Chapter 11 Safety
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chapter 11 Safety This chapter describes potential public health and safety hazards within San Benito County and is divided into the followingsections: GeologicandSeismicHazards(Section11.1) FloodHazards(Section11.2) WildlandFireHazards(Section11.3) HumanmadeHazards(Section11.4) AirportSafety(Section11.5) AirQuality(Section11.6) PhotobyCALFIRE CHAPTER 11. SAFETY San Benito County General Plan Thispageisintentionallyleftblank. Page 11-2 Public Review Draft Background Report November 2010 CHAPTER 11. SAFETY San Benito County General Plan SECTION 11.1 GEOLOGIC AND SEISMIC HAZARDS Introduction This section provides an assessment of geologic and seismic hazards within San Benito County. This includes ground stability and earthquake hazards that must be considered during the planning and developmentprocessinthecounty. Key Terms Alluvial/Alluvium.Erosioncausedbywindandrainintroducessoils,minerals,androckfragmentsinto streams and rivers. These materials are reduced by the action of water movement and mixed with debrisastheyarewasheddownthemountainsandhills.Theyaredepositedassedimentthatspreads outinafanshapewhenthewatercoursereachesarelativelylevelarea.Suchdepositsarecalledalluvial materialsoralluvium.Thefanshapedzoneofdepositedsedimentiscalledanalluvialfan. Asbestos.Ageneraltermfornaturallyoccurringfibroussilicateminerals.Themostcommontypeof asbestosinCaliforniaisfromtheserpentinemineralgroup,commonlyfoundinultramaficrocks. AlquistPrioloFaultZones.TheAlquistPrioloEarthquakeFaultZoningAct(APEFZA),passedin1972, requiresaprofessionalgeologisttoidentifyzonesofspecialstudyaroundactivefaults. Fault.Afaultisafractureinthecrustoftheearth,alongwhichrocksononesidehavemovedrelative torocksontheotherside.Mostfaultsaretheresultofrepeateddisplacementsoveralongperiodof time.Afaulttraceisthelineontheearth’ssurfacedefiningthefault.ForthepurposesoftheAPEFZA, anactivefaultisonethathasrupturedinthelast11,000years(HolocenePeriod). Liquefaction.Liquefactioninsoilsandsedimentsoccursduringearthquakeevents,whensoilmaterialis transformed from a solid state to a liquid state generated by an increase in pressure between pore spaceandsoilparticles. Magnitude. Earthquake magnitude is measured by the Richter scale, indicated as a series of Arabic numbers with no theoretical maximum magnitude. The greater the energy released from the fault rupture,thehigherthemagnitudeofearthquake. Seiche.Aninundatingwallofwatercausedbythefailureofadam,levee,orotherwaterstorageor transmissionfacility. Ultramafic.Aclassofigneousrockscharacterizedbyitsdarkcolorandhighconcentrationofironand magnesiumsilicateminerals. Regulatory Setting State CaliforniaGovernmentCodeSection65302.CaliforniaGovernmentCodeSection65302requiresthat theGeneralPlanmustaddressthreatstohumanandenvironmentalsafetyinaSafetyElement.Hazards fromseismicshaking,groundfailure,seiche,tsunami,slopeinstability,andsubsidencemustbeincluded Public Review Draft Background Report Page 11-1 November 2010 CHAPTER 11. SAFETY San Benito County General Plan in the assessment. Design requirements must be included to safeguard against risk of injury. The CaliforniaBuildingStandardsCommissionischargedwithregulatingbuildingstandardswithinthestate, andtypicallyadoptsandamendscodespreparedbytheInternationalCodeCouncil.Nospecificfederal structuralbuildingstandardsareenforced. California Building Code. The California Building Code (CBC), revised in 2007, and the AlquistPriolo EarthquakeFaultZoningAct(1972)(APEFZA)requirelocalplanningagenciestoincludeassessmentsof seismic hazards when considering locations and development of land uses. On January 1, 2008, the StateofCaliforniaadoptedthe2007triennialeditionoftheCBC(CaliforniaCodeofRegulations[CCR], Title24).The2007CBCprovidesdesigncriteriaforgeologicallyinducedloadingthatgovernthesizing anddesignofengineeredstructuresandbuildings. AlquistRPrioloEarthquakeFaultZoningAct(1972).TheAPEFZAandtheSeismicHazardsMappingAct (1991)weredevelopedtoprotectthepublicagainsteffectsofgroundshakingandgroundfailurefrom earthquakes. Fault Zone Mapping, established by the State Geologist, is used to regulate most developmentprojectswithinthesezones.TheCaliforniaGeologicalSurvey,throughSpecialPublication (SP)No.117,andtheWorkGroupforCaliforniaEarthquakeProbabilities(WGCEP)addressthefollowing generalizedtopicsrelatedtoseismicandgeologichazards,insomecasesonanannualbasis: Groundshaking Lateralspreading Liquefaction Regionalandsitegeology Seismicityandfaulting Slopestability Soildata Surfacefaultrupture San Benito County SanBenitoCountyhasadoptedthe2007CBCasspecifiedinCountyOrdinance822§2,andcodifiedin Title21.01BuildingRegulations. San Benito County General Plan (Existing) For this section, four County documents have been reviewed to establish the local