Living with Alaskan coastal hazards takes good neighbors </MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 6:59 PM on Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Living with Alaskan coastal hazards takes good neighbors

By Rick Foster
Kachemak Bay Research Reserve

Homer’s bench and shoreline bluffs are subject to multiple hazards of nature — flooding, erosion, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis to name a few. While living with these risks may be part of our way of life, many people are attracted to the “riskiest” of homesites, those on eroding bluffs, floodplains, steep slopes and stream canyons. These are some of the most desirable properties because of their ocean views and land buyers’ craving for waterfront property. The City of Homer occupies a relatively small amount of land along the shore, on steep hillsides and on the elevated plateau north of downtown. The remaining developable land not subject to some form of hazard is somewhat limited since about 40 percent is wetlands and steep slopes.

Hazards of unstable slope development necessitate a "Good Neighbor Policy."

Are folks simply ignoring the natural hazards of the area? Dr. Owen Mason, author of “Living with the Coast of Alaska, suggests that Alaskans residing “at the end of the road” in the “Last Frontier” actually may have a sense of pride in living with so many hazards of nature. For sure, early settlers to the area either became knowledgeable of their property and its hazards, or they perished. However, when challenged with tragedy or misfortune, their neighbors and the whole community would come to the rescue to provide support and assistance. Clearly, though, those pioneers would not tolerate risky acts of individuals that jeopardized the safety of others.

Today, property owners may not realize the importance of knowing how local hazards might affect their lands. So, folks may take little thought that their responses to the hazards could jeopardize properties next door or downhill. Similarly, as a community, we tend to ignore the cumulative impacts and increased exposure to hazards that overall development in the watershed creates.

“No Adverse Impact” (NAI) is a relatively new hazard management principle, developed by the Association of State Floodplain Managers. It attempts to ensure that the action of a property owner or community does not adversely impact properties of others, or publicly owned lands and natural resources. It is a “do-no-harm”-based “good neighbor policy” focusing on personal responsibility and mitigation of hazard risk for the benefit of all property owners — including cities and public domain. Avoiding adverse actions can be done directly — for instance by not causing shoreline erosion on the adjacent property — or indirectly — for instance by not having an adverse economic impact on real estate values or construction costs for neighboring properties.

As a component of the Homer City Code, the NAI principle requires that “development activities shall not adversely impact other properties by causing damaging alteration of surface water drainage, surface water ponding, slope failure, erosion, siltation, intentional or inadvertent fill or root damage to neighboring trees, or other physical impacts. The property owner and developer shall take such steps, including installation of culverts or buffers, or other methods, as necessary to comply with this requirement.” Visit http://clerk.ci.homer.ak.us/document/ 2144.htm to learn more.

The Research Reserve’s Coastal Training Program staff have recently worked with the Alaska State Floodplain Manager and the city’s planning department to incorporate the No Adverse Impact approach into local workshops for landowners and community leaders. This summer, the city participated in a special workshop to identify guidelines that address coastal erosion and meet the NAI permitting criteria. City planners are currently working to address hazards associated with steep slope and wetland development.

How can you reduce the impacts you might have on your neighbors’ properties and on our shared natural resources? Dr. Mason suggests that individual property owners and buyers should learn the fundamentals of hazard recognition. Being a good neighbor means it is each resident’s responsibility to learn how natural hazards might affect their properties, how to avoid intensifying effects of these hazards, and how to evaluate their actions in terms of their potential for impacting neighbors. Anyone buying, building on, or developing land — especially those trying to protect their property from natural hazards — should be aware of the No Adverse Impact principle and how to incorporate it into their development activities.

Rick Foster is the Coastal Training Program (CTP) coordinator at Kachemak Bay Research Reserve. This program attempts to improve decision-making related to coastal resources by providing the best available scientific information, tools and techniques to groups and individuals that are making important decisions regarding resources within coastal watersheds, estuaries and nearshore waters.

If you have questions about Kachemak Bay, contact reserve staff at 235-4799 or visit the Web site at www.kbayrr.org.

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