Post-Flood Recovery Building Workshop for the Village of Sodus Point
Through funds provided by the Environmental Protection Fund under the authority of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act and by agreement with New York Sea Grant, G/FLRPC has been awarded funding from the New York’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program for the Post-Flood Recovery Building Workshop for the Village of Sodus Point.
This community-based stewardship and education activity will document lessons-learned from the high water levels of the spring and summer of 2017 on Lake Ontario for the Village of Sodus Point in Wayne County. The record-high water levels are an indication that extreme weather can become a stressor for communities. As the means and extremes of climate hazards are observed, municipalities are beginning to consider the reduction of future risk into their planning and development goals to ensure that people, property, and infrastructure are not placed or rebuilt in harm’s way.
Research has long shown that, in the absence of some larger vision for the future, residents of communities recovering from a hazard event such as severe flooding and erosion have an operative idea of their rebuilt community—almost invariably it resembles the community they already knew. Effective visioning may help expand the window of opportunity to marshal support for change after an event. Opportunities to properly plan for and mitigate both natural and man-made hazards, rather than to quickly rebuild back to “normal,” should be explored.
After a hazard event, opportunities to create greater resilience are only limited by the imagination of the community. Speed of recovery is not always effective in building a more resilient community. Taking the time to do proper deliberate planning is more important. The post-event window of opportunity lasts for a relatively short period of time. However, not all recovery solutions have to be million-dollar solutions. Higher codes and standards, prearranged agreements, and local and intermunicipal collaboration are important tools that can be used for recovery planning and preparedness. Participation of the “whole community” involving all stakeholder groups is also essential to long-term recovery.
The first step of the post-hazard planning discourse is visioning. By working through a public engagement process that produces a common vision for the future, accompanied by goals, and with buy-in among the various stakeholders and subgroups within the community, the Village of Sodus Point can better address the key priorities for promoting community resiliency and ecosystem integrity.
G/FLRPC and New York Sea Grant will coordinate a full-day workshop engagement where invited stakeholders can react to the 2017 flood and erosion event; identify past, current, and future challenges and strengths based on three (3) community components (e.g., infrastructural, environmental, and economic/tourism); and develop and prioritize actions to improve the community’s resilience to future high water levels on Lake Ontario. A Summary of Findings report with an implementation agenda (e.g., timelines for each action, possible funding sources, and estimated costs) will be developed and later presented at a general public meeting.
The impacts of flooding and shoreline erosion along Lake Ontario may prompt municipalities to better integrate coastal resiliency efforts into local planning and management, such as restoring natural environmental functions through land acquisition and developing policies for reconstruction to a higher building standard. Preparing a public engagement process for the Village of Sodus Point in response to the historically high water levels and severe erosion in Lake Ontario can serve as a model for other communities interested in developing a Great Lakes coastal restoration and resilience strategy with an implementation agenda to assist in identifying funding sources for increased implementation.
Project Team Meeting – August 20, 2018
Contact Senior Planner Jayme B. Thomann, AICP, CFM with any questions or comments about this project at jbreschard@gflrpc.org or (585) 454-0190 x12.
This community-based stewardship and education activity will document lessons-learned from the high water levels of the spring and summer of 2017 on Lake Ontario for the Village of Sodus Point in Wayne County. The record-high water levels are an indication that extreme weather can become a stressor for communities. As the means and extremes of climate hazards are observed, municipalities are beginning to consider the reduction of future risk into their planning and development goals to ensure that people, property, and infrastructure are not placed or rebuilt in harm’s way.
Research has long shown that, in the absence of some larger vision for the future, residents of communities recovering from a hazard event such as severe flooding and erosion have an operative idea of their rebuilt community—almost invariably it resembles the community they already knew. Effective visioning may help expand the window of opportunity to marshal support for change after an event. Opportunities to properly plan for and mitigate both natural and man-made hazards, rather than to quickly rebuild back to “normal,” should be explored.
After a hazard event, opportunities to create greater resilience are only limited by the imagination of the community. Speed of recovery is not always effective in building a more resilient community. Taking the time to do proper deliberate planning is more important. The post-event window of opportunity lasts for a relatively short period of time. However, not all recovery solutions have to be million-dollar solutions. Higher codes and standards, prearranged agreements, and local and intermunicipal collaboration are important tools that can be used for recovery planning and preparedness. Participation of the “whole community” involving all stakeholder groups is also essential to long-term recovery.
The first step of the post-hazard planning discourse is visioning. By working through a public engagement process that produces a common vision for the future, accompanied by goals, and with buy-in among the various stakeholders and subgroups within the community, the Village of Sodus Point can better address the key priorities for promoting community resiliency and ecosystem integrity.
G/FLRPC and New York Sea Grant will coordinate a full-day workshop engagement where invited stakeholders can react to the 2017 flood and erosion event; identify past, current, and future challenges and strengths based on three (3) community components (e.g., infrastructural, environmental, and economic/tourism); and develop and prioritize actions to improve the community’s resilience to future high water levels on Lake Ontario. A Summary of Findings report with an implementation agenda (e.g., timelines for each action, possible funding sources, and estimated costs) will be developed and later presented at a general public meeting.
The impacts of flooding and shoreline erosion along Lake Ontario may prompt municipalities to better integrate coastal resiliency efforts into local planning and management, such as restoring natural environmental functions through land acquisition and developing policies for reconstruction to a higher building standard. Preparing a public engagement process for the Village of Sodus Point in response to the historically high water levels and severe erosion in Lake Ontario can serve as a model for other communities interested in developing a Great Lakes coastal restoration and resilience strategy with an implementation agenda to assist in identifying funding sources for increased implementation.
Project Team Meeting – August 20, 2018
Contact Senior Planner Jayme B. Thomann, AICP, CFM with any questions or comments about this project at jbreschard@gflrpc.org or (585) 454-0190 x12.