Wolk flood protection bills pass first hurdle in Senate

Legislation addresses vital connection between land use and flood protection

SACRAMENTO–Assembly Bills 1899 and 802, legislation by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) addressing the critical connection between land use decisions and flood protection, both passed the Senate Local Government Committee today.

AB 1899 prevents new housing subdivisions from being built in floodplains unless they have adequate flood protection. AB 802 ensures that local agencies consider flood risks before building in flood-prone regions.

“AB 1899 asks local governments to make responsible decisions when approving new homes behind those piles of dirt we call levees in the Central Valley,” said Wolk. “Currently, there is no minimum standard for flood protection in state law. The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires 100-year level flood protection for certain floodplains within the valley. But 100-year level protection is inadequate. Put simply, 100-year protection means a 1-in-4 chance of flooding during the lifetime of a typical mortgage. My bill requires any new housing subdivisions in the Central Valley to have at least 100-year flood protection, as well as a plan to reach 200-year flood protection in 10 years."

Wolk pointed to the existing disconnect between flood management decisions and floodplain land-use decisions that has resulted in dramatic and continued growth in the Central Valley, placing countless homes and close to 500,000 human lives in harm’s way. She also cited a recent report in The Sacramento Bee that at least 115,000 new homes are planned for flood prone areas of the valley.

“To make matters worse, California taxpayers are ultimately on the hook when the levees fail and those homes flood,” Wolk said. “A recent court decision blew a half-billion dollar hole in the state budget this year. That’s a half billion out of our schools, health care, law enforcement, and other vital programs. And that was a small flood disaster in two counties. The state could go bankrupt paying for the losses of homeowners in the Central Valley.”

A number of committee members showed strong support for the bill. Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden) signed on as a coauthor to the bill, saying “it goes a long way to addressing a very serious problem that prevails in much of my district, which I share with the Assemblymember as well as those up and down the San Joaquin watershed.” Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) called the bill a “major piece of the (flood protection) puzzle.”

“The status quo is no longer something we can live with,” said Committee Chair Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego).

“If we don’t do something now, when will we do something?” asked Wolk. “There isn’t enough money in the State to upgrade California’s 14,000 miles of levees to a standard that would protect these people and their homes. We can’t build our way out of this problem. We need to ask local governments to do better planning, and require a higher standard of protection.”

Also up in Senate Local Government was Assemblywoman Wolk’s AB 802 to require flood-plain planning in general plans to address the risk to life and property from flooding, similar to requirements for areas prone to earthquakes and/or fire hazards.

“AB 802 will make the connection between community planning and the threat of flooding. It will help keep our communities safe just as do our current laws for earthquakes and fire hazards,” said Wolk. “For more than 35 years we have required restrictive planning within earthquake fault zones. The time has come to upgrade the standard of planning within flood plains.”

Several witnesses spoke in strong support of the bill, including representatives of the California State Association of Counties, City of Sacramento, California Central Valley Flood Control Association, Planning and Conservation League, American Planning Association and Yvonne Hunter, League of California Cities (LCC).

“Much of what is in the bill comes from the general plan guidelines,” said Yvonne Hunter with LCC. and we think that rather than have those basic flood issues be optional, all cities and counties should be required to include those in their general plans because they are such basic requirements.”

Both bills now move forward in the Senate. AB 1899 moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee, AB 802 to the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 1899 has a broad group of supporters including California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein, State Treasurer Phil Angelides, State Controller Steve Westly, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, East Bay MUD, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Planning and Conservation League, California Conservation League of Voters, Sierra Club, and Grey Panthers. AB 802 is supported by the Planning and Conservation League, City of Sacramento, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Sierra Club California, and California Farm Bureau Federation.