DRAFT ADAPTATION MASTER PLAN City of Jersey City Hudson County, New Jersey March 23, 2017 Prepared by: Jersey City Planning Board Christopher Langston, Chairman ___________________________________ Dr. Orlando Gonzalez, Vice Chairman Kobi Ruthenberg, B.Arch, SMarchS Edwardo Torres Registered Architect in Israel #1267374 Michael Sims ORG Permanent Modernity John Seborowski Joyce E. Watterman, Councilwoman Allison Solowsky ___________________________________ Dr. Vijaya Desai Sean Moronski, P.P., AICP Eric Fleming N.J. Professional Planners License # 5601 Harkesh Thakur Matrix New World Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop ___________________________________ Peter Van Den Kooy, P.P., AICP Jersey City Planning Staff N.J. Professional Planners License # 5918 MaryAnn Bucci-Carter, PP, AICP, Acting Director Tanya Marione, PP, AICP, Senior Planner Matrix New World Katherine Lawrence, Senior Planner Matt Ward, PP, AICP, Senior Planner Prepared By: ___________________________________ Kristin J. Russell, P.P., AICP N.J. Professional Planners License #585800 Maser Consulting, PA ___________________________________ Deborah Alaimo Lawlor, P.P., FAICP N.J. Professional Planners License #428400 Maser Consulting, PA Table of Contents I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1 II. Project Background ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Historical Background ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Post-Sandy Assessment Process ................................................................................................................................................... 3 III. Project Approach ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Meeting the City’s Resiliency Goals and Objectives .................................................................................................................... 5 Prioritizing Vulnerable Districts................................................................................................................................................... 6 Needs Assessment - Filling the Gaps ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Mapping ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Feasibility and Cost-Benefit Analyses ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Creating an Implementation Action Plan .................................................................................................................................... 11 IV. Feasibility Analysis of Existing Adaptation Strategies .................................................................................................................. 12 Previously Recommended Adaptation Measures ........................................................................................................................ 14 Meeting the City’s Resiliency Goals and Objectives .................................................................................................................. 17 Cost-Benefit Criteria .................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Area A, Watershed District 6 (Country Village) - Street Levee .................................................................................................. 19 Area B1, Watershed District 6 and 7 (Society Hill) - Boardwalk Levee...................................................................................... 24 Area B2, Watershed District 7 (Bayfront) - Land Rise / Street Levee ......................................................................................... 27 Area C, Watershed Districts 7 & 8 (Riverbend) - Street Levee ................................................................................................... 30 Area D, Watershed Districts 1, 2, & 3 (Mill Creek, Bergen-Lafayette, western Downtown) - Land Rise .................................... 33 Area E, Watershed District 1 (Downtown South) - Various Adaptation Measures ...................................................................... 37 Area F, Watershed District 1 (Downtown North) - Various Adaptation Measures ...................................................................... 42 Summary of Feasibility Analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 45 V. Project Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................................... 45 Physical Adaptation Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................... 46 Administrative Adaptation Measures ......................................................................................................................................... 53 Adaptation Master Plan DRAFT March 23, 2017 City of Jersey City VI. Financing Adaptation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Community Rating System (CRS) ............................................................................................................................................. 58 New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT) ............................................................................................................ 58 Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program ............................................................................................................................ 59 Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Program .................................................................................................................................... 59 Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) ............................................................................................................... 59 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) ............................................................................................................................... 60 Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) ...................................................................................................................... 60 NJDEP Blue Acres Floodplain Program..................................................................................................................................... 61 NJDEP Green Acres Program .................................................................................................................................................... 61 NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants .............................................................................................................................................. 61 NJ Department of Health Healthcare Preparedness Program ...................................................................................................... 62 VII. Action Plan Matrix........................................................................................................................................................................ 62 Appendix .................................................................................................................................................................................................. i Reference Materials ...................................................................................................................................................................... i Map of prior Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................. iii Hydrological Analysis & Flood Illustrations ............................................................................................................................... iv Adaptation Master Plan DRAFT March 23, 2017 City of Jersey City I. Executive Summary The Adaptation Master Plan is an effort to identify implementation measures that will improve the flood resiliency of Jersey City. This Plan is the second in a three-part series of documents, following a Resiliency Master Plan which provides an analysis of the existing flood-related conditions in Jersey City and the goals that the City has established to make itself more resilient, and preceding an Urban Environmental Green Infrastructure Design Plan which sets forth recommendations for future greening of the City and means by which to address the threat of future flooding from storm events and sea level rise. Jersey City has established its own goals and priorities,