Title
Briefing on Resilient Hampton Phase I
Purpose
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
In 2015, the City participated in an intensive design charette with Norfolk called the Dutch Dialogues: Life at Sea Level. At the conclusion of this event, Hampton pledged to continue forwarding resiliency efforts in the city and the region. Following this effort, the City contracted with Waggonner and Ball, the consulting team that worked on the Dutch Dialogues, to work with staff on the Resilient Hampton initiative. Staff are now finishing up Phase I of three proposed phases. During the first phase several tasks were completed: a city-wide, high-level assessment was conducted of existing conditions, concerns and potential solutions; the best available data related to sea level rise and climate change was located and analyzed; based on analysis of community workshops and outreach staff established guiding principles, values, and goals for a resilient Hampton; reviewed the legal framework around implementation of resilience projects and policies; drafted a preliminary evaluation tool for assisting leaders in making decisions about investments based on resiliency; and listed a set of next steps, including the need to select a geographic area for the first resiliency pilot project (which will take up the bulk of Phase II). The results of each of these tasks is detailed in the attached report that summarizes the findings of Phase I and looks forward to Phase II.
At this time, the report is still in draft form, and based on Council feedback, staff will come back to Council for endorsement at a later meeting and to request direction to undertake next steps.
Recommendation:
Rec
Review preliminary report and materials and provide feedback to staff.