Lyons Community Planning Assistance Team

May 12 – 16, 2014

CPAT Team Members • Gavin Smith, AICP, is an associate

research professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina and the executive director of the Coastal Hazards Center.

• David Perkes is a licensed architect and a professor at Mississippi State University. He is the founding director of the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in Biloxi, Mississippi.

• Darrin Punchard, AICP, is a principal consultant with MWH Global, where he serves as the Americas Region Leader for Risk Services.

• Andrew Rumbach is an assistant professor of Planning and Design at CU-Denver. His research and teaching focuses on disaster recovery and community resilience.

What is a CPAT? The Community Planning Assistance Team (CPAT) program is an initiative of the American Planning Association. CPAT teams provide pro-bono skills and experience of professional, certified planners from around the United States.

How Did we Arrive at Our Recommendations?

• Reviewed state and local recovery documents, town plans, ordinances, and other related materials

• Preparatory meeting with town staff and recovery steering committee

• Monday community meeting

• Meeting with Confluence neighbors

Local Plan Review Recovery Action Plan (2014) Sustainable River Corridor Plan (2014)

Comprehensive Plan (2010) Hazard Mitigation Plan (2008)

Local Plan Review

Local Plan Review

Themes • Living With the River:

– River is the lifeblood of the community.

– It is a source of risk.

– Drives our recommendations for recovery.

• Importance of Local Culture – Important to residents and visitors

– Key driver of the local economy

• Facing Change – Disasters magnify pre-event conditions

• Many recovery challenges existed before the flood: inclusivity, affordable housing, economic development, sustainability

– Disaster as opportunity? (our approach)

Practical Challenges

• Work to be done: environmental, social, physical, economic

• Loss of housing

• New open space

Policies to Consider • Temporal Disaster Recovery Elements

– Post-disaster building moratorium

– Cumulative substantial damage ordinance

– Rolling easement / getting to open space • First refusal on purchased homes in high hazard areas

• Transfer development rights

• Adoption of Higher Standards – No adverse impact

– Community rating system

• Improving flood risk communication – Implications of flood insurance reform

– Tools and techniques for building in the floodplain

Policies to Consider • Hazard Mitigation Policies

– Develop Lyons own hazard mitigation plan • Prioritized actions

– Floodway development

– Critical public facilities

– New flood insurance rate maps

– Development of advisory recovery maps (hydric soils, high water marks, flood-based sand coverage, etc.)

– Accounting for flood velocity

– Future conditions mapping

• Mediation – Renegotiate County/Town intergovernmental

agreement

– New housing sites

Home Elevations

Important Considerations:

• Elevation height

• Foundation type

• Access

Design/Material Features:

• Use of river rock, sandstone

• Lattice

Reduce Risk, Reduce Premium

• $250,000 building coverage only (does not include contents)

• Zone AE (high to moderate risk) zone, single-family, one-story structure without a basement

• Rating per FEMA flood insurance manual, October 1, 2012

• Standard NFIP deductible

Continuous Foundation

Appropriate for areas where risk of high-velocity flow is low

Continuous Foundation

Flow Velocity

Piers, posts, or piles: more appropriate for areas with risk of flow velocity

Open Foundations

Resources

Project Report (coming soon…)

• Materials presented tonight

• Memorialization and flood education

• Use of native materials for (re)construction, wayfinding, trails and paths, etc.

• Recommendations for inserting risk reduction/hazard mitigation/resilience strategies into plans

• Guidance documents on elevation, flood proofing, and protection of building contents

• Recommendations on potential implementation vehicles

• Links to best practice examples from other states

Lyons Community Planning Assistance Team

May 12 – 16, 2014