EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN (2019)

The City of Cupertino Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is an all-hazards document describing the City incident management organization, compliance with relevant legal statutes, other relevant guidelines, whole community engagement, continuity of government focus, and critical components of the incident management structure. The incident management system is a component-based system designed to be scaled up and components activated as necessary to reflect the incident/event’s escalation from routine incident(s) to emergency, disaster, or catastrophe affecting the City. This EOP is not intended to address specific emergency responses, scenarios, hazards, or threats. Functional and hazard specific annexes to this EOP will outline specific response activities for response organizations.

This Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) accomplishes the following: 

• Establishes a City incident management organization which will coordinate and support onscene responses including maintenance of situational awareness, facilitation of effective communication between operations centers at various levels of government, maintain continuity of government, and interaction with public information sources. 
• Establishes the overall operational concepts associated with the management of incidents, emergencies, crises, disasters, and catastrophes within the City. 
• Provides a flexible platform for planning and response to all hazards, incidents, events, and emergencies believed to be important to the City. It is applicable to a wide variety of anticipated incident events including earthquake, wildland fires, floods, and public health issues.

This EOP continues to support the City’s compliance with the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS), the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Incident Command System (ICS), the National Response Framework (NRF), and the National Preparedness Guidelines to include Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans. It facilitates multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional coordination during emergency operations, public information functions, and resource management.

This EOP serves as the legal and conceptual framework for incident management to be utilized by the City and its various departments. There are several separately published annexes that support this EOP. These supporting annexes further describe the operational or functional response to specific threats and hazards and the basic considerations, actions, and responsibilities of specific emergency response and management disciplines or functions. 

Cupertino City Council Resolution 24-093 Adopting MJHMP Volume I and II (2023)

Final_ VOL I Santa Clara County MJHMP

Final_VOL II Santa Clara MJHMP_City of Cupertino Annex

In 2022, the County of Santa Clara convened a countywide planning team and hired a consultant to support the planning process to update the Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The consultant support allowed participating jurisdictions to focus on the ongoing response to hazard events, including multiple atmospheric rivers and a winter storm, while ensuring that mitigation planning efforts continued moving forward.

The City's local planning process included forming a local planning team led by the Office of Emergency Management. Staff made extra effort to integrate the priorities and projects identified in previously approved plans, such as the Climate Action Plan, to inform the development of the MJHMP. The City's Local Planning Team Leads participated in the MJHMP by attending meetings on the Plan Kick-Off, Risk Assessment, Mitigation Strategy, Wrap-up, and two one-on-one meetings with the planning consultant. In addition, the City filled out the requested forms for each section, which were used to develop this annex. The City also shared information regarding public opportunities to participate in the draft plan update utilizing the digital survey and seven in-person and virtual public outreach meetings. Further, the County coordinated with the City team to review the draft plan before submitting it to Cal OES and FEMA.

The 2023 MJHMP planning process differs from previous plans, including:

• The risk assessment comprises further considerations of emerging hazards, such as the impact of wildfire smoke.
• A concentrated effort to ensure plan integration between the Climate Action Plan, the Capital Improvement Plan, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and the Health and Safety Element of the City's General Plan updates, as well as other approved plans.
• Incorporating the additional special district planning partners of Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara County Fire Department, and Santa Clara Valley Water District are involved in hazard mitigation in the City.
• The plan was developed following Emergency Management Accreditation Program standards.
• The risk assessment provides information on risk and vulnerability that will allow a measurement of cost-effectiveness.
• Mitigation goals, objectives, and criteria for prioritizing mitigation action items have been updated to include climate change, resiliency, and benefits to underserved and socially vulnerable populations.
• The update allowed the planning partners to engage residents, particularly those who are underserved and socially vulnerable, to gauge their perception of risk and support risk reduction through mitigation.
• Extreme weather events from climate change has been added as a hazard for the planning area.
• Expanded information about compliance in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Approach

The City supported a "whole community" approach to this plan update. Neighboring communities, local and regional agencies involved in mitigation activities, as well as businesses, academia, and other private and nonprofit interests, were invited to be involved in the planning process by participating in planning meetings, public meetings, or reviewing the draft plan. In addition to the wide variety of stakeholders identified by the County, other stakeholders the City of Cupertino recommended including the Santa Clara Valley Water District, PG&E, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Santa Clara County Fire Department, San Jose Water, and CalWater.

