Title
Strategic Priority Update: Living with Water
Purpose
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
Following the Dutch Dialogues in 2015, the first phase of Resilient Hampton developed a city-wide analysis and policy report Living with Water Hampton: A Holistic Approach to Addressing Sea Level Rise and Resiliency, which was completed in December 2017 and endorsed by City Council in January 2018. This first phase established the City's values and set goals for resilience. City Council Resolution 18-0001 adopted key elements of the report into the Comprehensive Plan in July 2018. Elements included resilience goals and objectives, as well as discussion and maps of existing flooding and future anticipated conditions.
For the second phase, City Council selected Newmarket Creek as the initial area to pilot implementation of resilience goals and develop innovative solutions to reduce flood risk while, notably, enhancing quality of life. A January 2019 design workshop kicked off this phase to explore conceptual designs and develop a Newmarket Creek Pilot Area Water Plan. The major theme resulting from the workshop was to slow water where we can with the use of green infrastructure, store water where we have space, redirect water where it makes sense, and adapt places to accept water where it naturally wants to go. The Resilient Hampton interdepartmental team, our consultants Waggonner & Ball from New Orleans and Bosch-Slobbers from the Netherlands, and many partners have made significant contributions to this effort.
On January 14, 2020, a community meeting was held to exhibit the culmination of this year-long effort and get additional community feedback on specific pilot projects designed to alleviate flooding while at the same time adding layered benefits to the community. Additionally, a new Resilient And Innovative Neighbors ("RAIN") grant program was being developed to incentivize individual property owners to undertake small-scale stormwater projects that contribute to...
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