Coastal Lakeshore Economy and Resiliency (CLEAR) Plan for Monroe County, NY

Client:

• Monroe County, NY

Services:

• Lakeshore Business Retention + Resiliency Program Design
• Impact Analysis of Flood-Vulnerable Lakeshore Properties

In recent years, Monroe County experienced multiple flood events causing significant damage in coastal communities.

These events mark a unique trend toward future frequency and intensity of storms with coastal flooding and shoreline erosion.

The Coastal Lakeshore Economy and Resiliency (CLEAR) Initiative supports local communities struggling with persistent high-water levels along Lake Ontario, with the development of comprehensive resiliency strategies and plans to implement critical long-term protective measures and strengthen existing investments.

Camoin Associates supported the effort with impact modeling, and development of projects to support  business and economic resiliency of the lakeshore economy.

Our impact modeling found that the annual net fiscal benefit of the study area to the Town of Greece is approximately $825,000, before any consideration of flooding costs. In 2017, flooding response costs incurred by the Town amounted to an estimated $975,000, and in 2019, costs were $2.9 million. These costs more than negated the net fiscal benefit generated by the study area in those years.

Absent intervention and as flooding impacts worsen, outcomes such as declines in property values resulting from repeated flooding and/or permanent uninhabitability or inaccessibility are possible. Before consideration of costs associated with flooding and adaptation interventions, a 48% decrease in aggregate study area property value would need to occur in order for the net fiscal benefit of the study area to fall to zero.