Lies in Wise Government Planning and Spending
Kevin Blanchard has first-hand
experience with building for adaptation — as an investigative reporter,
attorney, public works director and leader of a company that builds resiliency
into its Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) and conventional
subdivisions.
He is the chief operating officer for Southern Lifestyle
Development, based in Lafayette, La., and previously served as public works
director and chief development officer for Lafayette Consolidated Government,
where he helped shape the comprehensive plan and a new unified development
code.
“When I was with the city, we worked on ways to handle water, not to move
it. You put in a concrete-lined ditch, it moves quickly but you just flood somebody
else.” Blanchard said.
“We are 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, but less than
30 feet in land rise above sea level.
We have to be a progressive parish,
because we are low lying and vulnerable to major storm events, which seem to be
occurring more frequently due to climate.” Now that he is in charge of dozens
of projects, Blanchard gets to create resilient, livable, mixed income and
mixed-use communities.
Resiliency is a huge factor since 2016, when the biggest
rain in 80 years flooded a considerable number of homes in the parish.
“The
first thing buyers ask is ‘did this lot flood in `16’,” he said.
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