MARC News

MEMC offers guidance for local governments seeking to regulate storm shelter protection

March 14, 2007

The Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee (MEMC) will host a Severe Weather Mitigation Workshop for local government officials on Tuesday, March 27, from 7:30 to 11:00 a.m., at the Metropolitan Community College Business & Technology Center, 1775 Universal Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.

Workshop discussion topics will include threat depiction; planning to reduce risks; model ordinance guidance; continuity of operations planning; a cooperative purchasing agreement for storm warning systems; and managing storm debris.

In 2006, the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee was awarded a pre-disaster hazard mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to examine the issues surrounding severe storm protection regulation and provide model ordinance guidance to local communities.

Increasingly, local governments in the region are considering policies to regulate the degree of severe storm protection that is mandatory in their communities. Especially following damaging storms, questions about the need for regulation arise. What kind of shelters — from community shelters near mobile homes to safe rooms in newly constructed houses — should be required? What impact might such requirements have on economic development? These issues and more will be discussed at the workshop.

To develop the model ordinance guidance, MEMC began with a survey to assess the current degree of severe storm protection regulation in the region. Numerous community stakeholders were then invited to participate in a Hazard Mitigation Task Group to review survey results and other data. Members of the group came from diverse backgrounds and represented many of the disciplines that would be impacted by this type of regulation.

There is no cost to attend the workshop, but registration is required. For more information, contact Kyle McPhee, 816/701-8343.

Return to News Archives
Return to MARC Home Page