California Code Section 65302(1) requires each local government to prepare and adopt a Safety Element as a component of their General Plan. This involves identifying and mapping natural hazards and the administration of zoning and subdivision regulations that account for the safety hazards. Avoiding loss of life and property can be achieved if the problem areas of a community are recognized early and if the planning and approval process undertake an orderly means of mitigating potential hazards.
California Government Code Section 65302(g) recognizes that many actions that reduce risk from such hazards as fire, storms, flooding, and landsliding also may result in the reduction of risks from earthquakes. In accordance with the statutory requirements of the code, the Safety Element must assess threats to public health and safety from, but not limited to, the following:
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Seismic hazards: ground shaking, surface rupture, and ground failure;
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Geologic hazards: slope instability, landsliding, and unstable ground;
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Flood and inundation hazards: tsunami, seiche, dam failure, and storm induced flooding;
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Wildland and urban fire hazard; and
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Other safety issues as desired by the community, or suggested in the General Plan Guidelines, including the threat of hazardous materials releases, potentially hazardous buildings, protection of critical facilities, and emergency response issues.
Much of the City of Malibu remains undeveloped as a result of constraints posed by the natural environment. Early identification of these hazards can minimize the level of public exposure. With regard to faulting and seismicity, primary hazards include surface fault rupture and ground shaking, while secondary seismic hazards include tsunamis, seiche, liquefaction, lateral spreading and seismically-induced subsidence and landslide movement. Slope instability, including landslides, mud and debris flows, and soil creep, have a common occurrence in hillside areas. Expansive soils, compressible or collapsible soils, high groundwater and shoreline regression are additional geologic/geotechnical hazards which occur throughout the City. Each of these geologic/geotechnical and safety hazards is a constant threat to the property and health of residents in Malibu within and surrounding the areas where they exist.
The purpose of the Safety Element is to create a cohesive guide consisting of specific policy-oriented implementation measures. The policies and implementation measures contained in this element will provide direction and a course of possible future action for the various City departments. To achieve its purpose, the City of Malibu General Plan accounts for hazardous issues. The intention is to reduce the potential for loss of life, injuries, damage to property, and social and economic dislocation resulting from major hazards throughout the community. A detailed analysis of the physical characteristics of Malibu and a list of the source documents used in the analysis may be found in the Safety Element Background Report.