Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas

Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas Woodbridge Township, New Jersey: Post-Hurricane Sandy Buyouts Matthew D. Viggiano, formerly New York City Cover Photo Credits: Authors Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, (top row, left to right): This report was written by Katie Spidalieri, Senior New York; Andrew Meyer, San Diego Audubon, Watershed Protection Department, City of Austin, Associate, and Isabelle Smith, Research Assistant, California; Tim Trautman, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Texas; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Georgetown Climate Center at Georgetown Uni- Storm Water Services, North Carolina; Pam Service; U.S. Fish and versity Law Center; and Jessica Grannis, Coastal Kearfott, City of Austin Watershed Protection Wildlife Service; Integration Resilience Director at National Audubon Society. Department, Texas; James Wade, Harris County and Application Network, University of Maryland The Louisiana Strategic Adaptations for Future Flood Control District, Texas; Fawn McGee, New Center for Environmental Environments (LA SAFE) case study was written by Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Science. Jennifer Li, Staff Attorney, and Alex Love, student, Frances Ianacone, New Jersey Department of (center row, left to right): Harrison Institute for Public Law at Georgetown Environmental Protection; Thomas Snow, Jr., State of Louisiana Office of University Law Center. Editorial and writing support New York State Department of Environmental Community Development; Integration and Application were provided by Vicki Arroyo, Executive Director, Conservation; Dave Tobias, New York City Network, University of and Lisa Anne Hamilton, Adaptation Program Direc- Department of Environmental Protection, Maryland Center for tor, Georgetown Climate Center. New York; Stacy Curry, Office of Emergency Environmental Science; Will Parson, Chesapeake Management, Woodbridge Township, New Bay Program, U.S. Fish Jersey; Sandy Urgo, The Land Conservancy and Wildlife Service; State Acknowledgments of New Jersey; Joel Gerwein, California State of Louisiana Office of Community Development. Coastal Conservancy; Jay Diener, Seabrook- The authors would like to thank the Doris Duke Hamptons Estuary Alliance, Hampton, New (bottom row, left to right): Charitable Foundation for its generous support and Integration and Application Hampshire; Kirsten Howard, New Hampshire guidance, and without whom the Managed Retreat Network, University of Department of Environmental Services Coastal Toolkit and this case study report would not have Maryland Center for Program; Mathew Sanders, Louisiana Office of Environmental Science; been possible. Betty Whetzel (Courtesy Community Development; Liz Williams Russell, of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation for Louisiana; Joseph (Joe) Tirone, We are also grateful for the support of the Service); Matt Green; Katie Jr., Oakwood Beach Buyout Committee, Staten Spidalieri, Georgetown Georgetown Environment Initiative that enabled Climate Center. Island, New York City, New York; and Megan us to bring together diverse, interdisciplinary Webb, King County Department of Natural stakeholder expertise and Georgetown University Resources and Parks, Washington State. faculty to inform the development of the Managed Retreat Toolkit, including Professors Uwe Brandes, Design: J. Peter Byrne, Beth Ferris, and Sheila Foster. Brent Futrell, Georgetown University Law Center Office of Communications. We would also like to specially thank and acknowledge the following individuals for taking ©2020, Georgetown Climate Center the time to speak with us, review drafts, and provide insights that were invaluable in helping to Georgetown University Law Center inform the Managed Retreat Toolkit and these case 600 New Jersey Avenue, NW studies: Erik Meyers, The Conservation Fund; Matt Washington, D.C. 20001 Whitbeck, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Justine Nihipali, Hawaii Office of Planning Coastal Zone Management Program; Mitchell Austin, City of GeorgetownClimate.org Punta Gorda, Florida; Kelsey Moldenke, Quinault Managed Retreat Toolkit Indian Nation; Charles Warsinske, Quinault Indian Nation; Deborah Helaine Morris, formerly New AdaptationClearinghouse.org York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York; Lauren E. Wang, New York City Mayor’s Office of Resiliency, New York; b Table of Contents for the Full Report I. About This Report II. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland: Blackwater 2100 III. State of Hawaii: Assessing the Feasibility and Implications of Managed Retreat Strategies for Vulnerable Coastal Areas in Hawaii I V. Punta Gorda, Florida: Climate Adaptation and Comprehensive Plans and Updates V. Quinault Indian Nation, Washington: Taholah Village Relocation Master Plan VI. Queens, New York: Resilient Edgemere Community Plan VII. San Diego, California: ReWild Mission Bay VIII. