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REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />June 26, 2017 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Building Department Mutual Aid Agreement with the County of San Mateo and other <br />Cities within the County <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Adoption of a Building Department Mutual Aid <br />Agreement <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />When a disaster occurs, police, fire and public works emergency services are often <br />expanded to include the services of the building department. In 2014, the San Mateo <br />County Office of Emergency Services (OES) staff requested the assistance of the <br />City/County Engineers’ Association of San Mateo County (CCEA) to address the need <br />for supporting mutual aid between Public Works departments. An agreement was <br />drafted by CCEA members and the final document was forwarded to County Counsel <br />who agreed to be the clearinghouse for the agreement. <br /> <br />During the heavy winter 2017 storms, the OES encountered significant difficulties in <br />obtaining building inspectors’ mutual aid assistance for cities affected by severe storm <br />events. Due to this experience, building officials have worked together to create a <br />mutual aid agreement similar to the one governing Public Works departments. The <br />proposed agreement will allow the City to leverage county-wide resources when the <br />community lacks resources required to cope with possible emergency situations. <br /> <br />Currently, four cities have adopted resolutions and signed the agreement. The cities <br />that have signed the agreement are: Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Portola Valley, and <br />Woodside. The remainder of the city jurisdictions in the county are considering the <br />agreement, and many are expected to adopt the agreement soon. <br /> <br />ANALYSIS <br />The purpose of this agreement is to provide an organized means of providing voluntary <br />mutual aid to neighboring entities during the event of a disaster. In many ways, this <br />provision of aid is similar to what already exists among the police and fire services. The <br />language of the Agreement and its accompanying Procedures Guide specifically <br />envision establishing a “zone” concept of aid that mirrors existing and developing zones <br />in fire and police mutual aid. <br />6.3.A. - Page 1