Section-9.12-Buffalo-C-080621
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Section 9.12: City of Buffalo 9.12 City of Buffalo This section presents the jurisdictional annex for the City of Buffalo. It includes resources and information to assist public and private sectors to reduce losses from future hazard events. This annex is not guidance of what to do when a disaster occurs. Rather, this annex concentrates on actions that can be implemented prior to a disaster to reduce or eliminate damage to property and people. This annex includes a general overview of the municipality and who in the city participated in the planning process; an assessment of the City of Buffalo’s risk and vulnerability; the different capabilities utilized in the city; and an action plan that will be implemented to achieve a more resilient community. 9.12.1 Hazard Mitigation Planning Team The following individuals have been identified as the City of Buffalo’s hazard mitigation plan primary and alternate points of contact. The City of Buffalo followed the planning process described in Section 3 (Planning Process) in Volume I of this plan update. This annex was developed over the course of several months with input from many city departments, including: Buffalo Fire Department Division Chief and Commissioner Department of Public Works. The Fire Department Division Chief represented the community on the Erie County Hazard Mitigation Plan Planning Partnership and Steering Committee, and supported the local planning process requirements by securing input from persons with specific knowledge to enhance the plan. All departments were asked to contribute to the annex development through reviewing and contributing to the capability assessment, reporting on the status of previously identified actions, and participating in action identification and prioritization. The following table summarizes municipal officials that participated in the development of the annex and in what capacity. Additional documentation on the municipality’s planning process through Planning Partnership meetings is included in Section 3 (Planning Process) and Appendix C (Meeting Documentation). Table 9.12-1. Hazard Mitigation Planning Team Primary Point of Contact Alternate Point of Contact Name/Title: Michael Tuberdyke, Buffalo Fire Department Name/Title: Michael Finn, Commissioner Department of Division Chief Public Works Phone Number: (716) 444-5210 Phone Number: (716) 536-9795 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] NFIP Floodplain Administrator Name/Title: Michael Finn, Commissioner Department of Public Works Phone Number: (716) 536-9795 Email: [email protected] Additional Contributors Name/Title: Don Poleto, Senior Operations Engineer Method of Participation: Attended Steering Committee Meetings, attended Municipal Support Meeting, provided data and information, supported update of mitigation strategy 9.12.2 Municipal Profile Buffalo is the second largest city in New York state and is the county seat. Buffalo is an important gateway for commerce and travel across the Canadian border. The city is bordered by the Towns of Tonawanda and Amherst to the north, the towns of Cheektowaga and West Seneca and the Village of Sloan to the east, Lake Erie to the west and the City of Lackawanna to the south. The city took its name from the River that runs through its southside and into Lake Erie. The city has an area of 53 square miles and has a relatively flat topography. Hazard Mitigation Plan - Erie County, New York 9.12-1 MONTH 2021 Section 9.12: City of Buffalo Buffalo’s original inhabitants were Iroquois peoples. After the Revolutionary War, native peoples throughout the county were dispossessed of their lands. The first white landowner in Buffalo was Captain William Johnston. Buffalo’s rise to economic power came through its waterways in the form of transshipment, and manufacturing. The city grew quickly after the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825; the Port of Buffalo was the original western terminus of the Erie Canal. Buffalo is known as the Queen City, a term coined by Erie County’s native sone, Millard Fillmore. In 1804, Joseph Ellicott laid out a radial grid street plan that continues to define the city. Frederick Law Olmsted designed several parks within the city, including celebrated Delaware Park. The city experienced a population boom during the mid-1800s and doubled in size between 1845 and 1855. Grain and commercial goods shipment led to repeated expansion of the harbor. Access to abundant hydropower spurred Buffalo to electrify early and became known as the “City of Lights” The city eventually also became a major rail center serving the entire nation. The City contains many significant architectural works developed during its heyday. In the latter part of the 20th century. Multiple