Mitigation During Evaluation and Appraisal

The Evaluation and Appraisal Review is the process by which a local government assesses how well it has been able to achieve its planning objectives and, based on that assessment, makes possible revisions to the comprehensive plan so that in the future the community will be better able to achieve more of its planning objectives or achieve to a greater degree the objectives it has set for itself in the comprehensive plan.

During the Evaluation and Appraisal Review, ask the following questions and, based on the answers, consider appropriate revisions to the plan (this list is suggestive, not exhaustive):

Supporting Data and Analysis

1. Does your comprehensive plan incorporate the most current information about hazards within your community? What are the sources of the data and the date of the data about each hazard?
   1. Areas subject to coastal flooding
   2. Identification of structures repetitively damaged by coastal storms
   3. Karst features
   4. Areas susceptible to wildfire
   5. Areas susceptible to riverine flooding
   6. Consider the analysis of hazard mitigation reports
2. Reflect Local Mitigation Strategy: Does the information in the comprehensive plan about hazards reflect the information in the Local Mitigation Strategy? Are the capital projects listed in the Local Mitigation Strategy also included in the comprehensive plan five-year schedule of capital improvement projects?
3. Suitability Analysis: Is your future land use map based upon a suitability analysis of existing vacant and undeveloped land for use that explicitly includes information about hazards, including wildfire risk, and exposure to coastal and/or non-coastal flooding and erosion?
4. Population Densities: Is there an analysis of the effects of population densities associated with proposed development and redevelopment, including special needs populations and tourist populations, on evacuation clearance times?
5. Levels of Risk: Does your comprehensive plan map the geographic areas that define the levels of risk for each type of hazard?
6. Past Damages: Does the comprehensive plan contain an inventory of past damages to public and/or private property by hazard type?
7. Future Losses: Does the plan contain an estimate of future losses that may result from future land use and development decisions in high risk areas?
8. Evacuation: Are the local and regional transportation facilities that are critical to the evacuation of populations prior to an impending natural disaster, depicted on the existing and future transportation system maps?
9. Public Facilities in High Risk Areas: Is there an inventory of public facilities and infrastructure located within 100-year special flood hazard zones, as defined on Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and/or within the coastal high-hazard area, including but not limited to transportation facilities and infrastructure, health/medical centers, sanitary sewers and sewage treatment facilities, solid waste management facilities, and potable water supply treatment and distribution systems and an analysis of the potential for
   relocating, mitigating, or replacing vulnerable public facilities and infrastructure in those areas?
10. Completed Projects: Does the comprehensive plan contain an inventory of accomplished actions that resulted in vulnerability reduction (e.g., capital projects such as window shuttering, special initiatives including public awareness campaigns or expansion of Community Rating System Program of the National Flood Insurance Program, or new and modified local regulations such as a flood overlay district)?
11. Does the plan address hurricane evacuation concerns
    1. Address the hurricane vulnerability zone
    2. Identify the number of persons needing evacuation
    3. Address post-disaster redevelopment
    4. Discuss the potential for relocating threatened infrastructure within the coastal high-hazard area?

Objectives and Policies

1. Does your comprehensive plan include guidelines and standards for reducing the magnitude of potential damage from each type of hazard?
2. Are coastal population densities coordinated with the hurricane evacuation plan?
3. Does your comprehensive plan contain objectives and policies that:
   1. Limit public expenditures that subsidize development permitted in coastal highhazard areas?
   2. Direct population away from coastal high-hazard areas?
   3. Maintain or reduce hurricane evacuation times?
   4. Require the preparation of post-disaster redevelopment plans?
   5. Promote hazard mitigation activities?
4. Does the capital improvements element consider the infrastructure improvement needs identified in the Local Mitigation Strategy?
5. During the annual review of the five-year schedule of capital improvements, is the Local Mitigation Strategy projects list considered?
6. Do the criteria used to evaluate capital improvement projects address public hazards?

Assess the Extent to Which Planning Objectives Have Been Achieved

1. What proportion of the community's population resides within the coastal high-hazard area now as compared to when the plan was adopted (or last updated as a result of the previous Evaluation and Appraisal Review)?
2. Has the community approved plan amendments that have had the effect of increasing densities within the coastal high-hazard area?
3. Has the community spent funds for the establishment or expansion of infrastructure within the coastal high-hazard area beyond the limits set by the comprehensive plan?
4. Has the community adopted a Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan? Has there been an occasion to use that plan? Did the plan provide an effective guide to post-disaster activities?

 Use of Community Indicators to Address Attainment of Objectives

1. What is the overall net density/intensity of development within floodplains (or other hazard areas) now as compared to when the plan was adopted?
2. Acres of floodplain acquired or preserved.
3. Area or linear feet of primary dunes that have been leveled or developed.
4. Value of property, or number of dwellings and square feet of non-residential building, exposed to 100-year flood damage; change since plan adoption.
5. Value of property, or number of dwellings and square feet of non-residential building, exposed to Category 1, 2 and 3 hurricane damage.
6. Value of infrastructure exposed to 100-year flood damage, or Category 1, 2, or 3 hurricane damage.
7. Actual value of property damage, infrastructure damage, job/income losses, and government emergency assistance, due to hazardous events.
8. Number and type of structures and public facilities relocated or brought up to current standards after flood or hurricane events.
9. Hurricane evacuation time for a Category 3 hurricane; percent over/under adopted standard.
10. Miles of evacuation routes flooded by a Category 3 hurricane.
11. Number of dwelling and lodging units, number of elderly or invalid units, in Category 1-3 hurricane evacuation zones; change in number since plan was adopted.
12. Available emergency shelter space, as percent of projected demand, for a Category 3 hurricane.
13. Amount and type of public facilities constructed, and public expenditures for same, within coastal high-hazard area, since plan adoption.
14. Number of new lots created, without buildable area outside of floodplain or storm surge areas.