Table of Contents
If you have reviewed the Planning for Hazards Guide and are interested in reducing the risk to hazards in your community, this page offers a detailed process and supporting materials for developing a working group of planning staff, officials, and other resource experts and step-by-step advice for gathering information on hazards and achieving consensus on which land use tools should be developed and adopted.
This workbook was developed by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to facilitate and implement land use strategies for reducing risk in communities throughout the state (or beyond). It provides a community with necessary background information and the tools to initiate a planning process (including sample agendas, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading) to prepare for and mitigate hazards by integrating resilience and hazard mitigation principles into local plans and regulations.
The work sessions are intended to convene the working group at key milestones of the project, such as discussing the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) and prioritizing planning implementation tools. The work sessions are an opportunity to solicit feedback from the working group, to brainstorm strategies, and to follow up on actions from previous work sessions or related projects. Actions necessary for completing the major tasks of the project will also occur between work sessions.
The five proposed work sessions are summarized below, and each is estimated to be approximately two hours in duration (though some may require more or less time).
The Town of Milliken and City of Manitou Springs, Colorado were selected as pilot communities for this project as both communities were severely affected by the federally declared flood disaster of 2013, and both offer unique opportunities to implement planning best practices. As a result of their participation in this project, Milliken adopted updates to their landscaping code to promote water conservation and stormwater best management practices, and Manitou Springs adopted updates to their subdivision and zoning code to mitigate wildfire, flooding, and geologic hazard risks.