factors impacted Buffalo’s economy in the latter half of the 20th Century. The opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, plus deindustrialization and suburbanization led to decline of the city’s main industries. Eight New York State highways, one three-digit Interstate Highway and one US Highway traverse the city. The Peace Bridge is one of North America’s important commercial ports with four thousand trucks crossing it daily (Comprehensive Plan 2006). According to the U.S. Census, the 2010 population for the City of Buffalo was 261,310. The estimated 2019 population was 256,480, a 1.8 percent decrease from the 2010 Census. Data from the 2019 U.S. Census American Community Survey indicate that 6.6 percent of the population is 5 years of age or younger and 12.4 percent is 65 years of age or older. Communities must deploy a support system that enables all populations to safely reach shelters or to quickly evacuate a hazard area. 9.12.3 Jurisdictional Capability Assessment and Integration The City of Buffalo performed an inventory and analysis of existing capabilities, plans, programs, and policies that enhance its ability to implement mitigation strategies. Section 6.4 (Capability Assessment) describes the components included in the capability assessment and their significance for hazard mitigation planning. This section summarizes the following findings of the assessment: . An assessment of legal and regulatory capabilities. Development and permitting capabilities. An assessment of administrative and technical capabilities . An assessment of fiscal capabilities. An assessment of education and outreach capabilities. Classification under various community mitigation programs. The community’s adaptive capacity to withstand hazard events. For a community to succeed in reducing long-term risk, hazard mitigation must be integrated into the day-to- day local government operations. As part of this planning effort, planning/policy documents were reviewed, and each jurisdiction was surveyed to obtain a better understanding of their progress in plan integration. Areas with current mitigation integration are summarized in this Jurisdictional Capability Assessment (Section 9.12.3). The City of Buffalo’s identified opportunities for integration of mitigation concepts to be incorporated into municipal procedures are included in the updated mitigation strategy. Planning, Legal, and Regulatory Capability and Integration The table below summarizes the regulatory tools that are available to the City of Buffalo. The comment field provides information as to where hazard mitigation has been integrated. Hazard Mitigation Plan - Erie County, New York 9.12-2 MONTH 2021 Section 9.12: City of Buffalo Table 9.1-2. Planning, Legal, and Regulatory Capability and Integration Authority (local, Jurisdiction State Code Citation and Date county, has this? Mandated? (code chapter, name of plan, state, Department / Agency (Yes/No) (Yes/No) date of plan) federal) Responsible Codes, Ordinances, & Requirements Chapter 103, Building Division of Zoning and Land Building Code Yes Yes Construction and Demolition; Local Use Planning, City Clerk Fire Prevention, 1974 Comment: The City of Buffalo administers the New York State family of codes, a collection of publications coauthored by the International Code Council and the New York State Department of State, legislated by the state, and implemented on July 3, 2002. Chapter 496, Unified Division of Zoning and Land Zoning Code Yes No Development Ordinance Local Use Planning, City Clerk 12/27/2016 Comment: This Ordinance is adopted in accordance with a comprehensive plan to promote the interest and welfare of the people through standards that address the orderly and compatible use of land, the relationship between building facades and the public realm, the form and mass of buildings in relation to one another, and the scale and type of blocks, thoroughfares, and open spaces. Chapter 496, Unified Subdivision Development Ordinance, Article Division of Zoning and Land Yes No Local Ordinance 11.5, Subdivision Approvals Use Planning, City Clerk 12/27/2016 Comment: Subdivision allows for the orderly division or consolidation of lots, the alteration of lot boundaries, and the dedication of land for public rights-of-way, parks, and other public purposes. The Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services must take action on an exempt alteration of lots. The City Planning Board must take action on requests for approval of a minor subdivision or major subdivision. Stormwater Chapter 326, Plumbing, Article Chief Plumbing Inspector and Management Yes No Local IV, Stormwater Retention System the Sewer Authority Ordinance Comment: All new parking lots or other new paved and drained areas where the collected stormwater load would surpass that of the sewer system