FLOOD06042

• County: Denver
• Community: All
• Stream Name: All
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Colorado Landslide Hazard Mitigation Plan
• Date: 1/1/1988
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: CGS
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

4) Apply large lot Z()Iling (two-ten acres) to area-wide land use
restriction where appropriate or possible, since courts have
held that regulations which pennit some reasonable use on
an entire property do not constitute a "taking."
5) Document with particu1ar care the need for the regulations,
and the reasons for your permit deniaJs, in urban or other
settings where land values are very high.
6) Encouxage pre-application meetiogs by permittees so that
mutually acceptable project designs can be formulated.
7) Apply your regulations in a consistent and equitable man-
ner. Maximize the opportunity for notice and public
hearing.
8) If you adopt a mot1ltorium, do so for a fixed period and
make sure that a) the reasons for it are clear and
le~. and b) there is a viable variance procedure.
9) Coordinate regulatory. tax. and public works policies to en-
sure that the fiscal burden on landowners for community
services is consistent with permitted uses.
10) Apply, in extreme cin:umstances, transferable development
rights to help relieve the burden on landowners.
11) Use acquisition rather then regulation where active public
use is needed for land. or where a single landowner or
group of landowners must bear disproportionate burdens
for the public good.

Emergency Preparedness
Emergency preparedness has the following general
goals:
. protect life, health, and safety,
. minimize property damage and disruption of com-
munity activities to the degree practicable,
. re-establish critical facilities and services, and
. provide relief to disaster victims.

An effective emergency response has the following
stages:
. planning and preparation,
. warning,
. emergency operations including evacuation,
. rehabilitation/recovery, and
. post-disaster evaluation and mitigation of future
events.

Emergency planning and preparation conSist of identi-
fying potential problems, determining the required
actions and parties responsible for implementing them,
and ensuring the readiness of necessary equipment,
supplies, and facilities. An important aspect of prepara-
tion is a public education and information campaign in-
forming citizens of their potential exposure, types of
warnings to be issued, probable evacuation time
available, and appropriate actions to be taken.
A warning system may include the monitoring of con-
ditions (e.g., snowpack, storm development) with
potential for causing a catastrophic event or the place-
ment of signs instructing people within a potentially
hazardous area of proper procedures (Figure 17).
Automatic sensors, located within landslide-prone areas,
with effective linkages to a central communication warn-
ing facility and, thence, to individuals with disaster-

management responsibi1ities, are also sometimes used.
Warning systems can be permanent or temporary-used
only while pbysical mitigation methods are being
designed and built.
Emergency operations include evacuation, shelter and
care, clean up, and provision of essential services and
activities. Subsequently, during the rehabilitation!
recovery stage, the actua1 response is evaluated and
planning and preparation activities are modified
accordingly.
An emergency preparedness system can be an effec-
tive tool for protecting inhabitants of landslide-hazard
areas. However, it is limited in its ability to protect
property and facilities at risk.

CLIMB
TO
SAFETY!

CASE OF A
FLOOD

IN
FLASH

Figure 17. Sign placed in some of the hazardous
mountain canyon areas of Colorado.

MODIFYING THE PHYSICA~ SYSTEM

Physical modification can be undertaken in unstable
areas where human occupation already poses a risk, but
where measures such as zoning are precluded by the
cost of resettlement, value or scarcity of land, or
historical rights. Physical measures can attempt to
either control and stabilize the hazard or protect persons
and property at risk.
It is not possible, feasible, or even necessari1y
desirable to prevent all slope movements. Furthermore,
it may not be economically feasible to undertake physical
modifications in some landslide areas. Where land is
scarce, however, investment in IlIitigation may increase
land value.
Landslide control structures may be costly and usually
require considerable lead time for project planning and
design, land acquisition, permitting, and construction.
Such structures may also have environmental and
socioeconomic impacts.

31