Chapter
Safety
The City of Thousand Oaks is committed to protecting the community from natural and human-induced hazards and building resilience to projected climate change risks. This Element describes these hazards and establishes goals and policies to protect people, property, and the natural environment.
Goals and Policies
Faulting and Seismic Hazards
Goal S-1: Mitigate the risk of loss of life, injury, damage to property, and economic and social dislocation resulting from fault rupture and seismically induced ground shaking.
S-1.1 Geologic and engineering investigations.
Require site-specific geologic and engineering investigations as specified in the California Building Code (as adopted by the State of California with local amendments) and Municipal Code for proposed new developments.
S-1.2 Earthquake resistant design.
Enforce the latest California Building Code (CBC) provisions relating to earthquake resistant design.
S-1.3 Strong motion instrumental program fund.
Continue to allocate a percentage of building permit fees (as specified in the Public Resources Code) to a trust fund (Strong Motion Instrumentation Program Fund) which is remitted to the State of California.
S-1.4 Setback distances.
Provide setbacks, as determined to be necessary, for any proposed development located on or near an active or potentially active fault. Appropriate setback distances will be determined through engineering geologic investigation.
S-1.5 Notice of geologic hazards.
Require all developers and/or subdividers of a parcel or parcels in an area of a known fault hazard to record a Notice of Geologic Hazards with the County Recorder describing the hazards on the parcel and the level of prior geologic investigation conducted.
S-1.6 Faulting/seismic hazards.
Require hazard mitigation, project redesign, elimination of building sites, and the delineation of building envelopes, building setbacks and foundation requirements, as deemed necessary, to minimize faulting/ seismic hazards for new development and redevelopment.
S-1.7 Seismic retrofitting.
Investigate options for seismic retrofitting of older buildings that do not meet current seismic standards.
Landslides and Debris Flows
Goal S-2: Mitigate loss, injury, damage, and economic and social dislocations resulting from soil landslide, debris flow, soil expansion, and settlement.
S-2.1 Setbacks from debris flow.
Require all development to provide setbacks from potentially unstable areas, including potential debris flow channels, as identified in engineering and geologic studies.
S-2.2 Drainage plans.
Require new projects to prepare drainage plans designed to direct runoff away from unstable areas.
S-2.3 Surface runoff in unstable areas.
Discourage introduction of surface runoff, including nuisance water into the ground, where the area is unstable.
S-2.4 Road reconstruction.
Where washouts or landslides have occurred on public or private roads, require road reconstruction to meet the conditions of geologic and engineering reports.
S-2.5 Building in flowline.
Discourage development in the flowline or discharge areas of hillside swales or channels.
S-2.6 Notice of geologic hazards.
In areas of known slope instability or debris flow hazards, require developers and/or subdividers of a parcel or parcels to record a Notice of Geologic Hazards with the County Recorder describing the potential hazards on the parcel and the level of prior geologic investigation conducted.
Soil Hazards
Goal S-3: Mitigate loss, injury, damage, and economic and social dislocation resulting from soil hazards.
S-3.1 Liquefaction.
Require developers to submit studies that evaluate liquefaction potential for proposed developments in areas susceptible to liquefaction as illustrated by Figure 10.3.
S-3.2 Liquefaction hazard risk.
Require project alterations and/or mitigation as necessary to remediate liquefaction hazard risk.
S-3.3 Notice of geologic hazards.
Require developers and/or subdividers of a parcel or parcels in areas susceptible to liquefaction or of known highly expansive soils hazard to record a Notice of Geologic Hazards with the County Recorder describing the potential hazards on the parcel and the level of prior geologic investigation conducted unless the condition has been mitigated.
S-3.4 Soils reports.
Require the preparation of a soils report, prepared by a registered civil engineer, for developments where soils have been identified that are subject to expansion, or where there is inadequate soils information.
S-3.5 Hazard mitigation for soil hazards.
Require hazard mitigation, as necessary, to mitigate hazards associated with soils that may be subject to expansion, or settlement.
Flood Hazards
Goal S-4: Mitigate loss of life, injury, property damage, and economic and social dislocations resulting from inundation by dam failure or floods.
S-4.1 New development in flood zones.
Require new development in flood zones and dam inundation areas to minimize flood potential and ensure that development siting and design features will not increase flood inundation potential offsite. Regulate filing, grading, dredging, and other development that may increase flood damage.
S-4.2 New essential facilities in flood zone.
Prohibit the siting and construction of new essential public facilities within flood hazard zones, when feasible. If an essential facility must be located within a flood hazard zone, incorporate flood mitigation to the greatest extent practicable.
