2026 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) Update Adoption
Summary
SCH Number
2026100130
Public Agency
Napa County
Document Title
2026 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) Update Adoption
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/5/2026
Document Description
The proposed project for purposes of this CEQA determination is Napa County's adoption of the 2026 MJHMP. The MJHMP was prepared as a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation planning document and is intended to satisfy applicable federal hazard mitigation planning requirements.
The planning process includes hazard identification and mapping, risk and vulnerability assessment, review and compilation of existing environmental and infrastructure information, development of mitigation goals, and identification and prioritization of potential mitigation strategies and actions. These functions are analytical, informational, and policy-oriented.
The 2026 MJHMP may identify future actions that participating agencies could elect to pursue. However, adoption of the MJHMP does not constitute approval of those future actions. The location, design, scope, funding, feasibility, permitting, and environmental effects of any future physical project would be determined through subsequent agency decisions. Where a future mitigation action is a CEQA project, the responsible lead agency would conduct the appropriate project-level CEQA review before approving or implementing that action.
Contact Information
Name
Dana Eleanor Morrison
Agency Name
Napa County
Job Title
Supervising Planning - Conservation Division (PBES)
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Brieanna Jones
Agency Name
Napa Sheriff's Office
Job Title
Emergency Services Officer
Contact Types
Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Address
Phone
Name
Neha Hoskins
Agency Name
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Job Title
Clerk of the Board - Napa County Board of Supervisors
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
American Canyon, Calistoga, Napa, St. Helena, unincorporated and all cities (county wide), Yountville
Counties
Napa
Regions
Countywide, Northern California, Unincorporated
Cross Streets
Countywide
Zip
Countywide
Total Acres
0
Parcel #
Countywide
State Highways
Highway 12, 29 and 121
Railways
None
Airports
Napa County and Angwin
Schools
Countywide
Waterways
Countywide
Township
N/A
Range
N/A
Section
N/A
Base
MDM
Other Location Info
"County-wide" encompassing all unincorporated areas and participating incorporated municipalities within the county limits.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) - Common Sense Exemption;
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) provides that CEQA applies only to activities that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.
The proposed action is adoption of a hazard mitigation planning document. Adoption will not cause construction, grading, vegetation removal, changes in land use or density, alteration of a watercourse, or other physical change to the environment. The MJHMP establishes a planning framework and identifies potential future mitigation strategies, but it does not approve or commit the County to implementation of any individual mitigation project.
Because future site-specific actions remain subject to separate discretionary review and CEQA compliance, as applicable, it can be seen with certainty that adoption of the 2026 MJHMP itself will not result in a significant effect on the environment. The Common Sense Exemption therefore applies.
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
CEQA Guidelines Section 15262 - Feasibility and Planning Studies
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA Guidelines Section 15262 applies to a project involving only feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions that the agency has not approved, adopted, or funded, provided the study does not commit the agency to a project that may have a significant effect on the environment.
The 2026 MJHMP is a planning-level document that evaluates hazards, vulnerabilities, community capabilities, and alternative strategies for reducing future risk. Its purpose is to guide future decision-making and establish priorities for consideration. Adoption of the MJHMP does not itself authorize implementation of any physical mitigation action and does not commit Napa County to a particular location, design, construction method, or capital improvement.
Specific future mitigation projects identified in or consistent with the MJHMP may require additional technical study, design, funding, permitting, discretionary approvals, and CEQA review before they can proceed. Accordingly, the County's adoption of the MJHMP is consistent with the planning-study exemption in Section 15262.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
CEQA Guidelines Section 15306 - Information Collection (Class 6 Categorical Exemption).
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA Guidelines Section 15306 categorically exempts basic data collection, research, experimental management, and resource evaluation activities that do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource.
Preparation of the 2026 MJHMP consists substantially of gathering, compiling, evaluating, and communicating information concerning hazards, exposure, vulnerability, infrastructure, community assets, and potential risk-reduction strategies. Hazard mapping, risk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and compilation of existing environmental and infrastructure information are informational and analytical activities and do not authorize physical alteration of the environment.
To the extent adoption of the MJHMP incorporates and relies upon these information-gathering and resource-evaluation activities, the Class 6 categorical exemption is applicable.
EXCEPTIONS TO THE “CLASS 6” CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 identifies circumstances in which an otherwise applicable categorical exemption may not be used. The record supports an express finding that none of those exceptions applies to adoption of the 2026 MJHMP.
Sensitive Location / Environmental Resources. The proposed action is adoption of a planning document and does not authorize ground disturbance or other physical activity at any location. The adoption action therefore does not create a location-specific impact on an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern.
Cumulative Impacts. Adoption of the MJHMP will not itself result in physical environmental effects and therefore will not contribute to a significant cumulative impact. Future mitigation projects will be evaluated individually and cumulatively as required at the time they are proposed.
Unusual Circumstances. There are no unusual circumstances associated with adoption of a planning-level hazard mitigation document that create a reasonable possibility of a significant environmental effect. The plan does not approve construction or other physical alteration of the environment.
Scenic Highways. Adoption of the MJHMP will not damage scenic resources within a designated state scenic highway because no physical development is authorized by the adoption action.
Hazardous Waste Sites. Adoption of the MJHMP will not undertake development on any site listed pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. Any future site-specific action involving such a site would be subject to separate environmental and regulatory review.
Historical Resources. Adoption of the MJHMP will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource because it does not authorize demolition, alteration, excavation, or construction. Future projects with the potential to affect historical resources would undergo separate CEQA review.
County Clerk
Napa
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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