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: Floodplain Buyout Program IX. City of Austin, Texas: Flood Risk Reduction Buyout Projects X. Harris County, Texas: Flood Control District Local Buyout Program XI. New York City, New York: Land Acquisition and Flood Buyout Programs XII. State of New Jersey: Blue Acres Buyout Program XIII. Woodbridge Township, New Jersey: Post-Hurricane Sandy Buyouts XIV. Long Beach, California: Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration and Land Swap X V. Hampton, New Hampshire: Community-Driven Climate Adaptation Planning Process XVI. State of Louisiana: Louisiana Strategic Adaptations for Future Environments (LA SAFE) XVII. Staten Island, New York: Oakwood Beach Buyout Committee and Program XVIII. King County, Washington: Transfer of Development Rights Program I II Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas: Lessons and Tools from 17 Case Studies About This Report This report is composed of 17 individual case studies. Each one tells a different story about As seas continue to rise and disaster events how states, local governments, and communities and extreme weather increase in frequency and across the country are approaching questions intensity, climate change is driving state and about managed retreat. Together, the case studies local policymakers to evaluate strategies to adapt highlight how different types of legal and policy to various risks affecting many communities. tools are being considered and implemented across In addition to protection (e.g., hard shoreline a range of jurisdictions — from urban, suburban, armoring) and accommodation (e.g., elevating and rural to riverine and coastal — to help support or flood-proofing structures) measures, coastal new and ongoing discussions on the subject. These governments and communities are increasingly case studies are intended to provide transferable evaluating managed retreat, where appropriate, lessons and potential management practices for as a potential component of their comprehensive coastal state and local policymakers evaluating adaptation strategies. Managed retreat is the managed retreat as one part of a strategy to adapt coordinated process of voluntarily and equitably to climate change on the coast. relocating people, structures, and infrastructure Collectively, these case studies present a suite, away from vulnerable coastal areas in response although not an exhaustive list, of legal and policy to episodic or chronic threats to facilitate the tools that can be used to facilitate managed retreat transition of individual people, communities, and efforts. Legal and policy tools featured include: ecosystems (both species and habitats) inland. planning; hazard mitigation buyouts and open The aim of managed retreat is to proactively move space acquisitions, as well as other acquisition tools people, structures, and infrastructure out of harm’s like land swaps and reversionary interests; land use way before disasters occur to maximize benefits and and zoning; and Transfer of Development Rights minimize costs for communities and ecosystems. programs. The case studies also highlight various For example, policymakers may maximize policy tradeoffs and procedural considerations opportunities for flood and risk reduction by necessitated by retreat decisions. Each jurisdiction conserving wetlands and protecting habitat is confronting different challenges and migration corridors and minimize the social, opportunities and has different, perhaps even psychological, and economic costs of relocation by competing, objectives for retreat. In addition, making investments in safer, affordable housing stakeholders in each of these cases are attempting within existing communities. to balance multiple considerations, including: III protecting coastal ecosystems and the environment; • The Next Steps section captures the anticipated fostering community engagement and equity; future actions that jurisdictions may take in preparing “receiving communities” or areas where implementing these managed retreat strategies. people may voluntarily choose to relocate; and assessing public and private funding options • The Considerations and Lessons Learned and availability. The case studies included in this section concludes with the primary takeaways report were selected to reflect the interdisciplinary from each example that other coastal state and and complex nature of retreat decisions and local policymakers and communities may con- underscore the need for comprehensive solutions sider when developing or implementing their and decisionmaking processes to address these own managed retreat strategies using these legal challenging considerations. and policy tools. Where possible, all of the case studies

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