regulatory background,includingthreeGeneralPlanElements:theLandUseElement(1992);theSeismicElement (1980);andtheOpenSpaceandConservationElement(1995).Additionally,theCounty’sEnvironmental ResourcesandConstraintsInventory(ERCI),completedin1994,wasconsulted.Thedocumentsserved asthestartingpointforassessinggeologicandseismichazardswithinthecounty.Thissectionoutlines thepoliciesofthecurrentGeneralPlan,andthespecificpoliciesandactionsadoptedbytheCountyto ensurepublicsafetyandtoprotectinfrastructureandtheenvironmentfromhazardsassociatedwith geologicandseismichazards. SeismicSafetyElement(1980) Policy1.Ingeneral,urbanexpansionshouldbedirectedtoareasoflessriskfromnaturalandmanmade hazards. Page 11-2 Public Review Draft Background Report November 2010 CHAPTER 11. SAFETY San Benito County General Plan Actions a) Inareassusceptibletolandsliding,theCountyshouldadoptanonresidentialorverylowdensity residentiallandusepolicy. b) Residential development should avoid canyon bottoms, particularly where flanked by high, steep canyonwalls. c) Inhillyterrain,clusteringofresidentialunitsshouldbeencouragedasanalternativetodeveloping numerousindividuallotsoveralargearea. d) Clusteringshouldberequiredwhenpredevelopmentinvestigationsindicatethatalargeportionof the site is potentially unstable, and when corrective measures would be geotechnically or economicallyunfeasible. e) Proposed developments sited within larger areas of known or suspected instability should be deferred until detailed areawide studies are completed which evaluate the extent and degree of instability,anditsimpactontheoveralldevelopmentofthearea. f) Requiredsetbackdistancesfromfaulttracesshouldbedeterminedbyindividualsitespecificsurface ruptureinvestigations. g) The probable performance of structures proposed in those portions of the county with high liquefaction potential is difficult to predict, and should be the subject of detailed sitespecific liquefactionstudies. h) InordertoappreciatetherisksassociatedwithgeologicandseismicactivityinSanBenitoCounty,it isimportanttogainanunderstandingofthephysiographyandgeologyoftheregion.SanBenito CountyislocatedwithintheCoastalRangeMountainsofCalifornia.TheSantaAna,SanJuan,and HollisterValleyswithinthenorthernhalfofthecountyareimportantgeographicfeatures.Tothe souththetopographyisdominatedbytheCoastalRangeMountains. Policy2.Exceptforutilitylinesandtransportationlinks,criticalfacilitiesandoccupanciesshouldnotbe locatedinhighhazardareas. Actions a) In areas identified as geologic or seismic hazard areas in the Open Space/Conservation Element, developmentshouldbepermittedonlywithaUsePermit. b) TheCountyshoulddevelopstandard conditionsforUsePermitswithinhigh seismichazardareas whichrequirethatsitespecificgeologic,soils,orotherinvestigationsbemade,andthestructures involvedbedesignedandconstructedtowithstandthe"maximumprobable"earthquakeorother identifiedpotentialhazards,withdamagelimitedtoanacceptablelevel. Policy3.ThediversityofhousingtypeswithinSanBenitoCountyshouldbeevaluatedwithregardto suitablelocationsforhighdensityhousing.Thelocationofbuildingsthreestoriesandhighershouldbe Public Review Draft Background Report Page 11-3 November 2010 CHAPTER 11. SAFETY San Benito County General Plan carefullyexaminedinrelationtogroundshakingcharacteristics,potentialforgroundfailure,andother seismichazards. Action a) ForR3densityorgreaterwithinGroup4,orbuildingsthreestoriesandhigher,twophysicalstudies should be undertaken: the first should determine ground shaking characteristics, and the second should evaluate the potential for ground failure, and identify and mitigate any other geologic hazardswhichmayexistonthesite. Policy4.ItistheCounty'spolicythatwhenthereisacoincidenceofhighagriculturalproductivityand highgeologichazards,thelandshouldberetainedinagriculturalusetoservedualopenspacefunctions (the production of food and fiber and the protection of health and safety) wherever reasonable in relationtoparcelsizeandestablishedusepatterns.ItistheCounty'spolicytoadoptzoningcategories andsceniceasementsfortheprotectionofenvironmentallyhazardousoraestheticallyvaluableresour ces. Action a) TheCountyshallestablishanOverlayZoningDistrictforenvironmentallyhazardousareas(an"EH" District),whichdiscouragesdevelopmentinareasgeologicallyhazardoustothehealth,safety,and welfare of the citizens of the community. The District shall concurrently develop density transfer policieswhichwouldallowfortransferofsomeofthedensities,whichmayhavebeenallowedin hazardouszones. Policy5.ItwillbetheCounty'spolicytoidentifyandabateexistingstructuresthatwillbehazardous duringanearthquake.Suchstructureswouldincludethoseofhighoccupancy,publicstructures,orany structuresthatcouldbedangeroustothegeneralpublic. Actions a) The County will identify those structures and features likely to fail and cause personal injury