Long Term Planning Post- Disaster

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Long Term Planning Post- Disaster
Prepared for COSCDA Training Conference
Homelessness, Housing, and Community Development
Program Manager

• March 13, 2012

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COSCDA and Disaster Recovery

• In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
  COSCDA recognized need for Disaster Recovery
  Toolkit to assist States with disaster recovery
  planning and implementation.
• Many best practices and lessons learned can be
  found at http//coscda.org/disaster/

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Overview of Presentation

• Brief overview of CDBG-DR
• Phases of disaster recovery
• Phase 1 Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs
  Assessment
• Phase 2 Structuring the Disaster Recovery
  Program and Preparing the Action Plan
• Phase 3 Implementation and Strategies

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Post-Disaster Continuum

• Disaster

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Brief Overview of CDBG-DR
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CDBG-DR Overview

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• Helps cities, counties, and States recover from
  Presidentially declared disasters, especially in
  low-income areas
• Appropriated by Congress as special CDBG
  appropriations in response to disaster
• CDBG used for disaster recovery because it is
  flexible and is a good vehicle
• CDBG-DR constitutes a substantial amendment to a
  States Action Plan

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Recent CDBG-DR Allocations

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• 400 Million in CDBG-DR Funding Recently
  Appropriated
• Allocated to 8 states to help with recovery from
  2011 disasters
• Tornadoes in Southeast and Missouri
• Hurricanes Irene and Lee in Northeast
• Severe flooding in North Dakota
• Destructive wildfires in Texas
• States include New York North Dakota, Alabama,
  Pennsylvania, Missouri, Texas, Vermont and
  Missouri

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CDBG-DR Funding Distribution

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• For state grantees, grantees generally distribute
  and administer funding one of two ways
• Distributes funding to communities according to
  damage estimate and communities determine what
  types of activities to pursue
• Designs and administers the program directly

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Eligible Beneficiaries

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• Residents in and around communities that have
  experienced a natural disaster
• At least 50 of CDBG-DR funds for activities that
  principally benefit low-and moderate-income
  persons

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Eligible Activities

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• necessary expenses related to disaster relief,
  long-term recovery, and restoration of
  infrastructure, housing, and economic
  revitalization Consolidated Security,
  Disaster Assistance, and Continuing
  Appropriations Act of 2009
• Each activity must
• address a disaster-related impact (direct or
  indirect) in a Presidentially-declared county for
  the covered disaster
• be a CDBG eligible activity
• and meet a national objective
• Must be connection between effects of the covered
  disaster and the activitys contribution to
  community recovery and connection must be
  documented

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Eligible Activities (continued)

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• Eligible activities generally fall into one of
  the following three categories
• Housing
• Restoration of infrastructure
• Economic Revitalization
• Examples
• Relocation payments
• Debris removal not covered by FEMA
• Rehab of damaged properties
• Dont think of these in isolation!

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Special CDBG-DR Rules

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• Overall, CDBG-DR has same rules and regulations
  as regular CDBG
• The grantee may request waivers.
• Examples of some common waivers
• Use CDBG-DR for the construction of new housing
• Remove the public services cap

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Duplication of Benefits

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• Stafford Act forbids recipient of federal
  disaster from receiving more disaster assistance
  than amount of loss or receiving benefits for a
  loss already covered by other sources
• Known as duplication of benefits (DOB)
• Disaster assistance covered under DOB includes
  private and public sources such as donations,
  insurance proceeds, volunteer work and grants
  (FEMA, SBA, etc.)

