The East Hampton Town Board will hold a public hearing next Thursday at 2 p.m. on the adoption of the draft Coastal Assessment Resiliency Plan, which was issued in April.
The plan, known as CARP, is described as a first step to reduce the town’s vulnerability as a coastal community and adapt to a changing climate. Prepared by consultants to the town, it “evaluates key coastal risks our community currently faces, and points to a drastic increase in severity of those risks,” according to an abstract. “Rising sea levels and increased intensity of coastal storms undoubtedly will have an impact on nearshore homes and communities.”
According to the draft, the currently projected range of sea level rise “will transform East Hampton into a series of islands with permanent submergence of low-lying areas as early as 2070.” The long-term effects of climate change will increase the town’s vulnerability to coastal flooding and shoreline erosion, according to the draft. “During the next 30 years, the chance of experiencing a flood event with a magnitude similar to that of the Hurricane of ‘38, at least once, is about 60 percent,” it concludes.
About half of the town and East Hampton Village’s 32 beaches are now retreating, according to the draft, and all are predicted to retreat in the future because of sea level rise. Indeed, the town’s current coastal risk level is high, the plan states, and “will increase acutely in the near term and profoundly over the long term due to the effects of climate change.”
The abstract stresses the urgency with which proactive measures must begin. It identifies 11 focus areas where the town “must act first to address the impacts of climate change and recommends ways to reduce the town’s vulnerability,” including planning initiatives, changes in regulations, emergency response to storms and other natural disasters, public works projects, public education and consensus building, and new funding sources.
A managed retreat from vulnerable shoreline areas, a transfer of development rights mechanism allowing vulnerable properties to be abandoned in favor of inland areas of higher elevation, updates in infrastructure, and the elevation of roads or railways “need to be initiated as soon as possible,” according to the draft.
The draft plan is to guide the implementation of policies and projects to reduce the town’s vulnerability and facilitate adaptation to a changing environment. The draft and supplemental materials are available at the town’s website, at ehamptonny.gov/574/Coastal-Assessment-Resiliency-Plan. A copy is also available at the town clerk’s office.
The board’s meeting will be held in the main meeting room at Town Hall and broadcast live on LTV, its website, ltveh.org, and its YouTube channel. Members of the public can comment in person at the meeting or remotely by calling 351-888-6331.
