Phased Construction

Buying private property with federal hazard mitigation funds is a slow process. On average, it can take five to eight years before money is exchanged and property is converted to green space. As such, the proposed Spring Park expansion may take decades to complete. Additionally, it will take multiple funding sources to complete the proposed upgrades after the land is purchased and cleared through the buyout program. This report divides implementation and construction into three phases and recognizes that each phase will incorporate multiple individual projects. The phasing is based on the current property status, as shown in the property analysis map at the beginning of this chapter. Phasing generally moves first from government-owned to those properties with owners interested in participating in a buyout program, then ends with vacant lots and those properties that have been abandoned.

1 PHASE

2 PHASE

3 PHASE

30 Year Timeline

PHASE 1

The first phase focuses on property already owned by the city or parish because of previous buyout agreements. It also includes several properties that are currently in the process of being bought out. Many of these properties are adjacent or near Spring Park, but some are closer to the southern boundary of the neighborhood. This phase relies on the existing street network to connect properties on Mattie St. and Willow St. with the proposed amenities along River Road north of Centerville St. This phase envisions remodeling and expanding Spring Park as a catalyst project to establish the area as a community destination for cyclists and pedestrians. It improves Spring Park by expanding the footprint of the park, restoring the natural springs, and adding trails with historical and educational markers, an outdoor classroom, and an ADA accessible playground with a splash pad. It also includes the first steps in naturalizing the streambank and developing an amphitheater, terraces, and riparian buffers with greenways along Long Slash Branch east of Antique Village. All these efforts will increase stormwater storage capacity while meeting local socio-cultural needs to increase community wellbeing and resilience.

PHASE 2

The second phase focuses on property with owners who are interested in participating in a voluntary buyout program but have not yet initiated the process. Its goal is to address checkerboarding that results from some residents choosing to leave, while some choose to stay. To prevent illegal dumping and a sense of blight, this phase includes ideas for how to use and connect smaller pieces of land that may be adjacent to or bounded by private property. Remedies may include an expansion of the greenway and trail network. However, the existing street network is still required to connect some parcels to the rest of the park network. These trails and greenways also serve to connect rain gardens, bioswales, and other green infrastructure interventions. With the construction of the skatepark and dog park, recreational amenities, open spaces, and stormwater storage capacity are increased in the southern region of the neighborhood.

PHASE 3

The final phase focuses on those properties currently vacant or identified as abandoned by city employees. Many property owners in the neighborhood demolished flooded homes after the 2016 floods. This can make it more difficult to use federal funds to buyout the property because in FEMA’s perspective buyout funds require a hazard to be mitigated. If there is not a house or a building that could potentially flood, then there is no hazard to mitigate. In order to buyout these property owners, the city may need to secure other sources of funding. This could be accomplished by establishing a special fund, like a rainy day fund supported by assessing an annual flood mitigation fee for all property owners or sewer and sanitation users. The city can also explore other granting opportunities that would allow for property acquisition and build out. This phase sees an extension of conserved wooded wetland spaces and the trail network along Long Slash Branch within the expanded park. The expanded trail network increases connectivity and reduces the reliance on existing streets to connect amenities within the newly expanded park footprint. Expanding the trail network will also increase feelings of personal safety and improve interaction with nature. The final phase completes the build out of the active recreational zone and maintains space for current residents who plan to stay in the neighborhood long-term. Increasing open-space in the area and constructing amenities that provide stormwater management benefits and support healthy, active lifestyles can reduce flood risk of remaining structures in the foreseeable future.

Conclusion

Improving stormwater management and increasing community resilience requires more than a single project. Effective stormwater management necessitates collaboration across political boundaries because drainage in Denham Springs is affected by both upstream and downstream development decisions. Using a watershed approach, Denham Springs should form collaborations with jurisdictions across the watershed at all levels (municipal, parish, state, federal). This will allow the city to be a part of larger conversations and influence decisions that impact regional resilience. With the development of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, the political climate in the region is primed and more receptive than ever before to embracing flood risk reduction and resilience with a collaborative spirit.

In addition to collaborative projects, creating the desired transformation requires prolonged public engagement that goes beyond education to cause a cultural shift. Residents need to learn about the risks associated with living in a floodplain as well as adaptation measures from relocation to green infrastructure tools. They also need to take the steps to install these systems on their property and to support city expenditures for green infrastructure installations on public land. Further, residents need the information and support to become a different type of consumer. Residents should know and prioritize construction standards that represent best practices in areas likely to flood, such as inclusion of bioretention spaces or house elevation with pier and beam construction, over the status quo. The city should also revise ordinances to require or incentivize these changes to encourage developers to build in ways that foster resilience.

In flood-prone communities where buyouts are considered, public support is key to program success. Communities support projects when they understand how the project meets their needs and when they are included in shaping goals, processes, and outcomes. If program benefits do not provide adequate compensation for the social and financial costs that property owners accrue when relocating, residents will not choose to participate, and federal law stipulates buyout programs must be voluntary.

Denham Springs can garner and maintain long term community support by:

• Creating a strong unified vision with residents in the buyout area and throughout the larger community.

• Establishing strong relationships with residents, community partners, and parish state officials.

• Using clear, transparent communication.

The designs presented in this report may take 20 or 30 years to complete. When projects stretch over long periods of time, it is easy for residents to become resentful and disenchanted. Clear, transparent communication with regular updates on project progress lets residents know the city is still working to accomplish resiliency goals. This becomes even more important when the work is behind the scenes, such as relationship building, grant-writing, and other measures to support long-term resiliency building.

This report represents one step in a long process of community transformation. This process started with the long-term recovery plan that produced Denham Strong and continued through the bicycle and pedestrian master planning process. Together these reports show the city of Denham Springs is well on its way to improving community wellbeing and resilience through flood risk reduction and infrastructure improvements that provide stormwater management, mobility, recreational, and health benefits.