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Housing Constraints Draft Housing Element 3-43 and Bonaire neighborhoods.32 The City of San Leandro is located within an area identified by the California Geologic Survey, California Department of Conservation as having moderate susceptibility and therefore is in a Zone of Required Investigation for liquefaction potential. According to the Environmental Hazards Element of the 2035 General Plan (2016), landslide risk is low throughout most of San Leandro. Although localized areas of instability exist throughout the San Leandro Hills, new housing development is limited in that area. Therefore, landslide risk does not constrain housing development. To counter these factors, San Leandro has enforced grading and erosion control ordinances to reduce these hazards. Maintenance programs along San Leandro Creek also reduce the threat of erosion. 3.3.4 Wildfire The California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CALFIRE) has designated the eastern edges of the Bay-O-Vista neighborhood and the Daniels Drive area of San Leandro as a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.”33 The city contains and is adjacent to thousands of acres of potentially flammable coastal scrub and forested open space, located in and near the Lake Chabot Regional Park. CalFire designated lands in city limits as lands in the Local Responsibility Area. The Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) is responsible for wildfire prevention activities in the city. The ACFD works with property owners to maintain defensible space around homes and to require the removal of flammable vegetation and combustible litter. The California Fire Code specifies additional requirements that are enforced by the City’s Building Department. The City also requires fire-resistant roofing materials in new construction and major remodeling projects. The area designated as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone is a small percent of the city’s total area and does not constrain housing development. The additional costs of building and maintaining housing in high fire danger areas are necessary to protect the safety of residents and property. 3.3.5 Flooding and Sea Level Rise The flooding hazards in San Leandro consist of overbank flooding of creeks and drainage canals, dam failure, tsunamis, and rising sea levels. Maps published by FEMA indicate that 100-year flood zones lie adjacent to San Leandro near San Leandro Creek, San Lorenzo Creek, and the Estudillo Canal; land adjacent to flood control channels in vicinity of Bayfair Center Mall and Bonaire Park; and coastal areas surrounding Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline, the San Leandro Shoreline Park, and Heron Bay.34 Other flood hazards, including coastal flooding and ponding, have also been mapped in the city. Because some properties lie within the 100-year flood zone, flood insurance is required for federally insured mortgage loans. Insurance also may be required by other mortgage lenders. In addition, San Leandro’s Flood Plain Management Ordinance requires that new construction, additions, and major home improvement projects be raised at least one foot above the base flood elevation. These alterations can be a significant expense for residential development in these areas. FEMA regulations also require that a hydrologic and hydraulic analysis precede any development in the flood plain and demonstrate that the development does not cause any increase in flood hazards elsewhere. As of 2016, the Alameda County Public Works Agency and the City of San Leandro removed approximately 1,000 properties in western San Leandro from the 100-year flood plain 32 City of San Leandro General Plan. 2016. 33 Ibid. 34 City of San Leandro Environmental Hazards Element.2016. Available: https://www.sanleandro.org/depts/cd/plan/genplan/default.asp. Accessed October 28, 2021