 participating jurisdictions. The Town of Windsor Annex includes a jurisdiction profile and capability assessment; describes key vulnerabilities determined by the risk assessment; identifies the status of the 2021 Windsor Annex; and identifies 22 Windsor-specific mitigation actions. Windsor's Annex is available in both English and Spanish (Attachment 1, Exhibit B and Attachment 3, respectively).

Changes from 2021 MJHMP. The most significant changes between the 2021 MJHMP and the 2026 MJHMP are summarized below.

1. The 2021 MJHMP identified severe weather as a hazard of concern. For the 2026 MJHMP, this was re-evaluated to focus on extreme wind.
2. The 2026 MJHMP added both extreme heat and extreme cold as hazard profiles, since Sonoma County’s moderate climate is expected to experience greater fluctuations in the future. In addition, this will align the HMP with California Assembly Bill 2684, which requires General Plan Safety Elements to address extreme heat by 2028.
3. The 2021 Windsor Annex identified seven natural hazards - dam failure, drought, earthquake, flood, landslide, severe weather, and wildfire. The 2026 Windsor Annex identified nine natural hazards - dam failure, drought, earthquake, extreme cold, extreme heat, extreme wind, flood, landslide, and wildfire. The increase in the number of hazards is due to the change from “extreme weather” to the more specific hazards of extreme cold, extreme heat, and extreme wind.
4. The rankings of certain hazards changed from the 2021 Annex to the 2026 Annex. As an example, Dam Failure changed from High to Low due to updated Army Corps of Engineers mapping for the Warm Springs Dam (Lake Sonoma) and Wildfire changed from High to Medium.
5. The 2021 MJHMP included 14 planning partners. The 2026 MJHMP includes 22 planning partners, including the County of Sonoma and all nine incorporated municipalities.
6. In the 2021 MJHMP, the Capability Assessment section was presented in Chapter 5, after the County Profile. For the 2026 update, this is presented before the Mitigation Strategy chapter. The discussion of capabilities in each annex was expanded to include opportunities for integration and risk reduction. 

Overview of the Windsor Annex. A summary of each section included in Windsor’s Annex is provided below. The sections of most interest to the Town Council and community may be the Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (11.9), which includes the Hazard Ranking (11.9.3) and Identified Issues (11.9.4), and Proposed Mitigation Actions (11.10.3).

• 11.1: Hazard Mitigation Planning Team.  This section identifies the staff that participated in the development of the Annex.

• 11.2: Community Profile. This section provides a summary of the history and demographics of Windsor.

• 11.3: Community Engagement. This section describes the community engagement conducted and the outreach results.

• 11.4: Stakeholder Engagement. This section provides a summary of the stakeholder engagement.

• 11.5 Changes in Community Priorities. This section describes the changes in priorities in mitigation actions from the current (2021) Annex to the new (2026) Annex. The Town implemented many mitigation actions included in the 2021 Annex related to preparedness. The 2026 Annex focuses on actions that reduce impacts of drought, flooding and wildfire. 

• 11.6 Jurisdictional Capability Assessment and Integration. This section identifies the Town’s planning and regulatory capabilities, development and permitting capabilities, administrative and technical capabilities, fiscal capabilities, education and outreach capabilities, classification under various community mitigation programs, and adaptive capacity to withstand hazard events.

• 11.7 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Compliance. This section provides information on floodplain management and regulation.

• 11.8 Growth/Development Trends. This section summarizes the building permits issued since the adoption of the 2021 Annex, status of major development from 2019 to 2024, and identifies whether the development is located in a known hazard zone.

• 11.9 Jurisdictional Risk Assessment. This section identifies the hazards specific to Windsor, the Town’s hazard event history since the adoption of the 2021 Annex (Table 11-18), identifies and ranks the hazards facing Windsor and their ranking (e.g., Low, Medium, High) (Table 11-19), identifies the vulnerability of community assets (e.g., buildings and community lifelines) to mapped hazards (Table 11-20), identifies socially vulnerable populations living in mapped hazard areas (Table 11-21), identifies critical facilities vulnerable to flooding (Table 11-22), and provides a qualitative assessment of hazard impacts affecting Windsor (Table 24). Section 11.9.4 identifies risk-related issues for Windsor. The issues identified help to inform the mitigation measures included in Windsor’s Annex. 

