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CC SR 20230502 04 - Peninsula Wide Siren Project CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 05/02/2023 AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business AGENDA TITLE: Consideration and possible action to consider participating in the City of Rolling Hills’ proposed Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project. RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION: 1. Receive and file a report on the City of Rolling Hills’ proposed Peninsula-wide outdoor siren project; and, 2. Provide a Council position for staff to present to the Peninsula Public Safety Committee regarding the City's potential participation in a Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project. FISCAL IMPACT: At this time, a cost is not associated with providing staff dire ction on the City Council’s position in a Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project. If there is Council interest in participating, staff will return at a later time with more information on a cost sharing formula and estimated cost based on participating cities for the City Council’s consideration. Amount Budgeted: N/A Additional Appropriation: N/A Account Number(s): N/A ORIGINATED BY: Jesse Villalpando, Senior Administrative Analyst REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: A. March 27, 2023 - City of Rolling Hills Administrative Report B. March 14, 2022 - City of Rolling Hills Administrative Report C. September 12, 2022 - City of Rolling Hills Administrative Report BACKGROUND Over the past four years, the City of Rolling Hills (RH) City Council has been tasked with exploring mass notification communication solutions to address the possibility of a complete power failure in the Rolling Hills community. In Fiscal Years 2019-20 and 2020- 21, the City Council allocated funds to the Rolling Hills Block Captain Program for the purpose of researching communication platforms that could be used in such an event. 1 RANCHO PALOS VERDES Following an unsuccessful attempt with a 2-way handheld radio program, the City of Rolling Hills issued a Request for Proposals in February 2021 to explore alternative communication solutions. The City received a single proposal from HQE Systems, Inc. and subsequently entered into a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with the company to prepare a feasibility study that would identify the hardware, location of the hardware, software, system integration, and a detailed cost estimate to install a mass notification Long-range acoustic device (siren system) that would be effective in the outdoor environment within Rolling Hills. At the January 10, 2022 RH City Council meeting, Staff presented the final feasibility study from HQE and recommended the City Council to conduct a community survey to gauge interest for an outdoor siren system. In review of the feasibility study, the City Council requested further information relating to the annual maintenance cost of the proposed outdoor siren system. At its March 27, 2023 meeting, the Rolling Hills City Council received a status update report on its Outdoor Siren Project. After considering the information presented that evening, the City Council directed its staff to, among other things, contact the three other Peninsula cities to determine whether there is an interest in participating in an Outdoor Siren Project as a Peninsula-wide program. It is important to note that as of the writing of this report, that the RH Council has yet to move forward with the siren project for Rolling Hills. For a detailed overview of the progress made and actions taken since then, please see the attached Administrative Report from the Rolling Hills March 27, 2023 City Council meetings (Attachment A). This evening, the City Council is being asked to receive a report on a proposed Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project and to provide direction on whether Rancho Palos Verdes would be interested in participating. DISCUSSION: At the March 9, 2023 Peninsula Public Safety Committee (PPSC) meeting, the RH City Manager presented an update on the progress of their proposed Outdoor Siren Project. She also requested feedback from the respective committee members of the three other Peninsula cities in attendance on the possibility of collaborating on the project. The PPSC motioned for the Peninsula City staff to investigate the feasibility of a Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project, as discussed below, and to identify potential grants that could offset costs. Outdoor Siren Project Description There are two different outdoor siren systems for consideration. These systems include two types of speakers, one which provides a siren tone as well as intelligible voice/horn and one with a siren tone only. Both speakers can be mounted on either 30' or 50' tall poles, with optional tree facades to conceal and blend the speakers, as described further on the following page. 2 Siren tone + intelligible voice speaker Horn (siren tone only) Option A: This option utilizes 30’ tall poles mounted with the modern designed intelligible speakers (see image below). At a height of 30’, the outdoor warning speakers will be above the height of most residential homes in the City (16’ is the by-right height limit per Section 17.02.040 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code for pad lots). This option is designed to allow for the best sound transmission without placing the poles too high above the rooflines of surrounding residences. In addition, the 30’ poles can be covered with tree facades that will blend in with the local vegetation. Option B: This option utilizes a standard 50’ tall pole mounted with the intelligible horns positioned in a 360-degree position. At a height of 50’, the outdoor speakers will project from a higher elevation allowing for a greater coverage area which reduces overall equipment requirements including the number of poles. 