Principal Rule of DOB No one can recover twice from the same loss.
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Duplication of Benefits (continued)

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• Assistance is duplicative when two sources exceed
  need for the same recovery item
• If beneficiary receives duplicated assistance,
  grantee providing assistance can recover
• Assistance NOT duplicative when two sources
  contribute to the same need and total assistance
  did not exceed the total need
• Can combine different forms of assistance to meet
  recovery needs

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Administering State Disaster Recovery Programs

• 1. brief overview of CDBG-DR

• CDBG-DR is typically appropriate directly to
  State
• State grantees generally distribute and
  administer funding one of two ways
• Distributes funding to communities according to
  damage estimate and communities determine what
  types of activities to pursue
• Designs and administers the program directly
• Can do combination of above for different
  programs

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Phases of Long-Term Disaster Recovery

• Phase 1 Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs
  Assessment
• Phase 2 Structuring the Disaster Recovery
  Program and Preparing the Action Plan
• Phase 3 Implementation and Strategies

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Steps to Conducting a Disaster Impact and Unmet
Needs Assessment

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Part1 Assessing the Current Situation
• Part 2 Estimating Unmet Needs
• Part 3 Determining Capacity
• Part 4 Prioritizing Needs

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

1. Collecting and Updating Data
2. Analyzing Data Collected
3. Identifying Existing, Anticipated, and
   Potentially Available Funding Sources

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Damages v Impact
• Unique flexibility of CDBG-DR permits grantee to
  measure the disaster impact.
• Impact direct damages sustained
• indirect damages and secondary impacts
• Rebuild to address pre-existing weaknesses,
  disaster impacts, and support long-term growth.

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Collecting and Updating Data
• Pre-Disaster Baseline Data
• ConPlan
• Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
• Metropolitan Transportation Plan
• Post-Disaster Market Data
• Formal Sources (disaster assessments) FEMA, SBA,
  Army Corp, Red Cross, Salvation Army, insurance
  companies
• Formal Sources (economic indicators) Dept of
  Commerce
• Informal Sources (small-scale demographic
  indicators) Religious organizations, schools

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Collecting and Updating Data
• Data on Assistance Provided
• Sources FEMA, SBA, Army Corps, insurance
  agencies
• Establish Data Exchanges. How?
• Involve leaders
• Request data in automated files
• Execute MOU/MOA with each entity
• Use existing data management system s to collect
  store data (use the same system to store
  applications for funding assistance)

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Analyze Data Collected in ligh tof the Impact of
  zShort-Term Recovery Efforts
• Focus on 5 key elements
• Activities and results of emergency and
  short-term recovery efforts,
• Key parties involved in relief and recovery
  efforts, to date,
• Duration, or assumed duration, of the of the
  emergency and short-term recovery efforts,
• The condition of the most vulnerable
  populations, and
• Initial planning initiatives at the neighborhood,
  city, county or regional level.
• Mapping the essential tool

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• What are the ancillary impacts of the needs that
  have been met through response and initial
  recovery efforts?
• Are their new economic opportunities arising?
• Is a new type of housing required to meet
  changing demographic trends (i.e. 3 bedroom
  units)?

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• What roles have stakeholders played in emergency
  and short-term recovery efforts? Is there a role
  for all of them in long term recovery efforts?
• stakeholders can be important assets in
  developing networks and links to the public,
  building capacity, and creating a foundation for
  longer term recovery efforts.
• avoid overtaxing and burn-out of key actors.
• What is the engagement of the citizenry?
• Confirm that the broader public has been engaged
  in any planning and recovery efforts to date.
• Are needs being communicated by the public that
  have not been heard or captured by the current
  stakeholders?

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• What roles have stakeholders played in emergency
  and short-term recovery efforts? Is there a role
  for all of them in long term recovery efforts?
• stakeholders can be important assets in
  developing networks and links to the public,
  building capacity, and creating a foundation for
  longer term recovery efforts.
• avoid overtaxing and burn-out of key actors.
• Has any planning taken place and has the
  community established initial priorities?
• Planning efforts must not exceed the time that
  the community can sustain its short-term recovery
  efforts.

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Identify Existing, Anticipated and Potential
  Funding Sources
• CDBG-DR is typically deemed a funding source of
  last resort.
• critical to identify all other existing,
  available or potentially available resources
  first.
• use CDBG-DR funds to finance the gap that exists
  between the total costs to recover and the
  available funding from other sources.

