Tag: climate change

Can the Florida Keys Afford a Building Boom when They’re Searching for Ways to Retreat from Sea Level Rise Flooding?

Just when a law that’s been on the books since the early 1970s intended to prevent over-development in the Florida Keys is about to prevent new building projects, a state legislator is proposing legislation that could result in a building boom.

According to a Miami Herald article, Representative Rob Rommel, R-Naples, filed an amendment that would increase the hurricane evacuation time for the Keys to 30 hours from the current 24. Under the existing law, the evacuation time limit actually works as a cap on the number of buildings that can be constructed in the Keys. The expectation was that the Keys would be totally built-out by 2023.

According to the article, the new legislation is meant to stave off potentially billions of dollars worth of legal costs if property owners frustrated that they won’t be able to develop their real estate holdings sue the state and county governments for fair compensation.

If the longer evacuation time is approved, officials in the Keys worry that it could result in a building boom that would in turn make it harder for people to evacuate the Keys ahead of a hurricane and make it much more difficult to deal with sea level rise flooding.

County officials in the Keys made headlines last fall when they said sea level rise flooding may force them to abandon roads that are under water for much of the fall king tide season. The problem is so bad that officials there plan to use $20 million in federal funds to buy out and destroy homes wrecked by Hurricane Irma that are vulnerable to sea level rise flooding.

If the Florida state government clears the way for a building boom in the Keys, buyers will have to perform due diligence to ensure the property they intend to purchase isn’t at risk of sea level rise flooding.

Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina Prepare for Climate Change and Sea Level Rise without Using the Terms

The more you study climate change and sea level rise, the more you realize that they’re political issues as well as practical, environmental threats. This point was hit home yet again in a New York Times report that found several conservative states at great risk from rising seas applied for federal funding to increase their defenses against flooding without actually using the terms “climate change” or “sea level rise.”

Texas produced a 306 page application for a share of $16 billion Congress set aside in 2018 to help states deal with climate change impacts without a single mention of climate change or sea level rise. South Carolina didn’t use the terms in its application, while Louisiana didn’t mention “climate change” until the last page of its proposal.

While it’s commendable that the states are actually taking steps to prepare for more intense heat and flooding due to global warming (another divisive term, I know), their reluctance to be frank about the issue and use the terms “climate change” and “sea level rise flooding”, are a tad cowardly. The public in their states deserve the truth, even if they’ve been conditioned to deny it. Real leaders would give them the education about climate change that they clearly need to make informed decisions that just might help them to participate in the process of finding solutions and protect their own financial futures.

Ultimately, the absence of the terms “climate change” and “sea level rise” from the funding proposals is a moot point. The atmosphere will continue heating up and the seas will continue to rise and flood valuable real estate regardless of climate change denialists’ inability to utter them.

North Carolina Assessing Its Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

Climate change experts in North Carolina are making final edits to a report that will give state government agencies an idea of how global warming and sea level rise flooding are going to impact the state this century.

Academics from the state university system teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate scientists to produce the report. Among their findings is that even with lower greenhouse gas emissions, seas will continue to rise throughout this century. The ocean could be up to 3.9 feet higher by 2100, which could cause high tides to flood coastal areas every day.

The scientists also worry that North Carolina, which is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes, will face even stronger storms due to climate change. This development will also increase the risk of storm-surge flooding.

The N.C. Institute for Climate Studies is producing the report under Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 80 climate change initiative. State agencies will use the final report, which is to be delivered in March, as a guide for efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and sea level rise flooding.

New Jersey First to Consider Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in Building Permitting Process

New Jersey, considered one of the top at-risk states for sea level rise flooding, is the first state to consider legislation that would force builder to include information about how their projects would impact climate change and be impacted by sea level rise when they’re seeking building permits.

This week, Gov. Phil Murphy announced the permitting requirement was included in New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan. The state is shooting for 100 percent clean energy by the middle of this century. One of the ways to achieve this is by requiring builders to declare how much greenhouse gas emissions their projects will emit. In addition, the state wants them to state clearly how climate change will impact their projects. In coastal areas, that will mean studying how sea level rise flooding could affect a project.

