MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING
Miami Beach has a permanent population of about 80,000, but must provide services adequate to serve more than 13 million annual visitors who occupy more than 25,000 hotel rooms.
Though its land mass is less than
eight square miles, the densely populated luxury living and resort town has a
total taxable value of more than $56 billion.
All that valuable residential and
commercial real estate sits only four feet above sea level.
With Biscayne Bay on its west side and
the Atlantic Ocean on its east, the city is vulnerable to both sunny-day tidal
flooding and paralyzing flooding simply when it gets heavy rains.
Miami Beach is planning to invest
upwards of roughly $1 billion on resiliency.
A 2018 general obligation bond brought
in more than $439 million — with most of it earmarked for resiliency.
Using utility fees and other
resources, the city is adding water pumps, improving its stormwater network and
rebuilding parks that can control flooding.
pumps are stupid! The water goes out into the ocean? Buildings should have storage to prevent water from ending up on the ground! This water can be purified and used ! A no brainier! Plant more trees will also help mitigate the water!
ReplyDelete