At the October 30, 2019 City Commission Meeting, Commissioner Samuelian referred item C4 H Private Property Resiliency Adaptation to the Sustainability & Resilience Committee. The item was discussed at the January 21, 2020 Land Use and Sustainability Committee. Best practice research was presented, and the Committee directed the administration to explore options for a private property resiliency adaptation program.

In addition, at the March 18, 2020 City Commission Meeting, a resolution was introduced to create a new resiliency fund from uncommitted and anticipated revenue from the Miami-Dade Interlocal Agreement (ILA). The intent was for a small portion of the new resiliency fund (about $3 million) to be allocated for the private adaptation program until the Convention Center Hotel rent payments are available. The resolution proposed the dedication of $666,666.66 from the resiliency fund on an annual basis for a private adaptation resilience program until the Convention Center Hotel rent payments would be available for this purpose.  The March draft resolution was deferred and there is no current available funding at this time (Attachment 1). 

BACKGROUND

Private property adaptation is a key element to reduce the risk of flooding.  Cities generally rebuild more resiliently after a disaster with the help of federal funding. However, cities and property owners can avoid damage and be proactive through flood mitigation, the implementation of actions to reduce or eliminate the long- term risk of flood damage to buildings, other structures and infrastructure.

Miami Beach is low-lying, and 93% of all buildings are in the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area.  Miami Beach faces flood risk from high tides, storms, hurricanes, and sea level rise.  On July 24, 2020, the Mayor and City Commission adopted 2019 update of the Unified Regional Sea Level Rise Projection for Southeast Florida, developed by the Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact for planning purposes.  The projections further highlight the need to prepare for increased flooding.

·       Short term: by 2040, sea level is projected to rise 10 to 17 inches above 2000 mean sea level.

·       Medium term: by 2070, sea level is projected to rise 21 to 54 inches above 2000 mean sea level.

·       Long term: by 2120, sea level is projected to rise 40 to 136 inches above 2000 mean sea level.

Being proactive makes significant financial sense- the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) released a finding that every $1 invested in disaster mitigation by three federal agencies saves society $6. The Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2017 Interim Report was the first part of the long-awaited update to a 2005 study that had identified a lower return on investment. 

 Additionally, the City’s Business Case Analysis of the Stormwater Program results were released early this year, illustrating significant benefits for resilience investments.   The study was presented to the City Commission on January 27, 2020.  For specific private properties analyzed, flood mitigation for private properties have a benefit-cost ration of 2.8.  This means that every dollar spend saves nearly three dollars in avoided damages and other benefits.

From the overall community perspective, the 2019 Community Satisfaction Survey shows that 43% of residents are satisfied, 33% neutral, and 24% dissatisfied with their buildings’ flood risk protections. In addition, “efforts to manage stormwater drainage and flooding” was ranked in the top 3 priorities for the City. 

The City’s Chief Resilience Officer convened staff to develop a private property adaptation program concept through a multi-disciplinary approach, other government best practice research, and industry research. This included meetings with various departments to obtain their experience and recommendations. Departments engaged include Building (Floodplain Manager), Planning, Environment & Sustainability, Public Works, Capital Improvement Projects and the Office of Grants and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Best practice research focused on private adaptation programs implemented by other cities and entities. This included programs from the Global Resilient Cities Network (formerly known as 100 Resilient Cities), including the San Francisco Utilities Commission; Norfolk, Virginia; City of New Orleans, Louisiana; Washington DC; Berkeley California. The program concept was also discussed with the City’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for Public Information Committee (PPI) for feedback.

In addition, to understand the extent of flood mitigation approaches available to private property owners, market research was conducted, and included an “Invitation to Industry Review Meeting 2020-318-KB for Private Property Flood Mitigation.”  This was distributed to consultants to gather market research. (Attachment 2)

Private Property Adaptation Program Concept Summary

The purpose of the Private Property Adaptation Program, if developed, would be to reduce the risk of damage from flooding now and in the future. If funding is obtained, the program is envisioned as a grant program designed to incentivize property owners to make flood resilience improvements to their properties through a 50/50 matching grant between the City and grantee.  

The program would include an application process, established criteria, a staff committee to score and rank the applications, and reimbursement based on the completion of permitted work.  Initial impressions are that grants up to $10,000 per property from the City would be optimal, however more information will be gathered through industry research and building department permit research.  

An initial menu of practical and implementable resilient improvements was developed.

Preliminary criteria to qualify for the program can be broken down into income/assessed property values, flood risk and extent of benefit.  The staff team would develop a ranking system to prioritize the funding based on need and severity of flood risk.

Initial flood mitigation options for the private property adaptation program include:

1.     Flood mitigation engineering assessment: An assessment can help property owners determine what type of improvement is needed for the property.

2.     Green infrastructure: Incorporating both the natural environment and engineered elements such as rain gardens and bioswales can reduce flooding and improve water quality.

3.     Cisterns and rain barrels: Capturing water can reduce the amount of stormwater and harvesting rainwater for other uses.

4.     Replacing impermeable with permeable materials: Permeable pavements and surfaces can allow direct infiltration of water into the ground. By allowing water to naturally infiltrate into the ground as opposed to ponding or runoff, and replenish the groundwater lens. 

5.     Appliance and equipment elevation:  Mechanical and electrical equipment can be elevated to avoid flood damage.

6.     Dry floodproofing: This process makes a building watertight to prevent entry of water into interior spaces.

7.     Garage floor and yard elevation: There many cases where the main floor of a home is higher, however, the garage is at a lower elevation and is susceptible to flooding. In such cases, it may be possible to construct a garage floor or garage at a higher elevation and raise portions of the yard to provide access to the raised garage without impacting the main structure. 

8.      Elevate interior first finished floor: This strategy consists of buildings being adapted internally by raising the first floor.

9.     Wet flood proofing: This method makes uninhabited areas of the property structure resistant to flood damage by allowing water to enter and exit the outside area of the property.

10. Blue roofs: Capture rainwater by functioning as a tank-like structure. Water can be collected for reuse within the building for non-potable needs such as irrigation.

Recommended preliminary criteria include the following items.   Further development of criteria is needed:

•        Income or Assessed Property Value: Property owners with lower income or lower assessed property values.

•        Group A: A property with low elevation or evidence of flooding.

•        Group B: Two or more properties with low elevation or evidence of flooding that can increase the extent of benefit through flood mitigation for a greater number of properties/ residents. 

•        Group C: All other properties, with increased risk of flooding within the next 30 years due to sea level rise projections.

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

To understand the extent and type of need and interest from the community, feedback can be gathered through a simple questionnaire.  Though not a statistically valid survey, it can be distributed through existing City communications channels. A draft questionnaire is included at Attachment 3.