Safety Element Update PLN25-0022; GPT25-0001; EIS25-0001

The project is an update to the Nevada County Safety Element, Chapter 10, which was previously adopted by Nevada County in 2020. The Safety Element update is required by Government Code Section 65302(g) upon the County’s recent adoption of the Housing Element (2019) and the update to the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (2024). The Safety Element addresses potential and existing hazards in the County, which are outlined in the following categories: Emergency Preparedness, Geological Hazards/Seismic Activity, Flood Hazards, Airport and Military Airspace Hazards, Hazardous Material and Mining Hazards, Public Safety Services and Facilities, Fire Hazards and Protection, and Severe Weather Hazards. Senate Bill 379 (approved in 2015) requires that the risks of climate change are identified in the Safety Element update, and Senate Bill 1000 (approved in 2016) requires that environmental justice policies and goals are integrated into elements of the General Plan. To comply with these requirements, two additional categories for Climate Change Resiliency and Mitigation, and Environmental Justice have been added to the Safety Element. Throughout the rest of the Safety Element there have been several other revisions, to include but not limited to: 1) updating the data, information and references with more current sources; 2) incorporating additional language to comply with new and/or amended California State Laws; 3) revising policies where progress has been made or where changes in situations have occurred; and 4) incorporating the 2024 Local Hazards Mitigation Plan. With these updates, additional information on the following topics has been included: statutory requirements, land use influences, Nevada County evacuation notification categories, earthquakes, subsidence, dam failure, mining hazards, wildland fires, fire protection plans and programs, power outages, and severe weather hazards. The goals, policies and programs in the Safety Element have been updated to reflect the current discussion and hazards in the Safety Element revisions. The list of proposed amendments below identifies revisions to each category in the Safety Element.