12/3/2013 Respecting, Regulating, or Rejecting The Right to Rebuild Nanette H. Bourne Senior Vice President • AKRF, Inc. Pace Land Use Law Center Sustainable Development Conference December 6, 2013 Timeline Aug 28, 2011: Hurricane Irene hit Sept 8, 2011: Tropical Storm Lee hit Oct 29, 2012: Superstorm Sandy hit Dec 7, 2012: Federal Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force created Jan 13, 2013: $60 billion Disaster Relief Appropriations Act Mar 5, 2013: $1.7 billion HUD CDBG-DR aid appropriated March 2013: NYS DR Action Plan approved by HUD April 2013: NY Rising Community Program created June 2013: Nine consultant teams selected Sept 4, 2013: NY Rising Community Program kicked off 2013 - 2014: Additional funding becomes available “Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” - Lao Tzu (6 th Century BCE), Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism 1
12/3/2013 What is the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program? New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program � Provide post-storm rebuilding and revitalization assistance for Sandy, Irene & Lee � 102 severely affected communities in 42 areas throughout NY State � Initial allotment of $3 million per community; additional funding for implementation � Building Back Better! Team Organization 2
12/3/2013 Planning Deliverables Schedule 1st Kickoff Conceptual Communities’ Meeting Plans Priority Projects SEP 4 SEP 27 OCT 28 NOV 30 DEC 30 MAR 31 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 4 WE ARE HERE Work Initial Lists Final Plans Plans of Strategies Presenting Full List of Project & Actions Geographic Scope � Where are assets most at risk? � Direct and indirect risks factors � Where future construction, reconstruction or natural area restoration should be encouraged Public Engagement 3
12/3/2013 Public Engagement Strategy � 15 - 20 person Planning Committees � Identify techniques such as public meetings/ workshops, websites, social media, storyboards, etc. � Educate communities on climate change Community Vision � Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term � Capitalize on social and economic assets � Reduce risk and increase community resilience � Focused and directed towards the future � Realistic and solution-driven � Comprehensive yet specific � Coordinated � Understandable Assets � Identify Assets � Affected by riverine and coastal hazards � Defined as a “critical facility” by FEMA (essential to the health and welfare of the whole community, especially after hazard events) � Asset Types � Housing � Infrastructure and Community Facilities � Natural and Cultural Resources � Economy � Health and Social Services � Vulnerable Populations 4
12/3/2013 Risk Assessment � Rank assets by level of risk � Medium, high, extreme risk � Factors include: � Landscape attributes � Elevation � Vulnerable features � How long taken out of service from prior events � Community value as determined Boardwalk at Rye Playland post-Sandy by Planning Committee Cost Benefit Analysis � Rank potential projects by economic return � Factors include: � Feasibility � Cost � Risk Reduction Potential � Co-Benefits � Funding Availability � Degree of Public Support � CDBG Eligible New Rochelle waterfront, post-Sandy Regional Coordination � Build on existing work � County comprehensive plans � Hazard mitigation plans � Regional sustainability plans (Cleaner Greener Communities) � Regional economic development strategies � Watershed management plans 5
12/3/2013 Reconstruction Strategies, Projects, Programs and Actions � Identify Priority Projects � Evaluate Cost/Benefit � Determine Community Benefits � Develop Funding Plan Coastal Communities Coastal Communities 6
12/3/2013 Coastal Communities ����������� Irene, Lee, and Sandy - Storm Impacts � Irene and Sandy have massive impact (limited impact from Lee) � Low-lying areas inundated � Major thoroughfares and access points flooded, blocking access by emergency vehicles and rescue teams � Significant service interruptions in wastewater, power, telephone � Some infrastructure disabled for months Project Proposals � Soft (Natural) Infrastructure � Natural barriers / sand dunes along coastline � Floodplain management in erosion-prone areas � Streetscaping with flood-resistant materials � Hard Infrastructure � Seawalls / breakwaters � New sanitary sewer connections in unsewered areas � Position mobile pumps at strategic points before a storm � Capacity Building � Move emergency facilities (firehouse) to high ground � Elevate/waterproof infrastructure and mechanicals � Enhance community facilities to serve as shelters (generators, asbestos abatement, large stores of supplies) � Civilian Emergency Operations Team � Public outreach/education on resilience/disaster management 7
12/3/2013 Riverine Communities Riverine Communities ��� ��� Storm Impacts � Creeks and tributaries overflow � Many flooded roads and bridges cut off access to services, particularly in rural areas � Affordable housing, often situated near creeks, floods –residents in shelters for months � Farm fields flooded, crops destroyed � Village centers located near waterways are heavily damaged, as are historic resources � Emergency communication difficult due to large distances 8
12/3/2013 Storm Impacts Major Issues � Improve functionality of storm shelters � Improve communication infrastructure � Identify ways to connect rural isolated communities � Identify, protect or relocate critical infrastructure and facilities in 100 year floodplain � Economic Development Project Proposals � Soft (Natural) Infrastructure � Restore eroded creeks beds and banks � Holding tanks/constructed wetlands to release floodwater more gradually into treatment systems � Hard Infrastructure � Enlarge culverts, elevate/widen bridges � Relocate or protect key infrastructure � Power generators for key community services � Capacity Building � Improvements to storm shelters and their surrounding areas � Community education for disaster planning � Disaster training for community organizations � Improve communication infrastructure 9
12/3/2013 Adaptation Strategies Adaptation / Building Codes � Understand Current BFE’s � Minimum Consistency vs. Enhanced Codes � Local Codes should consider exceeding NFIP minimum requirements Building Codes - Vertical Addition � Measure height or FAR Adaptation / Innovative Building Design Existing/Vulnerable vs. Rebuilt/Safe Damaged home rebuilt as two- family post-Irene by Habitat for Humanity and J. Taylor Design Group, Mamaroneck NY 10
12/3/2013 Adaptation / Zoning Codes Make consistent existing zoning code with flood mitigation measures Post-Sandy Retrofitting above BFE - Lindenhurst, Long Island, NY Adaptation / Zoning Codes Adaptation / Zoning Codes 11
12/3/2013 Adaptation / Zoning Codes Adaptation / Master Plans and Innovative Zoning � Create Disaster Resistant Communities via Smart Zoning � Promote compact and efficient development in new/existing communities � Promote walkable and bicycle safe communities � Orient new development to capitalize on TOD and system investments Adaptation / Natural Resource Protection � Enforce Dune and Bluff Protection Measures � Hard construction can undermine natural protective features � Permit required for any activity within erosion prone areas per NYS Coastal Erosion Hazard Area (CEHA) Permit (6 NYCRR Part 505). � Adopting a Dune Preservation ordinance can increase local protection and local control (Dune Protection Line – 1000’ landward of Mean High Tide) 12
12/3/2013 Adaptation / Natural Resource Protection and Watershed Management � Increase stormwater detention � Increase stream buffer protection � Increase wetland protection Adaptation / Tree Preservation � Preserve and protect the right kind of existing trees � Significant energy savings from proper placement of trees � Potential conflict with preservation ordinances, which regulate tree removal or require replacement in kind � Potential conflict when trees mature on neighboring properties or within the public right of way Adaptation / Tree Preservation 13
12/3/2013 Adaptation / Managed Retreat Buyouts move people out of harm’s way and restore natural floodways Ruins of a house destroyed by Sandy, Oakwood Beach, Staten Island “In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.” - Wangari Maathai (1940 - 2011), environmental activist, first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, 2004 After All…Climate Change is Changing Where We Live, Work, and Play Seaside Heights, NJ, post-Sandy 14
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