S-4.3 Critical and lifeline facilities.
Maintain the structural and operational integrity of critical and lifeline facilities during and after flooding events.
S-4.4 Master Plan of Drainage compliance.
Comply with provisions of the Master Plan of Drainage for new development.
S-4.5 Drainage deficiencies.
Implement drainage improvements to address deficiencies identified in the Master Plan of Drainage, and periodically update the City’s Master Plan of Drainage to incorporate new data and conditions.
S-4.6 Notice of flood hazards.
Require the developers and/or subdividers of a parcel or parcels in an area of known flood hazards to record a Notice of Geologic Hazards with the County Recorder describing the hazards on the parcel or parcels and the extent of prior hydrologic or geologic investigation conducted.
S-4.7 Floodplain improvements.
Partner with the Ventura County Watershed Protection District to complete drainage improvements to enable parcels to be removed from the 100-year floodplain.
S-4.8 Flood control.
Protect and maintain natural hydrological and ecological functions by implementing flood control improvements that use natural materials when possible. If the use of natural materials is not feasible, select the most environmentally preferred option and limit concrete channelization to the extent possible.
S-4.9 Agency coordination.
Coordinate flood control planning with the Ventura County Public Works Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Wildfires
Goal S-5: Provide necessary prevention services to reduce loss and damage due to wildfire.
S-5.1 Cooperation of VCFD.
Continue to support the Ventura County Fire Department and property owners living in the wildland urban interface by supporting inter-jurisdictional fire protection agreements.
S-5.2 Road widths and clearances.
Ensure that new development has appropriate road widths and clearances in accordance with:
- Standards specified in the City of Thousand Oaks Road Standards and construction specifications in effect at the time of construction.
- Any other standard and specific conditions required by State and County Fire Codes and VCFD in the permit application.
S-5.3 Defensible spaces.
Establish defensible spaces in the wildland urban interface (WUI) interface to protect against wildfire. Defensible spaces shall:
- Establish and maintain a defensible perimeter or other measures in compliance with state and local codes around each habitable structure along the WUI interface.
- Provide for the removal of annual fuels within the defensible perimeter.
- Provide any fire suppression resource from any agency the opportunity to successfully protect structures and other valuable properties during a wildfire threat.
- Create an ember resistant zone by using extra fuel reduction measures, pursuant to AB 3074.
- Protect watershed areas from exposure to structure fires in the WUI interface areas.
- Require fuel modification zones for new development within the VHFHSZ.
S-5.4 Public facilities and utilities in high fire zones.
Discourage the location of new public facilities and above-ground utilities in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. When unavoidable, special precautions should be taken to minimize potential fire impacts to public facilities.
S-5.5 Science-based fuel management.
Work with VCFD, COSCA, and other agencies, as appropriate, to implement science-based fuel management programs and post fire recovery plans that conserve wildlife habitat while protecting public safety.
S-5.6 Fire Safe Development standards.
Continue to update and require fire safe design into development standards for new development in SRAs or VHFHSZs that meet or exceed the statewide minimums in the SRA Fire Safe Regulations. Fire safe development codes shall include initial site design standards, landscape design standards, on-going maintenance standards, and mitigation measures into individual developments to reduce the potential damage and destruction due to fire.
S-5.7 Fire Hazard Severity Zone map.
Work with the CAL FIRE and VCFD to update the Fire Hazard Severity Zone map as new data is available.
S-5.8 Wildfire resilience.
Continue to meet all current standards and best practices for wildfire planning in accordance with local regulations and State guidance.
S-5.9 Public outreach and education.
Educate residents on fire hazard reduction strategies to employ on their properties and nearby evacuation routes. Prioritize outreach to the most vulnerable populations such as older adults and individuals with chronic health conditions.
S-5.10 Fire protection for new development.
Require that all new development have adequate fire protection and that development can be served with VCFD’s response time goal.
S-5.11 Develop fire safety compliance.
Ensure that all new development in SRAs or VHFHSZs complies with fire safety requirements, including the most current version of the California Building Codes, California Fire Code, and Fire Safe Regulations for fuel modification around homes and subdivisions.
S-5.12 Fire management best practices.
Require that developments located in wildland urban interface areas incorporate measures to reduce the threat of wildfires, accounting for any increased risk related to climate change. Clearly delineate fuel modification areas on grading plans.
S-5.13 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Follow all guidelines in the MJHMP and other applicable County, State, and Federal fire mitigation policies.
S-5.14 Ingress and egress points.
