IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

The Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County was created as the first multi-jurisdictional organization of its kind in the country.

Matthew Fleming, the authority’s director and a 25-year veteran of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said it very much aims to be a national model.

“We may not have the big high-impact storms like hurricanes, but the constant erosion, the sunny day flooding, the infrastructure being inundated — we’re 520 miles of shoreline, peninsulas and creeks and these communities were getting cut off by flooding,” Fleming said.

“Approaching things from a regional context makes sense.”

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A              TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

In Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay and waterways that connect to it are a pulsing heart of economic development, seafood harvesting, recreation, transportation and nature.

Maryland has been working for years on ways to deal with coastal erosion, flooding, environmental changes and high-impact weather events.

Future-proofing roads, stormwater, sewers and other infrastructure demands billions of dollars.

In 2020, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill allowing every jurisdiction in the state to establish a resilience authority.

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

 MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A             TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

“Damage from extreme weather will cost the South Florida region — Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — more than $5.67 billion annually, per a new Urban Institute analysis using FEMA data,” reported news site Axios this August.

This perfect storm of greater need with lower federal funding is pressing cities, counties and other municipalities to explore bonds, revolving loan funds, public-private partnerships, nonprofit foundations, utility fees and other ways of footing the bill for very costly green infrastructure.

 

 

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

Natural disasters — destruction from wildfires, flooding, hurricanes and hail — are setting records for both frequency and severity according to the insurance, risk mitigation and emergency management industries.

But while municipalities are racing to harden systems while building and rebuilding for resiliency, post-Covid stimulus and infrastructure funds are drawing down.

On top of that, billions in federal funding are at risk and other programs are being put on hold, signaling that states and municipalities will be expected to foot more of the bill while becoming less reliant on federal grants and programs.

ABLEISTS ARE TOXIC

AND EVERY BIT AS LOATHSOMELY BIGOTED AS RACISTS

Why do ableists think it is the duty of people with disabilities, or their allies, to fix the built environment?

Every time I post a picture of neglected landscaping blocking sidewalk accessibility, I get "If it bothers you, why don't you trim it." snotty response.

Many find requests for the basic dignity/civil rights of wheelchair access so offensive, that they demonize the person requesting them.

No one would tell a burglarized person to become police and solve it.

But underscore a barrier and they scream at you to fix it yourself.

Diminishing the needs of people with disabilities is ableism.

Ableism is toxic.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Kristy Gore is a Charleston Area REALTOR® and Civic Leaders Academy alum who serves on the Berkeley County Planning and Zoning Commission.

She is running for South Carolina House District 99, gearing up for the primary.

“Most of my platform is tax reform and infrastructure.

We are in an infrastructure crisis, so we must reallocate money for roads and bridges,” she said, saying fiscally conservative policy can reduce tax burden while redirecting funds to pay for the basics.

Gore said she learned to navigate difficult decisions while reviewing controversial developments during her year and a half on the planning and zoning commission.

“A planning vote recently dealt with a medium-sized commercial parcel that backed up to residential.

I have become very familiar with wetlands in my real estate career. 

I have seen individual homeowners end up paying dearly for planning and zoning decisions done poorly.

I voted against a plan to change the zoning for that commercial plan,” Gore said, noting that the plan ultimately was approved.

A no vote can cause a developer to pay attention more to neighborhood flooding concerns.

She said a developer can revise a plan, creating less concrete lot coverage and more on-site ponds, before a council gives its final approval.

“We have to be responsible in our development. 

The leadership class was very eye opening.”

 

 

 

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Greater Charleston is experiencing exponential growth. It also welcomes eight million visitors per year, a big driver of the economy. Academy participants learn how to balance both permanent resident and tourism growth.

“Healthy tourism keeps taxes low,” Dix noted. “Good schools, a fire and police presence and sustaining healthy communities are the things buyers and sellers focus on. 

We are teaching that the beauty of local government is paving roads, picking up trash, and maintaining and improving the quality of life.”

Because Charleston has one of the richest architectural histories in the nation, the academy also teaches about how to protect the skyline and how to evaluate redevelopment that is sensitive to historic districts.

Participants learn about accessory dwelling units, missing middle housing, other diverse, affordable housing types, and that higher density does not have to mean taller buildings.

Missing middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and bungalows as well as cluster homes and cottage courts.

The academy is very hands on about preparing people to run for election. 

Many of its graduates serve on boards and commissions as well as in elective office.