The Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission is coordinating an update to the Sangamon County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. This plan helps the county, and its cities and villages better prepare for natural hazards, including floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes.
The update will be guided by a Task Force of representatives from the cities and villages, community organizations, county, and state agencies, and the public. The Task Force's final meeting is open to the public and will take place on Monday, February 27, 2023, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., in the County Board Chamber, 2nd Floor of the Sangamon County Building, located at 200 S. 9th Street, Springfield.
The primary objective of the plan is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens in the event of a natural disaster. This involves reducing the impact of natural hazards by permanently removing people and structures from harm's way or reducing the impact of a known risk. The plan provides an assessment of the risks posed by natural hazards to Sangamon County and a range of mitigation projects to lessen their impact. With the availability of mitigation grant funding from the Federal Government, communities have the opportunity to implement mitigation projects that would not otherwise be financially possible. The preparation of the plan follows guidelines that make participating communities eligible to apply for mitigation grant funding.
Regular maintenance of the plan is a vital component of the planning process, ensuring that it reflects the current conditions of participating communities. The process involves analyzing socioeconomic data, assessing major changes in land use and development, reviewing goals and objectives, reviewing existing mitigation projects, and identifying new mitigation projects that will continue to protect communities. A key aspect of the process is to provide an opportunity for public participation.
Members of the public are encouraged to provide comments to the Sangamon County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. They can submit their comments through THIS FORM until February 24, 2023.