Flood recovery and property acquisition in Cedar R

Authors: Eric Tate Aaron Strong Travis Kraus Haoyi Xiong

Publish Date: 2015/10/31

Volume: 80, Issue: 3, Pages: 2055-2079

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Abstract

Voluntary property acquisitions are playing an increasingly prominent role in the aftermath of US flood disasters as policy tools for community recovery and hazard mitigation Following historic flooding in 2008 the City of Cedar Rapids Iowa instituted a federally supported program for the acquisition of over 1300 damaged properties Using Cedar Rapids as a case study this article investigates postflood property acquisition from the perspectives of cost effectiveness and social equity To assess economic viability a benefitcost analysis was performed at the parcel scale Social equity was assessed using a social vulnerability index tailored to flood recovery The results indicate that the property acquisitions are cost effective based on the avoidance of future flood losses and prioritize socially vulnerable neighborhoods The dual economic and social analysis sheds light on the capacity of federally supported buyouts to support holistic postdisaster planning and decisionmakingIn June 2008 following a winter of heavy snowfall and a spring with highintensity rains a broad swath of the Midwestern United States experienced significant flooding Krajewski and Mantilla 2010 The City of Cedar Rapids Iowa was particularly hard hit by flooding along the Cedar River which remained at or above flood stage for several weeks The river ultimately crested at a stage of 311 feet surpassing the previous record by more than 11 feet USGS 2014 The flooding extended well beyond the mapped 500year floodplain boundary inundating over 10 square miles and 1300 city blocks displacing more than 18000 residents and generating over 3 billion in economic losses City of Cedar Rapids 2010 Moreover the flooded areas overlapped the majority of the affordable housing stock within the city with many affected residents subsequently unable to afford housing in undamaged areasIn the weeks following the flood Cedar Rapids began the recovery process bringing together residents hazard and planning experts and government agencies to devise a recovery and redevelopment plan The 10month public participation planning process resulted in the River Corridor Redevelopment Plan and a preferred flood management strategy Guided by the principles of environmental justice and sustainability the strategy combined levees removable floodwalls green space and neighborhood revitalization A key element of the recovery plan was the acquisition of 1356 floodaffected propertiesThis article examines the degree to which property acquisitions in Cedar Rapids support hazard mitigation and revitalization of vulnerable neighborhoods Two research questions form the basis for the analysis First were the acquisitions a costeffective way to reduce future flood damage To investigate we conducted a benefitcost analysis for the acquired properties Second did the property acquisitions target disadvantaged areas To address this question we developed a social vulnerability index tailored to flood recovery and used it to evaluate the distribution of property acquisition resources in terms of social equityNationwide voluntary property acquisitions “buyouts” are playing an increasingly important policy role after flood disasters Zavar 2015 Through buyout programs owners of severely damaged properties are offered preflood fair market values for their properties and given an opportunity to move from difficult circumstances Fraser et al 2003 When acquired parcels are permanently converted to green space or wetlands they enhance hazard mitigation by eliminating future property losses reduce threats to residents and first responders and provide environmental benefits through expanded ecological habitat flood storage and conveyance and recreational opportunities However past voluntary buyout programs have also generated resident feelings of coercion degradation of trust and loss of attachment to place de Vries and Fraser 2012 Fraser et al 2003The US Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA has had voluntary buyout authority since the 1980s but its use gained favor as a policy recommendation following the Mississippi River flooding of 1993 Interagency Floodplain Management Review Committee 1994 With estimated losses of an estimated 34 billion the 1993 flood stands among the most devastating and costly disasters in US history NOAA 2015 and led to policy shifts at the federal level toward nonstructural mitigation Fraser et al 2003 The Robert T Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988 governs allocation of federal postdisaster assistance following a Presidential Disaster Declaration A 1993 amendment to the Stafford Act increased the allowable portion of relief funds that could be applied to voluntary buyouts and other mitigation projects to 15  and increased the federal cost share from 50 to 75  Conrad et al 1998 Voluntary acquisition of damaged or destroyed properties occurs under the Stafford Act through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program HMGPThe primary objectives of HMGP are to prevent future hazard risk to people and property and enable mitigation activities to be integrated into disaster recovery Properties acquired with HMGP funds are deed restricted against structural improvements reverting in perpetuity to open space recreational use or natural floodplains Conrad et al 1998 Properties outside the 100year flood boundary can be acquired with HMGP funds but only if they meet FEMA’s benefitcost analysis BCA requirements A FEMA BCA evaluates the future benefits in terms of projected avoided losses acquisition costs and maintenance costs over the same time period If the ratio of benefits to costs exceeds 10 the acquisition is considered to be cost effective and becomes eligible for HMGP funding For properties declared by the community as ‘substantially damaged’ by flooding and located within a mapped 100year floodplain property acquisition is automatically deemed to be cost effective and the benefitcost requirements are waived FEMA 2013 This economic justification for HMGP project selection increasingly aligns with demands of policy makers and decisionmakers Shreve and Kelman 2014 adopting a utilitarian perspective to disaster recovery in which resource distribution should focus on maximizing public utility Johnson et al 2007 Schulze and Kneese 1981The Community Development Block Grant Program CDBG is the second major source of federal assistance for postdisaster property acquisitions CDBG funding for disaster recovery originates via special Congressional appropriations that route funds through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to state governments The primary mission of CDBG is neighborhood revitalization and economic development but appropriations related to disasters have expanded dramatically over the past decade Between the years 2000 and 2013 disaster recovery grants constituted nearly half of all program disbursements Spader and Turnham 2014

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