The Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan Adopted by OctoberLafourche Parish2013 Council April 8, 2014 This page intentionally left blank. The Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan Table of Contents Introduction - 5 Vision - 13 Profi le of the Parish- 33 Building the Plan - 43 Land Use - 53 Resiliency and Hazard Mitigation - 77 Culture and Recreation - 95 Housing - 107 Transportation - 117 Infrastructure - 133 Economic Development - 139 Coordinating Effectively - 159 Implementation - 169 This page intentionally left blank. 4 Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan Introduction R Lafourche Parish residents treasure the Parish’s beautiful natural scenery, its fishing, recreation, historic towns, Cajun culture, quality of life, and hospitable neighbors. These characteristics Livingkeep people coming to Lafourche Parish with to live and work. Parish water… residents know that Lafourche offers tremendous natural assets and a welcoming place to call home. Wherever you live in Lafourche Parish, you are connected to the water – be it up the bayou in Thibodaux, down the bayou in Galliano, or next door to the Gulf of Mexico in Port Fourchon – the water provides the economic sustenance and cultural heritage that defines living in Lafourche Parish. Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan 5 INTRODUCTION Why is a Comprehensive Resiliency Plan important? While there is much to treasure in the Parish, the act of living near water can have its challenges, and residents understand the need to protect wetlands and coastal areas to ensure that they can maintain their current high quality of life. Most of Lafourche Parish’s current assets and future potential are because living with water is integrated into all aspects of parish life. Tremendous potential exists in the future with the expansion of Port Fourchon, the increasing tourism opportunities, the educational benefits of Nicholls State University, and the growth of the shipping and logistic industries as well as the preservation of agricultural lands and sugar cane production. Living with water has tremendous advantages and challenges, and residents understand the need to address coastal issues in the near and long term in order to continue to sustain current lifestyles. Many residents who participated in the planning process are directly affected by landscape changes due to erosion, subsidence and sea level rise, making it important to understand these impacts on the Parish’s long-term resilience. Throughout the planning process residents indicated that a key issue is the need to preserve wetlands, plan for anticipated future land loss and for coastal restoration. If it is not addressed, much of the parish will be at risk in the future. The Parish has many initiatives addressing these coastal restoration issues and the continuing impacts of subsidence, sea level rise and storm surges on the lives of Parish residents. The Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan is a strategic document meant to maximize opportunities, reduce risks, and ensure that the Parish remains a great place for current and future generations. 6 Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan INTRODUCTION The Plan seeks to look comprehensively at coastal issues along with other important issues facing the Parish, such as the need for diverse jobs and housing, a desire for improved transportation facilities, and improving the quality of life of current and future residents. The Plan proposes policies, programs and tools to reduce the overall vulnerability of the Parish and ultimately, is intended to make the Parish more resilient in the future. It reflects the knowledge, expertise and aspirations of the Parish’s residents and is a blueprint for how the A community will grow and change over time in a way that preserves the Parish’s many assets and ensures that it remains a great place primary for current and future generations, while also preparing for a concern of residents new era of changes. It also identifies areas of improvement is the need to plan for needed so that the Parish is prepared to deal with future growth and increased land loss as it occurs. anticipated future land loss and support coastal restoration The Plan lays out the future development of the Parish in efforts in order to protect pictures and images, maps, and written goals and strategies. the lifestyle that Lafourche Collectively, these will serve as a guide for residents and policy makers on how to invest in roads and infrastructure, citizens love and value. public facilities and development. The goal of the Plan is to enhance the quality of life of existing and future citizens by planning strategically – in concert with local input – for future population growth and the corresponding development. The Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan and the Vision are not regulatory documents. Instead, once adopted, the Plan will be used to guide Parish development and investment decisions in a manner aligned with the community’s vision. The Plan will also provide the planning framework needed to be eligible for future funding opportunities through the state, the RESTORE Act, and other programs requiring an adopted plan for grant eligibility. RESTORE is a Federal bill that redirects 80% of the civil penalties from BP Oil spill to the Gulf States for restoration and mitigation projects. In addition, the Planning Commission and Parish Council will consider recommendations and strategies in the Plan before making development decisions or adopting or approving ordinances or regulations, as required by state law. The successful implementation of the Vision and the Plan will take a concerted effort by Parish leaders, area businesses, community leaders, residents, staff, and investors. Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Plan 7 INTRODUCTION What is the purpose of a Vision document? The Vision serves as a high-level, graphic and descriptive summary of the Plan. Based on many months of public input, the Vision for Lafourche Parish is intended to capture coastalcitizens’ sharedrestoration, “vision” economic for the The public engagement future, a vision that includes effort involved citizens growth, strong communities, and preservation of the across the Parish many natural, cultural and historic resources that Parish to ensure broad residents hold dear. This shared vision for the future of the Parish is communicated using the Vision map to illustrate key representation and gather concepts, along with a short narrative of the community’s desired important local insights. future. The Vision also describes how the Plan was developed, highlighting important aspects of the public engagement activities What is this all about? and the guiding principles used to develop the Plan. A Comprehensive Plan IS: A community vision for the growth and development of the Parish. It guides the manner in which the community accommodates development or redevelopment. The plan is developed with the guidance of a professional planning team, but created, owned and championed by members of the community. The Vision and the Plan are rooted in the wisdom A Comprehensive Plan IS NOT: A legal document. It is a planning document that sets forth the intention Lafourche Parish Comprehensive Resiliency Planof the community, planning commission and Parish Council regarding growth and development decisions for our future. of the Parish’s stakeholders and citizenry. A Comprehensive Plan Includes: Parishwide Workshops* The Parish today: background data about today’s conditions * The community’s vision of the future, based on input over the past 12 months * Local policies, goals and objectives for future growth * Strategies for land preservation and recommendations for future development An advisory committee comprised of Parish residents from * Maps, graphics and descriptions of future land use * An action-based implementation plan that guides the vision from paper to reality * Strategies for job and tax base growth * Provisions to monitor the Plan’s progress diverse backgrounds worked with the planning team to ensure Plan Elements: Housing Open Space Resources Facilities Land Use Transportation Economy Infrastructure Workshop: 6 to 8 p.m. that the process reflected the needs and culture of the Parish. Doors Open: 5:30 p.m. Refreshments provided. www.planlafourche.org Tuesday, December 4 The public engagement effort involved citizens across the Nicholls University stakeholder interviews, parish- Student Union, Mardi Gras Suite Lafourche Parish is working to 906 E 1st St, Thibodaux create a comprehensive resiliency Parish in a combination of plan that will guide economic Wednesday, December 5 development, transportation Mathews Government Complex and land use investments in the 4876 LA 1, Mathews parish for the next 20 years, as focused public workshops, specific topic workshops, well as work to strengthen our Thursday, December 6 Your input is neededSurvey to help form the Galliano Government Complex resiliency to naturalstrategies disasters. that will shape the Parish’s future. I would like join your mailing list 16241 East Main Street, Gallianoto receive notice of future events. Please take 5 minutes and complete the following survey questions. email address: We welcome all Youresidents are helping from us prioritize strategies for the Lafourche Parish across the parishComprehensive to come share Resiliency Plan. Thank you for your time! interest group presentations, surveys, and an up-to-date their ideas and Or,visions take the about survey online:the