Government Buy-Out Program

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Objective

Investigate alternative methods for non-structural shoreline hazard mitigation, including managed retreat and multi-layered defenses.

Although this assignment is not for credit you will be expected to know the material in quizzes and midterms.

Assignment

Readings

First, reread the article on the previous page to refresh your memory. Next read Staten Island neighborhood is about to become a wetland (link is external). And finally, read over the rest of this section as well as the full press lease linked on the next page. Once you have read and understand everything, take a few minutes to answer the questions about the New York Home Buyout Program in the space provided on the next page.

Government Buy-Out of At-Risk Coastal Properties – New York Example following Sandy

Excerpted from a March 2013 press release from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's Office:

Recreate NY Smart Home Buyout Program - $171 million: Certain areas are at high risk for repeated flooding, causing damage to homes and risking the lives of residents and emergency responders. To reduce those risks and provide residents with an opportunity to leave their properties, New York State will offer voluntary Buyouts for homes that were:

• substantially damaged inside the 500-year flood plain, or
• located within designated buyout areas where damage occurred and where property may be susceptible to future damage due to sea level rise and other factors. These enhanced buyout areas will be selected in consultation with county and local government officials.
• In very high risk areas, there will be a prohibition on rebuilding and these areas will be used as buffer zones. Under the States proposal, and subject to approval by HUD, re-development of property outside of the 100-year floodplain that is acquired through a buyout would be permitted, so long as the new structure is built to mitigate future flood impact. Homeowners will be notified if they are eligible for a buyout after HUD has approved this plan.

Definition for "500 year flood plain" and "100 year flood plain"

A "100 year flood" is not the flood that will occur once every 100 years. Instead, it should be thought of as flood elevation that has a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded each year. Therefore, a 100-year flood could occur more than once in a relatively short period of time. A 500 year flood elevation has a 0.2% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Question 1: In the New York example, what parameters make a property likely to be included in the buyout program?

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Question 2: What general criteria must be met to allow for the success of this kind of program?

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Question 3: Would the program work in all places? Why or why not?

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Question 4: Give an example of a situation where it may not work or has not worked well to your knowledge.

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