Impacts of Acquisition Lincoln Park, NJ Case Study Mary Shaw, PhD, AICP, CFM Jen Sparenberg, CFM

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Lincoln Park Website 2 Proactive in Dissemination of Information on Flood Risk

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Methodology 3 Qualitative Research Approach Goal  Identify a range of impacts of acquisition Method  Interview officials from Lincoln Park  Interview officials from other communities along Passaic and Susquehanna  Identify commonalities, trends beyond reduction in flood damage

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Borough of Lincoln Park 4 Morris County, NJ26 miles from NYC2010 Population = 10,521 Named by New Jersey Monthly (February 2008) as one of top five places to live in NJ

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Confluence of Pompton and Passaic Rivers 5 Source: NFIP FIRM Index Panel , Borough of Lincoln Park, NJ, August 19, 1986

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS History of Flooding 6 Passaic and Pompton Rivers Flooding  August 2011 (Hurricane Irene)  March 2010  April 2007  August 2000  September 1999 (Hurricane Floyd)  November 1997  January 1996 Volunteering for Acquisition  65 properties in the approval process in April 2012

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Findings – Impacts of Acquisition Beyond Risk Reduction 7 Costs to municipality Benefits to municipality Costs to property owners Benefits to property owners Costs to utility companies

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Initial Costs to the Municipality 8  Legal costs  Administrative costs  Share of costs of property purchase, demolition, removal, grading  Loss of tax revenue Conclude not a problem if a community elects to do acquisitions Related to availability of other developable land in the community Conclude that if this is an obstacle, a community does not implement an acquisition program

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Interim Costs to the Municipality – Sprawl 9  Still maintaining the road  Still providing water / sewer service  Still doing evacuation, emergency shelter, rescue, repair and replace when there is a flood  Maintenance of vacant lots can be a cost

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Utility Costs  Regular maintenance along utility lines serving a relatively small number of customers 10

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Long-term Benefits to the Municipality  Return each acquired property to natural condition  Additional pervious surface, space for flood water storage  Avoided costs of evacuation, emergency shelter, rescue, debris removal, disruption, repair and rebuild for that structure 11

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Impacts on Property Owners  Community cohesion  Conflicting conclusions Lower property value because of flood- prone location Increased property value because of having open space nearby 12

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Lessons Learned 13  Consider geographic limitations/boundaries of the community Does the community have room to expand or is it built-out?  Consider the composition of the tax base of the community Large percentage of tax-exempt buildings? Vacation rental properties in a tourist destination? Availability of affordable housing outside the floodplain?

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Lessons Learned 14  Encourage/promote acquisition through public outreach before a disaster Permanent solution to eliminating flood risk Ensure the homeowner doesn’t pass the burden of flood damage and recovery on to future buyers Acquire properties at pre-flood value; buyout is an economic boon to property owners  Promote acquisition through planning and regulation Target areas for future acquisition to eliminate patchwork effect Add target areas as projects in hazard mitigation plan

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Preparing for Acquisition Hazard mitigation plan is very specific  Acquisition/elevation of eight severe repetitive loss properties on Aspen Lane, Bank Lane, Dubrow Street, Elm Street, and Riveredge Road  Acquisition/elevation of eight severe repetitive loss properties on DeHart Street, Ryerson Road, W. William Street, and Linden Avenue  Acquisition/elevation of eight severe repetitive loss properties on Harmon Street, Woodlawn Road, Walnut Street, and Roosevelt Street  Acquisition/elevation of eight severe repetitive loss properties on Oak Street, Poplar Street, Forrest Avenue  Acquisition/elevation of eight severe repetitive loss properties on Midwood Road, President Street, Maple Street, Pequannock Avenue, and Franklin Street 15

ASFPM 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE MISSION MITIGATION SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Elevation projects 16