“For New Jersey to step to the forefront and say, ‘We’re going to look at future climate impacts, and that it’s going to be a driver of our decision-making’ — that’s exactly what all 50 states need to be doing,” Rob Moore, an official with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the New York Times.

Governor Murphy tweeted that the goal of the Energy Master Plan is to: “Drive a world-leading innovation economy; Ensure environmental justice for all residents; Create good-paying jobs; Protect our ecosystems; Improve public health, and; Lead the way in the global clean energy transition.”

Scientists predict that New Jersey will see up to two feet of sea level rise by 2050. This will create enormous problems for the state, which has 130 miles of vulnerable coastline.

Some environmental groups complain that the plan isn’t firm enough in blocking new fossil fuel-related projects. Business groups are concerned about the potential cost their members will face due to the new requirements.

Coastal Real Estate Agents Can’t Afford to Deny Sea Level Rise: Video

Real estate agents who deny sea level rise put their buyers’, sellers’, and their own financial futures at risk.

Sea level rise flooding is real. Property owners and governments all along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coastlines are spending millions of dollars to hold back the rising waters.

Individual property owners are raising docks and seawalls and elevating their property to prevent flooding that’s occurring now or expected in the years to come. Governments are busy planning for sea level rise flooding and implementing projects, such as building seawalls, raising seawalls, installing pumps, and elevating critical infrastructure, including roads and pipes.

With all this activity, it’s clearly dangerous for real estate agents in most coastal areas to deny sea level rise is a threat to their buyers, sellers and community. Now is the time for them to educate themselves about sea level rise in general and to identify areas that currently flood or are at risk of flooding in their communities. They also need to know how sea level rise flooding is affecting specific properties, neighborhoods, flood insurance premiums, tax rates and homeowners association and condo association fees. The mortgage market, too, will determine the fate of entire communities.

Real estate agents who turn a blind eye to sea level rise flooding ultimately put their own financial futures at risk. Buyers who unwittingly purchase properties that flood could easily sue agents for negligently not knowing their own farm areas.

This Sea Level Rise Real Estate video explores the risks sea level rise flooding presents to real estate agents. It’s the fifth and last in the introductory series. All the videos — an introductory video and episodes that focus specifically on buyers, sellers, owners and real estate agents — can be binge-watched here. For even more in-depth information, take a look at our book: “7 Sea Level Rise Real Estate Questions for Buyers, Sellers, Owners & Real Estate Agents.”

Owners of Real Estate Impacted by Sea Level Rise Flooding Have to Make Tough Decisions

Video: Owners of real estate impacted by sea level rise flooding have to decide “Should I stay or should I go?”

In the fourth Sea Level Rise Real Estate introductory video, we take a look at the challenges owners face when sea level rise flooding shows up in their communities or at their doors. The challenge for owners is to conduct a cost-benefit analysis that considers the extent of the flooding and what they and their local government can do to address it.

Owners also have to consider their ability to absorb higher costs for home maintenance, flood insurance, homeowners association and condo association fees, and taxes — revenue the government will need for resiliency or retreat. Every property owner has to decide for themselves — based primarily on their age, financial resources, and ability to manage property that floods or is at risk of flooding — how to proceed.

“Sea Level Rise Real Estate for Owners” gives owners a general picture of the issues they need to consider. “7 Sea Level Rise Real Estate Questions for Buyers, Sellers, Owners, and Real Estate Agents” goes more in-depth.

Do Real Estate Sellers Have to Disclose Sea Level Rise Flooding to Buyers?

Question: When real estate owners sell property that’s experiencing sea level rise flooding or there’s flooding in the street out front, are they required to inform buyers of the problem in the sellers’ disclosure? Answer: It depends on state they reside in.

Real estate sellers’ disclosures are not governed by federal laws. Instead, each state decides what sellers have to disclose, and the laws vary greatly from state to state. Texas, for example, is quite strict in requiring sellers to disclose flooding in great detail. Virginia, on the other hand, is basically a let the buyer beware state when it comes to sellers’ disclosures.

