February 14, 2024
At the February 6, 2024, Porterville City Council meeting, a representative for Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group provided a brief summary presentation on the policy review papers of the Public Health & Safety Element and Environmental Justice Element of the City’s 2030 General Plan. The City is in the process of completing a focused update to bring the General Plan into compliance with recent state legislation, which includes new requirements for the Health & Safety element and the establishment of an Environmental Justice element.
The Health & Safety updates focus on new legislation related to fire risk, flooding, and climate resilience. The addition of the Environmental Justice Element is required by the Planning for Healthy Communities Act, to help address unique health risks to disadvantaged communities. The recommendations for the Health & Safety element were to incorporate the Tulare County Multi-Jurisdictional LHMP into the general plan for reference. The new legislation requires that jurisdictions identify vulnerabilities in climate adaptability and strategies to address these vulnerabilities. Vulnerable areas included climate change, dam failure, drought, extreme heat and flooding, which are all addressed in more detail in the full document analysis. The addition of the Environmental Just element addresses how the City will mitigate any effects from pollution and other environmental stressors for communities that are located in disadvantaged locations.
There will be a public review period estimated to open in June 2024, that will allow feedback and comments for these elements. The full report for both of these elements can be found online at https://porterville2030gp.com/documents/. The final Health & Safety and Environmental Justice updates are anticipated to be completed by September 2024.
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Porterville, lying along the foothills of the picturesque Sierra Nevada mountain range, is located on State Route 65, 165 miles north of Los Angeles. The city has a strategic central location to major markets and ready access to major transportation routes. Centrally located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Porterville is situated on the eastern edge of California's San Joaquin Valley, just 17 miles off State Route 99, a primary north-south transportation route. The city is approximately an hour from Fresno and Bakersfield and is a bustling city of over 62,000, serving as a trade center to over 100,000 people. Porterville serves as the gateway to the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument, and is home to The Mighty 190, a local tourism collaboration that promotes countless outdoor adventures and natural amenities located along State Route 190 in southeastern Tulare County between Porterville and the Trail of 100 Giants. To learn more, please visit www.ci.porterville.ca.us or www.themighty190.com. Questions? Please contact yvelarde@ci.porterville.ca.us.
