Planning for a Changing Coast: Strategies for Implementing Resiliency Improvement Districts
Connecticut municipalities now have a new tool for addressing the long-term effects of sea level rise, coastal flooding, and increasingly severe storms. Public Act 25-33 authorizes municipalities to establish Resiliency Improvement Districts, or RIDs, to support coordinated planning and finance public improvements in areas facing climate-related risks.
WestCOG’s new report, Planning for a Changing Coast: Strategies for Implementing Resiliency Improvement Districts, helps municipal officials understand the broad range of strategies that may be considered when developing a RID or undertaking other coastal resilience planning.
Adapt
Adaptation accepts that some flooding cannot reasonably be prevented and focuses on helping communities continue to function safely under changing conditions.
Potential strategies include:Emergency evacuation planning for neighborhoods that may become temporarily isolated
- Planned temporary road closures during high tides or severe storms
- Enhanced warning, communication, transportation, and emergency-response systems
- Infrastructure designed to withstand periodic inundation
Protect
Protection strategies seek to maintain existing land uses and infrastructure by reducing exposure to coastal hazards.
Potential strategies include:
- Building elevation and increased freeboard requirements
- Protective barriers and seawalls in selected locations
- Road elevation and drainage improvements
- Interim wastewater solutions where rising groundwater threatens septic systems
Protection may be appropriate in some locations, particularly where critical infrastructure or significant public and private investments are concentrated. These strategies can also be costly and may become more difficult to sustain as sea levels rise.
Transition
Transition strategies use normal redevelopment and infrastructure replacement cycles to gradually move communities toward more resilient patterns.
Potential strategies include:
- Critical infrastructure overlay zones
- Relocating or floodproofing essential public facilities
- Village District regulations that coordinate resilient redevelopment while preserving neighborhood character
- Water-dependent use zones that encourage waterfront activities compatible with periodic flooding
- Redirecting public investment toward less vulnerable locations
Transition does not require immediate relocation or abandonment. Instead, it recognizes that communities are continually changing and that routine investments can help reduce long-term vulnerability.
Retreat
Retreat may become appropriate where continued protection, access, or infrastructure investment is no longer practical.
Potential strategies include:
- Managed retirement of roads and other public infrastructure
- Conversion of vulnerable corridors into parks, trails, wetlands, or public waterfront space
- Buildings designed to be relocated in the future
- Transfer of Development Rights programs that shift development potential from vulnerable areas to locations better suited for growth
- Voluntary acquisition and long-term relocation strategies
Retreat is generally a gradual process carried out through capital planning, redevelopment, infrastructure replacement, and voluntary decisions rather than immediate abandonment.
Planning for More Than One Future
The report encourages municipalities to consider how different strategies may be used at different times. A community may initially adapt to occasional flooding, later invest in protection, and eventually transition infrastructure or development away from the most vulnerable locations.
The appropriate sequence will depend on local conditions, including:
- Projected sea level rise and tidal flooding
- Storm exposure
- Groundwater and wastewater conditions
- Road access and emergency-response needs
- The location of critical infrastructure
- Environmental resources
- Property and infrastructure costs
- Available revenues and outside funding
- Community priorities
The report does not recommend that every municipality establish a RID or adopt every strategy. Its purpose is to help local officials understand the full spectrum of available approaches and evaluate which options may be appropriate for their communities.
A New Tool for Connecticut Municipalities
Connecticut is among the first states in the nation to establish a comprehensive framework for Resiliency Improvement Districts. RIDs provide municipalities with a way to connect long-term planning, public improvements, land use, and financing within a defined area.
Potential RID-funded activities may include:
- Flood and tidal monitoring
- Road and drainage improvements
- Emergency notification and evacuation systems
- Protective infrastructure
- Public land acquisition
- Infrastructure relocation or retirement
- Waterfront and ecological restoration
- Planning, engineering, and design
The creation of a RID is a local decision. The legislation gives municipalities an additional framework they may draw upon as they consider how to respond to changing coastal conditions.
Building on WestCOG’s Previous Work
This report builds upon two earlier WestCOG publications:
- Flooding in Connecticut: A Status Report on Municipal Flood Prevention Standards
- Local Zoning Innovations for Coastal Flood Resilience: Responding to a Changing Environment through Flexible Strategies
Together, these reports provide municipalities with complementary guidance on flood prevention, zoning, long-term coastal planning, and implementation.
Who Should Use This Report?
The report is intended for:
- Municipal elected officials
- Planning and zoning commissions
- Municipal planners
- Emergency managers
- Engineers and public works officials
- Finance and capital-planning staff
- Conservation and inland wetlands commissions
- Coastal property owners and community organizations