Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP)

Strategy PHSW-4. Minimize public safety impacts. Climate stress adds additional burdens to City safety services. This strategy involves taking measures within City operations and current services to protect the public from injuries caused by extreme events like wildfires and flooding. PRIORITY ACTIONS PHSS-4-1. Update the City’s emergency response plan and ensure that preparation and updates recognize and address likely climate change impacts. From wildfires to floods, the emergencies that Ashland faces will increasingly be linked to climate change. The City can protect its citizens from these emergencies by incorporating climate projections and likely impacts into its existing emergency response plan. PHSS-4-2. Identify and address populations and essential City services that are within the 100- year flood zone. Climate-driven changes in precipitation and snowmelt patterns will likely increase the frequency and severity of flooding in the city. One way Ashland can mitigate the damage of severe floods is by identifying populations and essential services in flood-prone areas and working to relocate or protect them. This action could include examining adjustments to the Water Resources Ordinance chapter of the land use code, which stipulates setback requirements for properties located within at-risk areas.OTHER ACTIONS • Expand and publicize the Ready, Set, Go! Evacuation program. • Utilize federal and state reporting and monitoring assets, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hazard Mapping System, to prepare for smoke and wildfire impacts.C Ad C Ad 96ASHLAND CLIMATE & ENERGY ACTION PLANPUBLIC HEAL TH, SAFETY & WELL-BEING 96