Mary Johnson Photo
Eel Pot at Meadow Street
Branford is hoping to create a “coastal resilience plan” to help prepare and protect the coastline from the effects of potential storms and sea level rise. The plan will also address the needs of some neighborhoods that were battered by Super Storm Sandy.
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) on Wednesday unanimously approved a grant application for $150,000 in federal funds that would be administered by Branford and split three ways with Milford and Madison.
“I want to plan for the future,” First Selectman James Cosgrove told the Eagle following the meeting. He said there may be additional money available for the project through the South Central Regional Council of Governments.
Cosgrove said Branford will take the lead on the project and that partnering with Madison and Milford increases the chances for funding.
Mary Johnson Photo
Meadow Street
Town engineer Janice Plaziak, who prepared the grant application, was not at the meeting but she provided a written explanation of the scope of the project. She said each of the three towns would use the funds to develop its own plan based on input from residents and business owners. The plan would also take into account risk assessments based on events like Super Strom Sandy and possible future storms and changes in sea level.
According to Plaziak, the plan could include adaptive measures like “stepping back from the shoreline and increasing residential densities elsewhere in lower-risk areas.”
Plans also call for developing two neighborhood plans in each community in low-to-moderate income areas that were impacted by Super Storm Sandy. The plans would include possible ways to adapt the neighborhoods to make them more resilient to storms.
Three public information meetings will be held in each town to provide residents and business owners an opportunity to discuss issues from a grass-roots perspective. Surveys will also be conducted online, with paper copies available for those without computer access.
In addition, six public workshops will be held for each of the two neighborhoods that are selected for detailed planning.
Various town departments, such as Public Works, Planning and Zoning, Building Inspection, Engineering and the Fire Department will provide input in the planning process.
The towns would also work closely with The Nature Conservancy, using their protocols and data for coastal resiliency planning. Guilford already completed their plan. Click here to read about a regional meeting last year that discussed Guilford’s plans.
Plaziak has been pivotal in projects involving Branford’s coastline and floodplains. She served as the town’s representative when the regional Hazard Mitigation Plan was developed with the South Central Regional Council of Governments.
The project included 10 towns — - Branford, Bethany, Hamden, Madison, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge.
The BOS unanimously approved the Hazard Mitigation Plan in May. Click here to read about that.
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