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Economic Outcomes of Urban Floodplain Restoration

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Economic Outcomes of Urban Floodplain Restoration ECONOMIC OUTCOMES OF URBAN FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION IMPLICATIONS FOR PUGET SOUND JUNE 2020 PREPARED BY BRANDON PARSONS American Rivers LAURA MARSHALL ECONorthwest MARK BUCKLEY ECONorthwest Lower Snoqualmie Valley near Duvall,WA, JONATHON LOOS December 9, 2015 fl ood Dartmouth College Source: King County, WA A Acknowledgments For over 40 years ECONorthwest has helped its clients make sound decisions based on rigorous economic, planning, and fi nancial analysis. For more information about ECONorthwest: www.econw.com. ECONorthwest prepared this report for American Rivers. We received substantial assistance and contributions to the report from Brandon Parsons, PLA with American Rivers, Jonathon Loos (Ph.D. Candidate, Dartmouth College), as well as Spencer Easton and Susan O’Neil with Environmental Science Associates. Other fi rms, agencies, and staff contributed to other research that this report relied on. Signifi cant input and review was provided by the steering committee members, who include: • Doug Osterman, WRIA 9 Salmon Recovery Manager • Jason Mulvihill-Kuntz, WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery • Suzanna Smith, WRIA 9 Habitat Projects Coordinator Manager • Matt Goehring, WRIA 9 Planning and Technical • Weston Brinkley, Principal, Street Sounds Ecology Coordinator • Tracy Stanton, Executive Director, The Emerald Alliance We specifi cally want to acknowledge the former Chair of the WRIA 9 Management Committee and Tukwila City Council Member - Dennis Robertson for his years of service. Dennis has devoted himself to restoring the Green-Duwamish River to benefi t the salmon and people that rely on it. Dennis is a strong proponent of healthy rivers that support healthy communities and tirelessly works to improve the environment for future generations which helped inspire this project. Scoping assistance, data collection, critical guidance and ongoing support has been provided by the following partners: • The Puget Sound Partnership • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • Washington Department of Ecology • Pierce County Surface Water Management • National Estuary Program (NEP) Habitat Strategic • The WRIA 9 Watershed Ecosystem Forum Initiative • The City of Tukwila That assistance notwithstanding, ECONorthwest is responsible for the content of this report. The staff at ECONorthwest prepared this report based on their general knowledge of economic benefi ts of fl oodplain restoration, and on information derived from government agencies, private statistical services, the reports of others, interviews of individuals, and other sources believed to be reliable. ECONorthwest has not independently verifi ed the accuracy of all such information, and makes no representation regarding its accuracy or completeness. Any statements nonfactual in nature constitute the authors’ current opinions, which may change as more information becomes available. For more information about this report: Laura Marshall, Brandon Parsons, PLA Project Manager, ECONorthwest Floodplain Restoration Lead, American Rivers 503-222-6060 | [email protected] 512-517-4001 | [email protected] Special thanks to our funders! This project is made possible by the generous support of the King County Flood Control District, Water Resources Inventory Area (WRIA) #9, the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, the Russell Family Foundation and the Bullitt Foundation. I Green-Duwamish River, WA Purpose of this Report This report was developed in response to the immediate need to better understand and articulate the economic impacts of urban fl oodplain restoration on tax revenue. The purpose of this project is to investigate the direct fi nancial outcomes of fl oodplain restoration on local budgets - some of which are often overlooked or have historically been poorly understood. In urban communities of Puget Sound, river valleys and their historic fl oodplains are often the epicenter of competing interests. Decades of fl oodplain development has replaced complex habitat with industrial, commercial, and residential development. Although there have been ecological improvements implemented upstream that improve habitat and water quality, these urban rivers often have wide reaches where suitable habitat is not currently available for aquatic species. Meanwhile, due to recent budget cuts and economic uncertainty, communities must be increasingly strategic about how to invest their limited resources to provide the most benefi t to their residents. These dynamics between development, restoration, and local budgets are not in confl ict – although they have often been viewed that way in the past. Instead, they present an Source: Provided by Ned Ahrens opportunity for communities to achieve both fi nancial