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Issues
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Floodplain Management
(To download the floodplain issue paper in pdf, click here.)
As storm frequency and intensity increase with rising global water temperatures, the people, resources, and facilities located along the Metro Bay shoreline face ever-greater risks from hurricanes and floods. The area’s population is approximately 375,000—nearly one-third of the state population (1.3 million), with a density eight times greater than the rest of Rhode Island. The region is characterized by transportation access, prominence as a regional storage and distribution site for energy sources, medical and education institutions, a surprising amount of natural habitat, and proximity to other urban centers. Critical regional facilities include a port, oil and gas storage tanks, four state sewage treatment plants, five hospitals, several bridges, and commercial and commuter rail. A major transportation project is relocating part of Interstate 195 that spans the Providence and Seekonk rivers.
This heavily developed area is located in a 100-year floodplain, where crippling storm surges as high as 21 feet could occur. Nevertheless, more than $400 million has already been invested, or is being planned, in redevelopment in the floodplain.
Significant education, prevention, and preparation processes are needed to ensure that the region is able to withstand the effects of a major storm.
Issues of concern include the following. For descriptions of each concern, click the linked text:
- Expansion of the floodplain due to fill, infill development, sea level rise, runoff, and shoreline change
- Increased flooding impacts from additional infrastructure and populations in the floodplain
- Increased impacts to recreational marine facilities and boaters
- Impact of existing and potential shoreline debris during a storm
- Lack of a regional hydrodynamic model to predict the extent and impacts of flooding
- Government capacity to implement mitigation plans and respond to coastal floods
Recommended actions to improve the region’s disaster resilience include the following. For a detailed list of actions, click here (html).
- State and cities adopt more stringent building standards, flood ordinances, permitting processes, and best practices in coastal flood zones.
- State and municipal officials work with researchers to accurately map what will happen in storm events to guide siting and design of new development or remodeling.
- Government and university specialists better educate coastal developers, engineers, small businesses, banks, and homeowners on safeguarding lives and property.
- State agencies work with government officials to coordinate floodplain management across the Metro Bay region.
To download the floodplain issue paper in pdf, click here.
See Rhode Island flood maps on-line at http://reed.senate.gov/news/flood/.
Urban Coastal Greenways
The Urban Coastal Greenway Policy is viewable at the Coastal Resource Management Council's (CRMC) website. Please note that the Urban Coastal Greenway Zone Map and Other Urban Coastal Greenway data can be accessed from the Metro
Bay SAMP Mapper.
The first public comment period for the Urban Coastal Greenway Policy closed on May 22, 2006. The CRMC Policy & Planning Subcommittee heard testimony from a number of individuals, and also received written comments. These comments can be viewed at the CRMC website. CRMC is developing and a companion response document so that interested parties will have an opportunity to review all comments and the corresponding response. This document will also be posted on the CRMC web site.
Next Steps:
The revised Urban Coastal Greenway Policy will be developed and brought to the Policy and Planning Subcommittee for review and action. Once the Subcommittee recommends rule making action, the Policy will again go out to public notice for 30 days prior to the full Council hearing. If the Council approves the final Urban Coastal Greenway Policy, the document would become effective 20 days after notice to the Secretary of State.
For additional information on the Urban Coastal Greenway
Policy, please visit the CRMC
website or contact James Boyd at the CRMC 783-3370 or Jennifer
McCann at the URI Coastal Resources Center/Rhode Island Sea Grant
874-6224.
Information about the Urban Coastal Greenway Policy
The Urban Coastal Greenway Policy is an important component of
the Metro Bay SAMP. The policy was drafted in an effort to customize
CRMC's coastal vegetative buffer regulations for the urban landscape
of the Metro Bay Region. The Urban Coastal Greenway program is intended
to balance development of the Metro Bay shoreline with environmental
protection, restoration, and public access through a more flexible
and streamlined regulatory structure. As part of the Urban Coastal
Greenway Policy process, a Priority Lands Analysis was performed
to assess the conservation, restoration, and/or scenic values of
coastal Metro Bay properties. The analysis prioritized parcels for
conservation and restoration based on the value of the land as habitat
or as a link between important habitat areas. Parcels with the greatest
habitat value are categorized in the "Conservation Zone,"
followed by the "Restoration Zone," and then the "Scenic
and Recreation Zone." Parcels along the Woonasquatucket River
were ranked separately in the "Woonasquatucket Zone."
To download the criteria used to rank the parcels,
click
here (pdf). *Please be patient, the following maps take several
moments to load.* To access the habitat map on the interactive
map server, click
here. To access the linkage map on the interactive map server,
click
here. You may pan or zoom in and out of the maps using
the tools on the left side of the mapper. For full instructions
on using the mapper, click on the help or tutorial links on the
lower left side of the mapper page. Maps will take a little while
to load. Note on rankings: In all cases, lower numbers indicate
lower-priority parcels. Rankings for each zone are listed from lowest
value to highest.
Water-dependent Uses
As the four municipalities work to form a long-range plan for the
Metro-Bay region, issues at the interface between land and sea assume
a pivotal role in the shaping of a vision for the future. Water-dependent
uses have long vied for space at the water’s edge. New demands,
such as value-adding water views, add additional pressure. All too
often, uses that have nowhere else to go risk being shut out by
condominiums and office spaces, resulting in an inaccessible and
homogenous waterfront.
Recreational Uses
Although fishers, boaters, rowers, and pedestrians have access to
Metro Bay area shorelines, increasing development requires new management
solutions for recreational uses that involve the natural resources
of Northern Narragansett Bay. The Metro Bay SAMP is an opportunity
for community stakeholders to work with government and business
to ensure that bay resources are managed to accommodate increased
and new recreational uses, as well as conservation and commercial
uses. The SAMP will also address current and emerging issues facing
recreational pursuits and recommend ways to maximize access and
enjoyment for residents and visitors.
Brownfields Redevelopment
With a number of former industrial sites located along the shoreline
of northern Narragansett Bay, opportunities exist for government
and the private sector to coordinate on efforts to remove pollutants
from these waterfront sites and prepare them for new economic uses
that answer environmental and social goals for the Metro Bay region.
Remediating contaminated brownfield sites can pose financial and
planning challenges, but can also provide advantages, such as the
reuse of unique architecture, new or reestablished connections to
the water, company cost savings through tax incentives, and access
to a large, urban labor pool.
Habitat Restoration
The preservation and restoration of critical habitat areas in the
Metro Bay region is increasingly recognized by urban communities
as a significant means of improving the economic, aesthetic and
recreational values of the waterfront as well as supporting an intricate
web of animal and plant populations in the upper reaches of Narragansett
Bay. To preserve and restore this habitat, the Metro Bay SAMP will
provide opportunities for government, private sector and community
partners to participate in efforts to identify and prioritize key
areas and corridors in need of protection plans and measures.
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