he City of Sacramento took a huge step forward today (February 10, 2010) in resolving the controversy over building permits in the Natomas flood zone. At a City Hall press conference attended by officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), I was joined by City Manager Ray Kerridge and Council member Ray Tretheway in discussing a corrective action plan the city is developing with FEMA’s guidance.
City staff will move swiftly to respond to the issues identified by FEMA, which has given the city 60 days to respond. Let me assure you, these issues will be resolved in far less than 60 days.
As I told the media, the issuance of building permits in Natomas during the time in question was a serious and significant violation of FEMA rules.
At the heart of this issue, both for the city and FEMA, is the safety of our residents, their property and the well-being of our city.
Nothing we do is more important.
It is significant to note that the corrective action directed by FEMA would probably not have been available to the city if not for the fact that the City of Sacramento has an excellent track record when it
comes to flood protection.
In other words, our history helped.
Ms. Ward addressed Sacramento’s “impressive” FEMA rating in her letter and comments to the media. As Mayor, my goal is to ensure that Sacramento retains its high standing with FEMA despite the city’s mistakes in this issue.
Let me close by saying the City of Sacramento has learned a difficult and valuable lesson, and is working hard to resolve the situation.
The entire city council and senior city management must work together and make sure this type of mistake does not happen again.
View video of the press conference online.
1 Comments
Add Comment