Windsor’s hazards of concern (Table 11-19) are identified below in alphabetical order, along with the ranking for each hazard. The 2021 ranking is listed in parenthesis for comparison. 

• Dam Failure:    Low (2021 ranking – High)
• Drought: Medium (2021 ranking – Medium)
• Earthquake: High (2021 ranking – High)
• Extreme Cold: Medium (N/A -  not included in 2021)
• Extreme Heat: Medium (2021 ranking – Medium, as Extreme Weather
• Extreme Wind: Medium (N/A -not included in 2021)
• Flood: Low (2021 ranking – Medium)
• Landslide: Low (2021 ranking – Low)
• Wildfire: Medium (2021 ranking – High)

• 11.10 Mitigation Strategy and Prioritization. This section discusses the status of mitigation actions from the current (2021) Annex, such as completed, ongoing, current capability, discontinue, or include in the 2026 Annex (Table 11-25), identifies mitigation actions that were not included in the 2021 Annex but were completed since the adoption of the 2021 Annex (11.10.2), provides a summary of the prioritization of the proposed mitigation actions (Table 11-27), and identifies the mitigation actions proposed for the 2026 Annex, including mitigation actions included in the 2021 Annex that are proposed to be carried forward into the 2026 Annex. The 2026 Annex includes a total of 22 mitigation actions. The Town is not required to complete the mitigation actions during the lifetime of the HMP or to complete the actions in any particular order. 

Incorporation Into the General Plan
Town of Windsor General Plan Policy PHS-1.1: Hazard Mitigation Plan incorporates the Town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan into the General Plan by reference. Adoption of the 2026 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan will replace the previously adopted 2021 MJHMP and provide the Town with the most current assessment of hazard risks, vulnerabilities, capabilities, and mitigation strategies. The updated MJHMP will continue to inform future updates to the General Plan Safety Element and other Town planning efforts. 

Incorporation into the Town’s General Plan Safety Element is also in compliance with AB 2140, helping maintain the Town’s eligibility for enhanced state cost-share funding under the California Disaster Assistance Act following a gubernatorially declared disaster (Attachment 4). 

Public Notice
Public notice was provided as required by State law and the Town’s public notice policy. Notice was also provided to the 2026 MJHMP Interested Parties List. 

Next Steps
After Town Council adoption of the 2026 MJHMP Volume 1 and the Windsor Annex, the resolution will be sent to the County of Sonoma. The County of Sonoma, as the grant recipient, is responsible for submitting the resolutions from all participating local municipalities and special districts to FEMA, which is the final step in the approval process. 

Following final approval from FEMA, the Town will be eligible to apply for funding through federal mitigation grant programs. 

As part of required plan maintenance members of the County-wide MJHMP planning team and the Town’s hazard mitigation plan planning team will meet at least once a year to conduct the plan maintenance activities identified in Volume 1.

There is no fiscal impact as a result of this item. The preparation of the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan is funded by a FEMA grant awarded to the County of Sonoma for the preparation of the MJHMP. Town Council adoption of the MJHMP does not commit the Town complete any specific mitigation action or to complete the mitigation actions identified in any specific order. Undertaking any specific mitigation would be subject to future staffing and funding availability and is not part of this action.

Adoption of the MJHMP is exempt from environmental review pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15262: Feasibility and Planning Studies, since the MJHMP identifies hazard risk and mitigation strategies the Town could undertake to reduce future hazards based on staffing and funding availability and does not commit the Town to any specific mitigation action and does not commit the Town to approve, adopt, or fund any of the potential mitigation actions included in the Annex. For these reasons, adoption of the MJHMP is also exempt from CEQA under Section 15061(b)(3), the common sense exemption, since it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that adoption of the MJHMP may have a significant impact on the environment. Implementation of the mitigation actions included in the MJHMP would be subject to CEQA review and compliance at that time.