Whenever feasible, require the construction of multiple ingress and egress points for new development projects in Fire Hazard Severity Zones. For example, each neighborhood/subdivisions should have at least two emergency evacuation ingress and egress points. See Figure 10.9.
S-5.15 Long-term fuel reduction.
Implement the Ventura County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, the VCFD Unit Strategic Fire Plan, and the Ventura County Community Wildfire Protection Plan by requiring long term maintenance of fuel reduction projects; including but not limited to, a roadside fuel reduction plan, defensible space clearances (including fuel beaks) around structures, subdivision, and other development in the VHFHSZ.
S-5.16 Fire clearance.
Continue to establish and maintain community fuel breaks and fuel modification/reduction zones, including public and private road clearance. Provide a plan detailing long-term maintenance including implementation methods and funding source.
S-5.17 Local ordinance updates.
Continue to update both Fire & City ordinances to require development standards for the VHFHSZ to meet or exceed title 14, CCR, division 1.5, chapter 7, subchapter 2, articles 1-5 (commencing with section 1270) (SRA Fire Safe Regulations) and title 14, CCR, division 1.5, chapter 7, subchapter 3, article 3 (commencing with section 1299.01) (Fire Hazard Reduction Around Buildings and Structures Regulations) for SRAs and/or VHFHSZs.
S-5.18 Rebuild post fire re-development.
In the event of a large fire, the City will evaluate re-development within the impacted fire zone to conform to contemporary fire safe standards and require all development to meet or exceed City and State standards.
S-5.19 Siting new development.
Prioritize all new residential development to be built outside the VHFHSZ.
S-5.20 Fire Protection Plans.
Require Fire Protection Plans for all new development in VHFHSZs.
S-5.21 Existing non-conforming development.
Minimize risks to existing development by identifying existing non-conforming development not meeting current fire safe standards, in terms of road standards and vegetative hazard; and requiring all development to meet or exceed CCR, division 1.5, chapter 7, subchapter 2, articles 1-5 requirements (SRA Fire Safe Regulations).
S-5.22 Evacuation and emergency vehicle access.
Maintain evacuation and emergency roadways and improve them as necessary and appropriate to ensure ongoing serviceability.
S-5.23 Street signage.
Require that all homes have visible street addressing and signage.
S-5.24 Evaluate water supply.
Continuously evaluate the City’s capacity to adequately suppress wildfire, taking into account water supply availability, maintenance and long-term integrity of water supplies, and location of anticipated water supply, as part of the City’s Water Master Plan.
S-5.25 Additional water supply.
Investigate the use of additional water sources, such as local groundwater and reclaimed water resources, to reduce reliance on imported water from the State Water Project.
S-5.26 Water storage and availability.
Coordinate with Calleguas Municipal Water District to support the provision of adequate water availability throughout the City and provision of adequate water storage to meet future peak fire demand during times of peak domestic demands.
S-5.27 Evacuation operations planning.
Continue to assess and update the City’s Emergency Operations plan to improve evacuation operations and planning for the community, with a focus on areas with inadequate access/ evacuation routes, identified in Figure 10.9. This includes developing minimum standards for evacuation of residential areas in VHFHSZs.
S-5.28 Emergency service needs.
Continue to assess and update the City’s Emergency Operations plan to assess current emergency service and projected emergency service needs, goals, and standards for emergency services training for City staff and volunteers.
Climate Resilience
Goal S-6: Reduce community vulnerability to climate-related threats and increase community resilience.
S-6.1 Reduce urban heat island effect.
Reduce urban heat island effect by continuing to invest in the City’s urban forest and tree plantings, and support the use of heat reflective paint, cool surface treatment including cool roofing, and cool paving in buildings, facilities, infrastructure and streets, parking lots and other pavement if feasible.
S-6.2 Microgrids for municipal facilities.
Develop battery energy storage and microgrids at critical municipal facilities to maintain operations with clean energy during power outages.
S-6.3 Community-serving microgrids.
Support and encourage the development of community-serving microgrids, on-site battery energy storage, and resilience centers particularly in new development projects. Incorporate installation of such in residential use and other zoning designations.
S-6.4 Climate impacts.
Consider climate change impacts including increased storm severity, drought and extreme heat in planning decisions, including those involving public infrastructure, urban forest, sidewalks, streets, utilities, facilities, and private development.
S-6.5 Adaptation strategies.
Implement climate adaptation strategies at a local and regional level in which coordination and pooling of resources (e.g., emergency/evacuation centers for people and animals, transit agency mutual emergency support) is planned.