and ecological outcomes through properly designed fl oodplain This report is meant to serve as a resource for communities restoration projects. Other communities across the country on how to realize the highest and best use of their land in a have seen a substantial economic benefi t when they invest in way that balances healthy, functional rivers and economic fl oodplain restoration, through: growth. The audience for this report is state and local • Reduced fl ood risk and lower fl ood insurance rates; decision makers, those working in the fl oodplain restoration and management community, city planners, developers, • Increased property values; and the general public. Although the geographic focus is • Increased high value development outside of the the Puget Sound region of Washington, the fi ndings of fl oodplain; this report are broadly applicable to locations with similar • Increased jobs and economic activity; perceived tensions between fl oodplain restoration and • Increased business and employee attraction and urban development. retention; and • Increased tax revenue. Although the results of this project are meant to be regionally applicable and locally actionable, the momentum for this study grew out of a response to the Lower Green River Corridor Flood Hazard Management Plan. The fl ood control plan being developed by King County Flood Control District initially focused on fl ood reduction actions – without accounting for the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been spent on salmon recovery efforts. Initial proposals during the scoping of this plan would have undermined many water quality and salmon habitat investments. After hearing feedback from American Rivers, tribes, WRIA 9, and other stakeholders, the approximately $1 billion project is now considering multiple benefi ts including habitat restoration and recreation opportunities, in addition to fl ood control. The example from the Lower Green River in general demonstrates the primary fi ndings from our study, which are broadly applicable – that holistic planning and multi-benefi t projects can bring additional value to communities compared with single-purpose projects. With integrated planning, projects can augment past investments and achieve multiple goals to best leverage scarce public funds. ECONOMIC OUTCOMES OF URBAN FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUGET SOUND II Columbia River, OR Source: Provided by Brandon Parsons, American Rivers Executive Summary - Key Takeaways • Floodplain restoration includes actions that reconnect there is evidence that, when planned appropriately, fl oodplains to rivers, allow for variable fl ows, and restore benefi ts can outweigh the costs to yield positive natural habitat and structure at the appropriate scale. net impacts. Floodplain restoration can be another tool Floodplain restoration projects in urban areas will likely for city planners and developers as they make land-use look different than fl oodplain restoration project in more decisions. rural, less developed areas. There are added pressures • The type and magnitude of benefi ts will depend on the in urban areas for fl oodplain restoration because land is site specifi c details of the project. Successful urban generally more expensive, project sizes can be limited, fl oodplain restoration projects are designed for and local land use managers are under pressure to multiple benefi ts as part of a larger community maintain a robust tax base. Urban fl oodplain projects will vision. Some of the largest benefi ts for urban projects include things like fl ood reduction projects, park creation, occur when a community embraces a previously or redevelopment opportunities that incorporate habitat neglected river and the project incorporates fl ood features for fi sh and wildlife. reduction, increased recreational use, and/or adjacent • The examples in this report demonstrate that there are development outside of the fl oodplain in tandem with income and benefi t opportunities from urban fl oodplain restoration. Multi-benefi t projects are advantageous restoration. Floodplain restoration and promoting because they can leverage multiple types of funding economic activity are not mutually exclusive – sources and garner broader stakeholder support. there are many pathways by which ecological • Previous research in the Puget Sound region has found improvements of fl oodplains can deliver value to large benefi ts of ecosystem services for rural projects, residents, businesses, and local governments in but studies that focus specifi cally on community revenue urban areas. impacts from fl oodplain restoration are limited. Because • The national literature review, conducted during this there is evidence at the national level, it is likely that the study, provides multiple examples of urban fl oodplain community revenue benefi ts exist in Puget Sound but restoration projects that balance restoration
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