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Parish presidents and officials talk about local CZM issues ‘after Katrina’…

Perceptions of ‘the wolf at the door’: Preliminary findings on Changing Capacities Among Local Officials in the Coastal Zone CNorris-Raynbird, PhD S.Laska, PhD. Parish presidents and officials talk about local CZM issues ‘after Katrina’…. In 2005, before Katrina….

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Parish presidents and officials talk about local CZM issues ‘after Katrina’…

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  1. Perceptions of ‘the wolf at the door’: Preliminary findings on Changing Capacities Among Local Officials in the Coastal Zone CNorris-Raynbird, PhD S.Laska, PhD Parish presidents and officials talk about local CZM issues ‘after Katrina’…

  2. In 2005, before Katrina… “…tend to think about when the wolf’s at the door. I don’t see the wolf at the door yet” (August 2005, inland coastal parish president) And after… “..inundation of New Orleans residents…we were having a difficulty keeping a handle on the influx of people…school system, infrastructure to be able to handle that. […] We had significant wind damage…we had some damage but nothing near what New Orleans…experienced. […] This urgency…of making sure we can stop the land loss and erosion...I don’t think the constituency recognizes the urgency of it. And that’s neither good or bad…its kinda like its not on their plate yet” (07/15/2009)

  3. Methods and sample: ) Person to person interviews with parish presidents, CZM administrators, and related officials in 10 CZ parishes Content analysis of transcribed interviews (N = 28) to identify common themes across interviews Content analysis of official parish websites (N = 15 parishes) Sample parish characteristics: Local Coastal Program:3 No 3 considering 8 Yes 1 Pending Coastal adjacency: 7 ‘inland’ 8 coastal

  4. Themes from interviews… Compliance Strategies(Officials describe strategies for implementing new building codes and elevation requirements) 6 parishes……. non compliance – stall strategy 6 parishes…….’holding the line’ strategy 3 parishes……. Enforcer strategy

  5. Compliance Strategies… Stall (non-compliance): “We found problems there (DFIRMS)…how do you know if you didn’t do the study? We trying to figure out what’s going on”(7/09/09) “We gonna have to look at building codes and hopefully we won’t be 16 ft in the air”(07/06/09) “..drawings of the areas we objected to (which had never been flooded before), would put a lot of property out of commerce” (07/21/09) “We are fighting it right now.” (07/07/09)

  6. Compliance Strategies… Holding the line: “Valentine’s Day massacre…lot of angry residents. But we towed the line…we reconciled to it”(07/15/09) “Until that (flood protection) project finishes, this parish does not have to adopt DFIRMS…(but) we are requiring those higher numbers”(07/09/09) “(People) want to stay here…build smarter, safer, stronger. That’s one approach we’ve had on it”(7/21/09) “We’ve got to be able to offer it to ‘em…got to have respect for them…understand how they feel” (07/21/09) “They’ve gone ahead and done it on their own, taking the initiative” (11/18/09)

  7. Compliance Strategies… Enforcer: “Sometimes people expect you to allow them to do what they’ve always done. […] I have no problem saying ‘no’ ” (07/06/09) “I don’t live in xxxx parish…but I’m the hired gun out here…” (07/06/09) “ ‘You suing me?’ ‘Yes I told you I was going to sue you’. I’m lucky, I have three young judges…every last one of those judges has built…under FEMA regulations. […]So they understand that they don’t have a choice.” (07/09/09)

  8. Themes from interviews… Learning curve(Officials describe positive effects of repetitive storms on knowledge gains) 80% of coastal parishes (14 respondents) referred to parish administration knowledge gains in preparedness and response… 60% referred to constituency knowledge gains… But ALL respondents referred to knowledge gains in the political process of recovery.

  9. Learning curve… Knowledge gains in preparedness and response among local officials… “…because we’d seen the damage…and we evacuated for Rita, and we evacuated since…I mean its serious now”(07/21/09) “..we didn’t take the brunt of Katrina…biggest challenge was to regroup and become more prepared. Gustav...was a direct hit…but we were pretty much prepared” (07/15/09) “We have made great strides. We were able to test that during Gustav and Ike” (07/06/09)

  10. Learning curve… Constituency learning “(Residents) are learning…that they’ve got to listen to what professionals say about the tides and the heights that building have to be” (07/21/09) “There’s more tolerance. They’re understanding; they’re recognizing the need, the requirements, why” (07/15/09) “People that came back were a little bit more civic minded and a little bit more understanding of all the other issues” (07/06/09) “General public is smarter…people have really internalized what the risk or cost-benefit analysis is” (07/06/09)

  11. Learning curve… Capacity to navigate political waters… “We are speaking more in one voice (multiple parishes) …more influential” (07/21/09) “My guys (staff) are getting savvy…It’s a huge political process” (07/09/09) “Other parishes…they’re starting to get the idea…everyone’s been very aggressive” (going after funding) (11/18/09) “We learned the tricks of thetrade…how FEMA works… how the State works when it comes to recovery” (07/21/09)

  12. Themes from interviews… Disconnects (Incoherencies in what is sustainable recovery… land use decisions… autonomy v.s. need for external assistance) Parishes were asked about comprehensive planning for recovery and mitigation. Of 15 parishes interviewed in 2009: 8 No comprehensive plan 3 Comprehensive plan in process 1 Had grant – but no plan …no agreement on council 3 Had comprehensive plans

  13. Disconnects… Conflicting perceptions on sustainable recovery “Its gonna be better than it was and its gonna be pleasing to the eye with more of a planner’s view to it. […] I’m more realistic. We have so many needs. Planners… just paint pretty pictures”(7/21/09) Conflicting perceptions on autonomy vs assistance “We want to take our destiny into our own hands […] Coastal restoration is probably the most important thing… we realized that we’re not going to get it from non-federal levees” (07/06/09) Conflicting perceptions on land use “that’s (redefining the CZ line objection ) going to take a good portion of our developable, very dense populated areas […] We were going to be really strict on new subdivision development, but that hasn’t been defined yet”(07/21/09)

  14. No council member left behind? Hiccups “We are missing dissemination of information (to) the council and administration” (07/06/09) “Council is very rural…you say zoning…they go ballistic on you” (07/09/09) “Council seems to be moving in a different direction. There’s still a police juror mentality…they see their districts as their domain” (07/07/09) “My biggest battle is going to be the council. (07/15/09)

  15. Need to know… • What other parishes are doing… • - flood control, drainage…what types of projects planned? • codes, elevations - implementing strategies • educating council members / jurors • to recruit population or to handle influx of population • About maps, accurate information… • - barrier islands and wetlands loss yearly updates • coherent funding information – coordinated • If other parishes see ecologic whole: • - seeing parish within the context of overall coastal plan • - supporting coastal decisions that benefit the whole

  16. Preliminary Conclusions.. In several ‘inland’ parishes, the message of participatory urgency has not been received Whereas council members are making decisions on local recovery and mitigation, they are not part of the CZM learning process. There is an expressed need for more exchange of information between parishes. There are conceptual disconnects along many dimensions of the recovery process There is evidence of increased local capacity in preparedness and response

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