The Natural Resources Defense Council surveyed the state disclosure laws and created a map that grades state’s on the stringency of their sellers’ disclosure requirements. Sellers need to know what’s required in their state to avoid the potential of costly lawsuits. To ensure they’re in compliance, sellers may need to confer with an attorney.

This video discusses how sea level rise flooding complicates the sellers’ disclosure process. “7 Sea Level Rise Real Estate Questions — for Buyers, Sellers, Owners & Real Estate Agents” explores the issue in greater detail.

Video: Real Estate Buyers Beware in Coastal Areas Experiencing Sea Level Rise Flooding

Buyers need to know the risks when they’re purchasing real estate in coastal areas that are experiencing sea level rise flooding. This YouTube video from Sea Level Rise Real Estate will give you an overview of the potential threats.

Many buyers in coastal areas are purchasing second homes or vacation properties. Too often they’re submitting offers without first finding out if the property or street out front is experiencing sea level rise flooding or if the property is in a neighborhood or community at risk of sea level rise flooding.

This failure to perform due diligence when buying real estate can prove costly. Properties that flood can have high maintenance costs and could actually lose value. In addition, owners of properties that flood or that are in the vicinity of flooding could face high taxes — as their communities struggle to deal with the flooding — flood insurance premiums and homeowners association or condo association fees.

In this video, I give buyers tips on how to find out if a property experiences sea level rise flooding, is at risk of flooding, or is in a neighborhood or community that floods. Then I discuss the risks the flooding can pose should they go through with the purchase.

Surprisingly, finding out if a property floods, itself, can be a real challenge. For instance, often the flooding only occurs during the fall king tide season or when a storm is whipping up the water so buyers won’t see it. Furthermore, in some states sellers don’t have to disclose the flooding problem to buyers.

“Sea Level Rise Real Estate for BUYERS” is the second in a five-part series I produced for SeaLevelRiseRealEstate.com based on my book “7 Sea Level Rise Real Estate Questions for Buyers, Sellers, Owners & Real Estate Agents.” The book goes into far greater detail.

Florida Bill Would Establish State-level Coordination of Sea Level Rise Response

Florida legislators are considering a bill that would establish a state-wide Office of Resiliency and a task force to research the best ways to protect the Sunshine State’s 1350 miles of coastline from sea level rise flooding.

The legislation, which has bipartisan support, is needed to help communities coordinate their response to sea level rise. With years of state-level climate change neglect, governments in South Florida and the Keys have formed their own regional compact to study the problem and seek ways to meet the challenge that complement each others’ efforts. State leadership and funding would certainly help them.

According to a Finance & Commerce report, the proposal could still face some political headwinds in Tallahassee. Environmentalists would like to see the new resiliency office deal with both sea level rise and the causes of climate change.

Sea Level Rise Flooding Could Force 13 Million People to Move Inland by 2100

Resiliency and retreat are the mantras for coastal communities coping with sea level rise flooding. Resiliency is improving infrastructure to allow people to remain in coastal areas. Among the options are raising sea walls, roads and other critical infrastructure and installing pumps to move floodwaters off valuable real estate. Retreat is moving people away from areas that flood when it’s too expensive or impossible to defend the land.

Researchers at the University of Southern California’s School of Engineering used artificial intelligence to predict where coastal residents are likely to migrate when sea level rise forces them inland. Their report might surprise you.

The study, led by USC Computer Science Assistant Professor Bustra Dilkina found that sea level rise flooding could force 13 million people in the US alone to move inland by 2100. The inland cities that take them will face increased competition for jobs, higher housing prices and greater demands on essential public services, including roads, schools, law enforcement and water and sewer services.

“Sea level rise will affect every county in the US, including inland areas,” Professor Dilkina fold USC Viterbi. “We hope this research will empower urban planners and local decision-makers to prepare to accept populations displaced by sea level rise. Our findings indicate that everybody should care about sea level rise, whether they live on the coast or not. This is a global impact issue.”

The study identified which cities and regions are likely to fact the largest influx of sea level rise refugees. The list includes Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Las Vegas. Smaller midwest cities could also face a spike in population from people moving away from the coasts.