Worksheet
Evaluate Your Comp Plan
While reading this guide, you may
have identified some coastal issues that concern you. There are
a number of ways to find out how your community is protecting its
coastal resources. You can start by contacting some of the agencies
and nonprofit organizations listed in the Resources section to see
which of their projects affect your area. Another important source
of information is the comprehensive plan. How can you find out if
your community is protecting its coastal resources? The answer is
in the comprehensive plan. To get a copy of your community's plan,
contact the city or county planning department. Then use the comp
plan review on the next three pages to help find out exactly what
steps your community has taken to protect its coast. The comprehensive
plan.
Local plans generally consist of three major pieces:
- data and analysis
- goals, objectives and policies
and
- a map series.
Be prepared for a lot of variation
on how these pieces are packaged. They should be clearly labeled,
but there will be some local creativity.
Know your elements.
In general, local comprehensive plans all cover the same issues.
Each plan has 10 required "elements" that address specific topics.
For coastal protection, the most important elements are coastal
management, conservation, future land use and capital improvements.
The comp plan review focuses mostly on information contained in
these four elements, although there are several topics like stormwater
and wastewater facilities that may be in other portions of the plan.
Be consistent.
Often the most difficult task for communities developing their local
plans is ensuring internal consistency. All aspects of the plan
should work towards clear, common goals, and not at cross purposes!
For example, if one part of the plan identifies a site as wetlands,
another part of the plan should not note that a large scale development
would be allowed there.
The Comp Plan Review
This review is only a point of departure. It is intended to help
you look at your community's efforts to manage and protect coastal
resources.
1. You can start by looking at how well the plan identifies the
different kinds of habitats and land uses your community has in
its coastal areas. These areas should be mapped at the same scale
as the Future Land Use Map, so it's easy to go back and forth between
maps.
Land uses to look for include:
____ wildlife habitat
____ public beach access
____ wetlands
____ beaches and dunes
____ estuarine systems
____ historic preservation areas
____ bays
____ water dependent uses
____ vegetative communities
____ water related uses
____ undeveloped areas
____ harbors
____ flood prone areas
____ deepwater ports
____ coastal high hazard areas
____ marinas
2. Once you've seen how the plan describes coastal areas, you can
begin to identify conflicts. For instance, look to see if planned
human uses like homes and businesses, have taken into account environmental
considerations like wetlands, beaches and dunes, or flood-prone
areas.
3. Look at how your community plans to manage development in its
coastal areas. Does the plan clearly explain coastal management?
Look specifically at how (or if) the plan protects these coastal
resources:
____ coastal wetlands
____ unique wildlife habitat
____ living marine resources
____ historic sites
____ barrier islands
____ archeological sites
____ beach and dune systems
____ other fragile coastal resources
4. Does the plan identify any existing coastal pollution sources?
How will they be dealt with?
5. Does the plan explain how people and property will be protected
against natural disasters?
Specific areas to look for include:
____ hurricane evacuation
____ disaster shelters
____ post-disaster planning
6. Does the plan protect beach and dune systems?
Some specific protection techniques include:
____ building setbacks
____ erosion control
____ beach restoration
7. Does the plan describe how your community plans to eliminate
inappropriate and unsafe development in coastal areas?
8. Does the plan use National Flood Insurance Maps to identify areas
likely to flood and sustain wind damage during storms?
9. Are there recommendations for increasing public access to the
beach?
10. Does the plan describe vacant coastal land and whether it is
appropriate for future development?
Are recommendations for future development based on:
____ general suitability and characteristics of the land
____ presence or absence of flood prone areas
____ hurricane evacuation capabilities
____ the need for community coastal recreation
____ the need for public beach access
____ the need for a water-dependent location
What's next?
Once you've gotten a clear idea of
what's in your community's comprehensive plan, you'll be well armed
to ask questions about the issues youÕre interested in. Who should
you ask? A good place to start is the staff of the planning department.
They can answer questions, provide more information, and tell you
how the planning process works. If you still have concerns, go to
the people who voted for the plan your elected officials. Remember,
the plan is intended to represent what your community wants for
its future. Don't be put off by technical terms. If you donÕt understand
something, ask. And keep asking questions until you get the answers
you want!
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