3 For Additional technical information on the system proposed by HQE Systems, I nc. please see the following attached administrative reports from the Rolling Hills City Council meetings held on this topic: • Attachment B - March 14, 2022, City of Rolling Hills Administrative Report (Feasibility report by the vendor HQE Systems, Inc. including the City Council's technical questions answered) • Attachment C - September 12, 2022 City of Rolling Hills Administrative Report (Additional information on the system proposed by HQE Systems, Inc) 4 Option A : Low Visi b ility Insta lla tion Option Additional low Visibility Tree Facade Covering Options Suggested Points to Consider in Determining Whether to Participate in a Peninsula -Wide Outdoor Siren Project The City Council is being asked to consider whether Rancho Palos Verdes should collaborate and participate in a Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project. The following discusses suggested pros and cons to the proposed project for the City Council’s consideration: Pros: • Sirens have a long history and are widely understood as a sign of an emergency. • Sirens can reach people who are outdoors and those who may not have access to other types of emergency notification alerts. • Varying siren sounds can be used to differentiate between types of emergencies, such as wildfire evacuation, flash flood warnings, and other natural disasters. Cons • The installation of a sufficient number of poles in densely populated areas may be challenging due to space constraints, visual impacts, and environmental concerns. The City is moving in the direction to reduce or eliminate vertical infrastructure (i.e. poles) throughout the City, and the proposed project is contrary to that effort , especially at pole heights measuring as tall as 50’. Adding new poles to the City may be considered visually impactful and may result in view impacts from neighboring residences. • The proposed project may introduce redundancy and confusion with existing notification systems currently in place throughout the City. Currently, the City utilizes emergency notification systems like Alert SouthBay, which contains Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) capabilities already provide efficient alerting mechanisms, making sirens potentially redundant. Additionally, the MyRPV app provides push notifications to subscribers as a supplement to the Alert SouthBay notification platform. • The City is currently collaborating with the Peninsula cities on the implementation of the Zonehaven evacuation platform, now referred to as the “know your zone” program. This platform utilizes current technology and mobile devices to alert residences in a specific City zone of an emergency and what, if any, evacuation routes to follow based on the incident. Having multiple emergency notifications systems may also introduce confusion and panic. • The City is currently working with telecommunication carriers to improve cell phone coverage by installing additional facilities and back -up generators to support continued operations in the event of an emergency. Residents may favor increased cell phone coverage and hardening, with considerations for increasing generator - powered wireless facilities to enhance communication during emergencies. • The proposed project may result in the potential for misinformation and mass panic. The use of sirens could lead to confusion, misinformation, and panic among the public, particularly if people are not well-informed about their purpose. 5 Additionally, residents may end up evacuating in the direction of an incident without first being given specific evacuation instructions that would come with notification systems like Alert SouthBay. • The cost of maintaining and eventually replacing aging sirens could be significant, particularly if they are not used frequently or become outdated. • Sirens can create noise pollution, particularly in residential areas, which can be disruptive and negatively impact the quality of life for residents. Sirens seems to be an archaic form of communication that predated technology available today. • An effective public education and outreach program would be required to ensure that residents understand the purpose of the sirens and how to respond appropriately during an emergency. • Hardware or software failures can lead to false alarms, causing unnecessary panic and confusion among the public, and potentially desensitizing people to real emergencies. Based on the above, the proposed Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project has its potential advantages, but also has the various potential concerns including infrastructure requirements, redundancy with existing systems, potential for misinformation and mass panic, maintenance and replacement costs, and impact on wildlife, among others. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Zonehaven Evacuation Project Platform Update The County of Los Angeles Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is collaborating with local jurisdictions in the Very High Fire Severity Zones to develop evacuation zones and processes that will be supported by the Zonehaven platform. This cloud -based evacuation management platform provides critical data to assist local public safety personnel, including the Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff Departments and Palos Verdes Estates Police Department, in the event of a disaster. Zonehaven is being rolled out as a resource in Los Angeles County to support high hazard-prone communities and has been utilized in other parts of California during major wildfires and to support evacuations for active shooter and debris flow hazards across multiple jurisdictions. City staff is working closely with other Peninsula cities on the launch of a public service campaign called "KNOW YOUR ZONE" to educate the public about evacuation zones in the event of an emergency. To coincide with Wildfire Awareness Month in May, the cities are planning a promotional and educational campaign directed at Peninsula residents. The working team is collaborating on messaging and creating a toolkit of branding elements and an outreach strategy to ensure that as many residents as possible are reached repeatedly over a defined period, likely three to five months. Staff will provide the council with more information at a later date. 6 CONCLUSION: Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file a status report on the proposed Peninsula-wide Outdoor Siren Project and provide staff with direction on the City's participation, which will be presented at the upcoming May 11 PPSC meeting. ALTERNATIVES: In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for the City Council’s consideration: 1. Direct Staff Conduct further research and gather more information on the feasibility and potential impact of the project. 2. Take other action, as deemed appropriate. 7