S-6.6 Regional coordination.
Ensure the community’s engagement strategy for climate adaptation planning includes surrounding jurisdictions to identify coordination opportunities.
S-6.7 Heat response.
Update emergency/disaster response measures to account for increased heat days.
S-6.8 Heat education.
Provide education on heat-related illness and mitigation measures, particularly targeted to seniors and other vulnerable populations.
S-6.9 Air conditioning alternatives.
Encourage alternatives to air conditioning such as ceiling fans, air exchangers, increased insulation and low-solar-gain exterior materials to reduce need for air conditioning and concomitant high electricity demands during high heat events to increase the reliability of the electrical grid.
Climate Change Mitigation
Goal S-7: A sustainable community with reduced energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.
S-7.1 Climate and Environmental Action Plan.
Prepare and update the City’s Climate and Environmental Action Plan every ten years or more frequently.
S-7.2 Community emissions.
Reduce community GHG emissions by at least the SB 32 target of 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 relative to 2010.
S-7.3 Municipal emissions.
Reduce GHG emissions from Municipal operations by at least 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 relative to 2010.
S-7.4 Electrification of new and existing buildings.
Encourage electrification of newly constructed buildings.
S-7.5 Transition to clean energy.
Reduce non-building-related energy emissions through conservation, efficiency measures, and use of renewable energy in street lighting, water and wastewater conveyance and treatment, and municipal operations.
S-7.6 Clean energy vehicles.
Increase electric/alternative fuel use through charging and other appropriate fueling infrastructure expansion.
S-7.7 Clean energy technology.
Support deployment of emerging and future clean energy technologies such as hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicles, battery energy and other clean energy, storage means, carbon capture technologies, smart technologies with inter-device and grid communications, such as vehicle-to-grid and IoT (“Internet of Things”) for demand reduction, and other technologies, as feasible.
S-7.8 Renewable energy sources.
Encourage renewable energy supply for all buildings and infrastructure by 2045.
S-7.9 Community forest.
Expand and maintain the community forest to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Hazardous Materials
Goal S-8: Protect the community and environment from the effects of hazardous materials released into the air, land, or water.
S-8.1 Risks from hazardous materials.
Regulate the locations of businesses that utilize large quantities of hazardous materials, to prevent exposure of people or the environment from excessive hazardous material risks.
S-8.2 Cleanup of sites.
Coordinate with the Ventura County Environmental Health Department and the Regional Water Quality Control Board to cleanup sites that have been contaminated by hazardous materials releases, especially those that have contaminated groundwater.
S-8.3 Household hazardous waste disposal.
Continue to operate a local household hazardous waste (HHW) collection facility that is convenient and open for weekly drop off by the public and expand the HHW home collection program throughout the City.
S-8.4 Household hazardous waste education.
Support the education of the public about the importance of complying with household hazardous waste programs through City, waste hauler, and HHW facility operator communications.
S-8.5 Agency coordination for hazardous materials transportation.
Continue to follow guidelines set in the Hazard Mitigation Plan regarding regional plans for transportation corridors for hazardous materials.
Terrorism
Goal S-9: Protect life and property from the potential effects of terrorism.
S-9.1 Terrorist vulnerability.
As part of the development review process, conduct vulnerability assessments of terrorist-sensitive facilities and, where practical, implement measures to protect these facilities against terrorist acts. Terrorist-sensitive facilities include places that are at-risk for terrorism, including, but not limited to, government offices, schools, and religious facilities.
S-9.2 Special events.
Ensure that providers of major special events in City-owned facilities and public spaces implement security plans to address potential terrorism concerns.
S-9.3 Cross-jurisdictional information sharing.
Ensure that terrorist-related information is shared with Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and the Ventura County Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC) via the Terrorism Liaison Officer to identify and minimize terrorism risk.
Disease
Goal S-10: Limit loss of life and economic disruption due to pandemics.
S-10.1 Disease spread.
During a pandemic or similar infections disease event, coordinate with the Ventura County Department of Public Health to implement measures that minimize the spread of disease including but not limited to: providing testing and contact tracing resources and promoting public safety protocols, maintaining up-to-date health services on the City’s website, connecting residents with up-to-date County infectious disease information, and partnering with local non-governmental organizations and community groups to provide economic support services.
S-10.2 Expert guidance.
During an infectious transmission event, implement the guidance of County, State, and federal health officials to protect human health.
S-10.3 Website resources.
Maintain up-to-date public health service information on the City’s website and the County website for all emergencies.
Maps
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