What Planners Do. Heather Wade, Coastal Planning Specialist Texas Sea Grant

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1 What Planners Do Heather Wade, Coastal Planning Specialist Texas Sea Grant What Planners Do Seminar Series Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning College of Architecture

2 ABOUT ME B.S. Environmental Studies Geography and Earth Science M.U.P. Land Use and Environmental Planning Program Manager and Coastal Planning Specialist with Texas Sea Grant PhD student at Harte Research Institute, TAMUCC What Planners Do Seminar Series

3 What is Texas Sea Grant? Mission: to improve the understanding, wise use and stewardship of Texas coastal and marine resources. develops and supports research, education and outreach programs and partnerships and relies on the public for knowledge, advice and guidance. a unique partnership that unites the resources of the federal government, the State of Texas and universities across the state to create knowledge, tools, products and services that benefit the economy, the environment and the citizens of Texas What Planners Do Seminar Series

4 Program Focus Areas 1. Healthy Coastal Ecosystems 2. Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture 3. Resilient Communities and Economies 4. Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development What Planners Do Seminar Series

5 Example Goals: Resilience Communities and Economies Development of vibrant and resilient coastal economies Communities use comprehensive planning to make informed strategic decisions Improvements in coastal water resources sustain human health and ecosystem services Resilient coastal communities adapt to the impacts of hazards and climate change What Planners Do Seminar Series

6 Why coastal planning? We can look at a few things Social Physical Economic Capacity What Planners Do Seminar Series

7 Social Vulnerability Coastal communities are the most densely populated and fastest growing areas in the country. 53%Percent of the nation's total population that lived in coastal watershed counties in 2010 (17% of the total land area excluding AK) million Increase in U.S. coastal watershed county population from 1970 to 2010 (or a 45% increase). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 In TX, Over one million people live in the Special Flood Hazard Area 3 of the top 5 leading counties in Building Permits Issued for Single Family Homes are in Texas

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9 Physical Vulnerability Hurricanes Storm Surge Coastal Flooding Erosion Subsidence Sea-Level Rise Drought

10 Economic Vulnerability Agriculture Ports and Shipping Tourism Energy Production Coastal Fisheries

11 Capacity Planning and Funding Generally low capacity for planning multiple-hat communities Planning capacity can vary between communities Need experience and skills in topics like: Hazard mitigation planning, GIS and computer-based modeling, transportation planning, comprehensive planning, law and policy High costs of facilities and infrastructure improvements Losses due to hazards Property damage National Flood Insurance Policy claims Repetitive loss properties

12 Coastal Planning Program Provide planning education, outreach, and technical assistance to coastal communities Perform research in coastal planning Focus areas include but are not limited to: Comprehensive planning Hazards resilience Ecosystem services Land use Environmental stewardship and conservation Climate change adaptation What Planners Do Seminar Series

13 Planning Technical Assistance Reviews Plans Ordinances Rewrites Plans Ordinances Geographic Information Systems Advisor to various planning committees What Planners Do Seminar Series

14 Coastal Resilience Index A community SELF-assessment tool developed by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium Asks communities to discuss and evaluate their resilience in six areas: Critical Infrastructure and Facilities Transportation Issues Community Plans and Agreements Mitigation Measures Business Plans Social Systems

15 Community Participation in the Index To date, 30 communities have participated in the Index across the Gulf of Mexico The majority of communities that are participating in the Index are located in Louisiana and Texas South Texas communities who have participated: City of Rockport City of Port Aransas Aransas County City of Corpus Christi Town of Point Comfort Town of Fulton City of Ingleside

16 Coastal Resilience Index Workshop Resilience workshop break out groups brainstorming on ways to increase resilience. Bring participants together to discuss how to increase resilience in the community Review the results of the index and brainstorm ways to increase the scores in lower categories

17 Workshop participants are introduced to online planning tools, such as the NOAA Coastal Services Center Hurricane Tracker, to help inform coastal resilience discussions. The wetable, an interactive table-top GIS interface is combined with the online Texas Coastal Community Planning Atlas.

18 Scenario Planning using the CHARM Model CHARM = Community Health and Resource Management Working with the City of Rockport to develop a model to help inform growth decisions with an emphasis on community resiliency

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20 Community Rating System Informational meeting to help communities become more familiar with the Community Rating System process Brought together representatives from FEMA, Texas A&M University Galveston, and the City of League City to discuss the Community Rating System on a national, regional, and local level

21 Texas Coast Public Access Inventory A need for comprehensive coastal access inventory Updating the TGLO Beach and Bay Access Guide 140+ sites completed in Phase 1 Will be providing inventory in variety of formats Guide Phone Application Accessing the Texas Coast Website What Planners Do Seminar Series

22 Gulf Coast Planners Network Purpose: To strengthen relationships and resilience at the local level by creating a professional learning community where local government planners can share ideas, best practices, needs, and challenges. The Gulf Coast Planners Network (GCPN) will help local planners think beyond their individual community, connect with peers in the region, and develop and implement plans that improve coastal resilience. (1) provide AICP-accredited coastal community resilience training opportunities (Leadership Academy) based on needs expressed by the planning network; (2) strengthen professional relationships between local planners working in Gulf of Mexico coastal communities, and (3) raise visibility of Gulf Coast planning efforts within the American Planning Association and associated state chapters. What Planners Do Seminar Series

23 Research Predictive modeling of flood insurance claims, inundation, and sea level rise Assessing Beach Access: Post-Severance Integrated Community Resilience Index (ICRI): Linking Ecosystem Well-Being and Human Well- Being Climate change in the Mission Aransas Reserve: Evaluating vulnerability of coastal ecosystem and communities using long term data sets and development of relevant adaptation strategies. What Planners Do Seminar Series