Public Outreach and Engagement

In addition to inviting a wide range of stakeholders, the City supported public outreach and engagement by participating in the countywide public outreach and engagement campaign. The City distributed a digital survey utilizing social media, the city website, and GovDelivery email distributions, and publicizing the availability of the survey at the in-person Cupertino Earth and Arbor Day Festival. Additionally, the Office of Emergency Management engaged with the Cupertino Citizen Corps and Block Leader programs to respond to the survey and distribute the survey to their contacts. This survey reached members of underserved populations, including primarily non-English speaking households.

The MJHMP was discussed at two virtual and five in-person public meetings across Santa Clara County and coordinated by the County and its consultant. These in-person meetings were targeted toward areas with socially vulnerable populations. These meetings were also designed to be accessible for AFN (access and functional needs) populations. The public was also provided the opportunity to comment on the draft plan via the City website. Comments from the public survey were reviewed, evaluated for alignment with planning priorities, and incorporated as appropriate. Overall, the public expressed concerns regarding hazards like wildfire (including wildfire smoke), extreme heat, and flooding. In particular, evacuation routes and warning systems, including public outreach to help inform people about their options, were areas of concern. This feedback is reflected in the mitigation actions the City of Cupertino selected.

In addition to directly providing the public the opportunity to comment on the plan, the Santa Clara County Access and Functional Needs and Cultural Competency Working Group, which represents tens of community and faith-based organizations within the Santa Clara County operational area, was consulted. They provided feedback based on the populations they serve, representing approximately 100 nonprofits and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster members participating in the AFN and Cultural Competency Working Group. Santa Clara County also had representation from community centers and two consulate generals. In addition, some advocates do not have an affiliation but are Santa Clara County residents and provide input on LGBTQ+ and Disability topics. Some organizations include but are not limited to San Andreas Regional Center, Immigrant Info Services, Vista Center for the Blind, American Red Cross, Parents Helping Parents, and Lighthouse. The direct interaction and represented voices generally shared similar concerns for the extreme heat and wildfire hazards, community preparedness, and education and outreach activities. Therefore, prioritization of the wildfire hazard and the corresponding mitigation actions, along with high attention to public outreach and education efforts, informed the plan's many related mitigation actions.

Adoption Process and Maintenance

The draft MJHMP Base Plan and associated jurisdictional annexes underwent multiple stages of review to ensure compliance and effectiveness. The plan was submitted to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) for a comprehensive evaluation by the consultant. Following several rounds of feedback and necessary amendments in consultation with the County Office of Emergency Management and their consultant, CalOES granted conditional approval, ensuring that the plan adhered to state standards and effectively addressed critical hazards.

After receiving conditional approval at the state level, the MJHMP was submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for further assessment. FEMA's review process involved meticulously examining the plan's adherence to federal guidelines and alignment with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. In June 2024, FEMA granted conditional approval of the Base Plan and associated jurisdictional annexes, including the City of Cupertino, confirming that the plan met the essential criteria for federal compliance.

On Thursday, September 12, 2024, staff presented the draft MJHMP to the Public Safety Commission. The Commission unanimously recommended the MJHMP Volume 1 Base Plan and Volume 2 City of Cupertino Annex for adoption by City Council.

On October 1, 2024, the Cupertino City Council formally adopted the MJHMP Volume 1 Base Plan and Volume 2 City of Cupertino Annex. This formal adoption represents a significant milestone, ensuring that the plan is officially recognized and makes Cupertino eligible for federal grants, such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), Flood Mitigation Assistance (FEMA), and other state and federal mitigation grants.

The City's Office of Emergency Management will review the MJHMP annually and work with the County of Santa Clara Office of Emergency Management for a comprehensive revision no later than every five years per the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requirements. The City's Office of Emergency Management will maintain a diverse planning team in collaboration with the County Office of Emergency Management, City departments, and community stakeholders.

EVACUATION PLANS (2023)

COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN (2016)

Cupertino is listed as a Community at Risk from wildfires on the Federal and/or California Fire Alliance list of Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County. Wildfires occur in the vicinity of Cupertino and present a danger to people and properties within the city. Mitigations can reduce the risk of injury and damage. Some mitigations are solely the responsibility of property owners, other mitigations require neighborhood level action, and some require city government action. 

Cupertino is a city on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley and extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. According to the 2010 Census the population was 58,302. Cupertino is made up of numerous subdivisions, most of them developed since the 1960s. The planning area focuses primarily on the unincorporated portions of the City.

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