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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
ADOPTION OF THE 2024 COOK COUNTY MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners (“Board”) recognizes the threat that natural hazards pose to people and property within our community; and
WHEREAS, The Board recognizes the importance of reducing or eliminating vulnerability to disasters, in a changing climate, for the overall good and welfare of the community; and
WHEREAS, The Board recognizes the disproportionate impact of climate change and natural disasters on historically disinvested communities and our most vulnerable residents requiring proactive mitigation actions; and
WHEREAS, on October 10, 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (“Act”) which provides the legal framework for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mitigation, planning requirements for state, local, and tribal governments as a condition of mitigation grant assistance emphasizing the need for pre-disaster mitigation of potential hazards; and
WHEREAS, as a condition of future funding for mitigation projects, the Act requires jurisdictions to prepare and adopt hazard mitigation plans to identify and address certain vulnerabilities that exist prior to and during a disaster; and
WHEREAS, FEMA supports post-disaster hazard mitigation grant funding through the Hazards Mitigation Grant Program and pre-disaster hazard mitigation grant funding through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant Program and Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, which has, as a condition of funding eligibility, a requirement for jurisdictions to prepare and adopt a hazard mitigation plan; and
WHEREAS, on September 26, 2019, the Board adopted the Cook County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (“2019 Plan”), which represented 122 Cook County jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, to maintain continued eligibility for FEMA mitigation grant assistance programs, the Act requires a hazard mitigation plan be updated every five years; and
WHEREAS, Cook County, through its Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (“EMRS”), has evaluated the hazards, risks, and mitigation measures impacting Cook County, and incorporated the results of these evaluations into a two-volume updated plan (“2024 Plan”) composed of Volume 1 - Planning-Area-Wide-Elements and Volume 2 - Planning Partner Annexes; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the Act’s requirements, Cook County and 125 partner jurisdictions engaged in the FEMA-prescribed mitigation planning process informing the 2024 Plan and its associated local hazard mitigation plan annexes; and
WHEREAS, the 2024 Plan has been submitted for review and approval to the Federal Emergency Management Agency - Region V and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,
1. The Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby accepts, approves, and adopts in their entirety Volumes 1 and 2 of the 2024 Cook County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan; and
2. Cook County will continue to participate in the updating and revision of the 2024 Plan with another plan review and revision to occur within a five-year cycle, and designated staff will provide annual progress reports on the status of implementation of the 2024 Plan to the Board; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and the Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners approve the 2024 Plan as presented.
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