Juneau officials released a list of potential hazard mitigation projects for public review on Thursday, July 10.
The city and the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska are considering more than a hundred projects to reduce risks in the Juneau area. Officials came up with some of the project ideas, while others were pulled together from past hazard mitigation plans, a public survey and even Facebook posts.
Projects that officials choose will go into an updated plan to make the city eligible for federal disaster funding.
Potential projects range from plans to increase affordable housing to elevating buildings in flood zones. One idea is to explore a federal buyout program for homes in high-hazard areas. Another is to regulate new construction in severe hazard zones.
Other ideas include renovating buildings to handle earthquakes, installing landslide and avalanche monitoring equipment and encouraging electric utilities to bury power lines.
The city’s last hazard mitigation plan expired in 2017. The update must be finished by October for the city to qualify for a federal grant to fight glacial outburst floods in Mendenhall Valley.
Officials said the full draft hazard mitigation plan will be published next week.
The public comment period closes July 25. Residents can submit comments via email to laura.young@fairweather.com.
