Finance Highlights 2011 1202 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Proposition 218 See "CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY LIMITATIONS ON TAXES AND APPROPRIATIONS — Proposition 218," for information about certain risks to the City's General Fund revenues under Articles XIIIC and Article XIIID of the California Constitution. Natural Calamities General. From time to time, the City is subject to natural calamities, including, but not limited to, earthquake, flood, wildfire, tsunami, or pipeline incident, that may adversely affect economic activity in the City, and which could have a negative impact on City finances. There can be no assurance that the occurrence of any natural calamity would not cause substantial interference to and costs for the City. Seismic. The City is located in an area classified as Seismic Zone 4 by the Uniform Building Code (the "UBC "). The area includes all of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and all of coastal California. Seismic Zone 4 is the highest risk zone classification under the UBC. Active earthquake faults underlie both the City and the surrounding Bay Area. The eastern edge of the city is crossed by the Hayward Fault, creating the potential for significant damage. The city is also vulnerable to damage from earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault, located 10 miles to the west, and the Calaveras Fault, located 10 miles to the east. All such major faults have numerous fault complexes and branches. Recent significant seismic events include the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake on the San Andreas Fault, centered about 60 miles south of San Francisco, which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale of earthquake intensity. That earthquake caused fires and collapses of and structural damage to buildings, highways and bridges in the Bay Area. Enforcement of the UBC by the San Leandro Building Division helps ensure that new construction will withstand the forces associated with a major earthquake. However, many of the buildings in San Leandro pre -date the modern UBC and are susceptible to damage. The City is nearing completion of a multi -year program to retrofit unreinforced masonry buildings (URMBs), most of which are located in and around downtown. In April 2008, the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (a collaborative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Geological Society, and the Southern California Earthquake Center) reported that there is a 63% chance that one or more quakes of magnitude 6.7 or larger will occur in the Bay Area before the year 2038. Such earthquakes may be very destructive. The U.S.G.S. predicts a magnitude 7 earthquake occurring today on the Hayward Fault, would likely cause hundreds of deaths and approximately $100 billion of damage. Property within the City could sustain extensive damage in a major earthquake, and a major earthquake could adversely affect the area's economic activity. Flood. Flood hazards in San Leandro are associated with overbank flooding of creeks and drainage canals, dam failure, tsunamis, and rising sea level. During the last 40 years, urbanization in the watersheds has increased impervious surface area, which has resulted in faster rates of runoff and higher volumes of storm water in the channels. Recent maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) indicate that a 100 -year storm (e.g., a storm that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year) could cause shallow flooding in parts of southwest San Leandro. 15