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There are no easy answers when it comes to rising seas and shoreline communities.
• Homes can be elevated, but neighbors’ scenic views may be blocked.
• Sea walls may protect one property, but divert damage to another.
• Towns can elevate local flood-prone roads, but what will the state do about the connecting roads?
• Federal flood plain maps are expanding, but can homeowners afford the escalating cost of flood insurance?
“We clearly have a challenge,” said Daniel Esty, commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). “It requires thinking about things that people don’t want to think about.” He is pictured above with Reps. Reed and Widlitz.
Esty was one of 11 local and state officials who gathered to discuss the effects of rising sea levels and severe storms Monday night during a regional forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters East Shore district. About 50 residents attended the two-hour forum at the community center in Guilford.
“Remember when living at the shore used to be carefree,” said state Rep. Lonnie Reed, D‑Branford, as she talked about the need to address the issues. “All of us need to be more responsive to what is happening — it changes the way we live.”
WATERFRONT HOMES PRODUCE HIGH TAXES
Reed said the fate of waterfront homes affects entire communities since those homes comprise a considerable portion of the towns’ grand lists and they add significantly to property tax coffers.
Reed said dealing with the impact of climate change is complicated. “It gets emotional, it gets painful and it gets expensive,” she said. For example, she said she recently received an e‑mail from the Short Beach Association in Branford expressing concern that scenic views will be blocked as more people elevate their homes above flood levels. Click here to read our latest story.
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Janice Plaziak, (pictured far right) Branford’s town engineer and flood plain manager, said residents are still recovering from the effects of Tropical Storm Irene, Super Storm Sandy and the snowstorms.
“It’s been a busy 1½ years since the storms hit…and I think things are going to get worse,” Plaziak said in terms of flooding that has occurred in recent years. “We’re seeing water up to sea walls in every high tide.”
Branford is one of nine communities working together to develop a Hazard Mitigation Plan to identify potential disasters and find ways to reduce their effects. Once a plan is in place, towns may apply for FEMA grant money for mitigation projects. Click here to read about that. A public hearing will be held in Branford next month to discuss progress.
Plaziak, who is Branford’s representative on the Hazard Mitigation Committee, said long-term planning is the key to protecting towns’ infrastructure, people’s property and the environment. “We along the shoreline have to set our priorities,” Plaziak said. “We have to work together.”
Richard Stoecker, Branford’s assistant town planner, said climate change issues are being considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission as they do the midway review of the town’s 10-year Plan of Conservation and Development. “Sea level rise has risen to a … primary focus,” he said.
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State Sen. Edward Meyer, (pictured standing) who represents Branford and five other towns, said there are several proposed bills before the state legislature that address flooding and storm issues in a variety of ways. “We’re really on the frontier of trying to decide what to do,” he said. “We need the public’s input.”
RESILIENCE PLANS
Guilford Town Planner George Kral described the long-range planning process that the town has been undertaking. They are developing a Coastal Resilience Plan along with The Nature Conservancy and Yale’s Urban Ecology and Design Laboratory. Resilience refers to resisting, recovering or adapting to coastal hazards like flooding and storm surges.
David Sutherland of the Connecticut chapter of The Nature Conservancy said shoreline officials “are seen as leaders in the state in these issues.”
Kral said when the Resilience Plan is complete, it will become a model that can be used by other communities. The plan includes assessing risks and vulnerabilities, and examining options for local government to mitigate the impact. Kral said they are looking at ways to protect the infrastructure from rising seas and storm surges, and have already begun to implement three road improvement projects to elevate access roads to coastal neighborhoods.
He said regulatory changes may be needed on the local, state and federal levels. “All three of these levels have to work together. It’s very confusing for property owners figuring out what the rules are,” Kral said.
“We need to do more of what we’re doing right now — education and outreach,” Kral said. “This is not something we should be afraid of…we can still have a coastal community … if we plan for these changes.”
State Rep. Pat Widlitz, D- Guilford and Branford, said flooding solutions can be a Catch- 22 situation. She said towns like Guilford are spending money to elevate local shoreline access roads, but problems occur when newly elevated roads connect to state roads that are prone to flooding. There are also issues of how to elevate roads that have railroad overpasses.
Widlitz said the state Department of Transportation must begin long-range planning in regard to sea level rise and flooded roadways. “We can’t just wait for something to happen,” she said. As chair of the House Finance Committee, she helped secure funding for the DOT to hire a consultant for planning purposes.
Commissioner Esty said solutions like sea walls can protect a homeowner’s property, but can cause beach erosion or damage to an adjacent property. He quoted a woman in the DEEP office who frequently says, “If you have sea walls for all, you’re likely to have beaches for none.”
Esty said there are factors beyond climate change that will affect property owners. For example, he said the new FEMA flood plain maps that take effect in July will mean that hundreds more people will need to purchase federal flood insurance. In addition, the cost of flood insurance is escalating because of the storms. “If you’re in severe harm’s way, you’re going to pay severe rates,” Esty said.
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One woman in the audience asked if there will be money available for homeowners to elevate their homes or take other measures to avoid damage.
Esty said there is some funding for people whose homes have been significantly damaged, but not for those trying to prevent damage. “In an era of limited budgets, it’s going to be more stick than carrot,” he said, indicating that people might not get money to take pre-emptive measures, but it will cost them more if they don’t.
The forum was moderated by state Rep. James Albis, D‑East Haven, who is chair of the state’s new Shoreline Preservation Task Force. Click here to read a story about a hearing held last July in Branford.
The League of Women Voters distributed copies of a report and recommendations issued in January by the Shoreline Preservation Task Force.
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"For example, she said she recently received an e-mail from the Short Beach Association in Branford expressing concern that scenic views will be blocked as more people elevate their homes above flood levels. "
In West Haven, just about the entire shoreline is open to public view. Only when you get to the western end of Ocean Avenue, closer to Milford, are the house built between the road and the water. This is how it should be everywhere. The shoreline is a public resource and should remain accessible to the public. It's mind-boggling that 'private' beaches are insured, protected and rebuilt with public money.