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Typical Sources of Disaster Recovery Funding
• Insurance proceeds
• FEMA individual assistance
• FEMA public assistance
• FEMA Hazard mitigation grant program
• FEMA community disaster loans
• USDA rural development (special appropriation)
• EDA competitive grants (special appropriation)
• HUD Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program
• State funding Local funding and capacity (i.e.
  local bonding)
• National and regional community foundations (i.e.
  Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation)
• Grants, donations of individual or non-profit
  entities

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• What are the estimates of insurance coverage
  (including uninsured and underinsured) among
  homeowners, renters, rental property owners, and
  commercial businesses?
• What public funding sources are available? And
  for what purpose? (FEMA, SBA, consider
  eligibility and caps for assistance)
• What portion of impacted individuals and
  businesses are estimated ineligible for FEMA or
  SBA assistance?

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Part 1 Assessing the Current Situation

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• What other disaster and non-disaster public
  funding sources are anticipated or potentially
  available? Have there been additional special
  appropriations from other agencies (EDA, USDA)?
• What local and state government resources are or
  may be available (such as local bonding
  capacity)? Is local bond capacity viable? Is the
  tax base stable?
• What potential nonprofit and private sources of
  funding may be available? Can you leverage
  response efforts for long-term recovery funding?

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Part 2 Estimating Unmet Needs

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Unmet needs needs that are not covered by other
  sources and can be covered by CDBG-DR funds.
• CDBG-DR addresses the wider impact of the
  disaster and not just specific damages (damages v
  impacts)
• CDBG-DR allows the grantee to identify needs that
  were not recognized by other programs and funding
  sources.
• CDBG-DR looks at needs at a community wide and an
  individual level.
• Unmet needs are a moving target (Mississippi
  Housing Recovery Data Project)

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Part 3 Determining Capacity

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Highly complex based on post-disaster
  environment
• Depends on size/scope of disaster
• Remaining functionality of essential partners
• Overall health of key industries and businesses
  (i.e. real estate, tourism)
• Ability to ramp up!
• Hiring, Partnering, Contracting, Training

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Part 3 Determining Capacity

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Key Organizations
• The CDBG-DR grantee itself
• Other public agencies such as housing
  authorities, redevelopment authorities, housing
  finance agencies, health departments, etc.
• Nonprofit partners such as nonprofit developers
  (including community housing development
  organizations known as CHDOs), social service
  providers, or educational institutions.
• Business and industry such as local business
  leaders or firms.
• Other potential partners such as foundations,
  neighborhood or civic groups, or Chambers of
  Commerce.

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Part 3 Determining Capacity

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Does the organization have the organizational
  flexibility to deal with the special demands of
  disaster recovery?
• Does the organization have staff with significant
  experience in conducting or managing similar
  tasks or projects, specifically at the size and
  scope of the disaster-related projects?
• Does the organization have a sufficient number of
  staff to undertake the task at? Do they need to
  hire? Are they able to ramp up quickly to meet
  the capacity needs?

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Part 3 Determining Capacity

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Does the organizations staff bring strong and
  demonstrated technical skills in critical areas
  such as large-scale relocation, structuring
  development deals, project selection and
  underwriting, complex financial analysis, grants
  management, public relations, etc?
• Does the organization have the willingness to
  assist with the CDBG-DR grantees recovery
  program or are they overwhelmed with other
  responsibilities?

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Part 4 Prioritizing Needs

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

• Create system/tool to rank value of needs, based
  on public engagement, along key sectors
• Does the project meet a post-disaster unmet need?
  
• Is the project sustainable/feasible?
• Can the project be executed in a timely manner?
  Does that timeframe further the long-term
  recovery vision?
• Does the project/program trigger additional
  investment by other parties in the project itself
  (thus decreasing the funding gap that CDBG-DR
  dollars are filling)?
• Will the project trigger further reinvestment in
  the surrounding neighborhood? In the community at
  large?
• Does the project/program exacerbate pre-disaster
  market vulnerabilities?

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Part 4 Prioritizing Needs

• Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs assessment Phase
  i

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Phases of Long-Term Disaster Recovery

• Phase 1 Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs
  Assessment
• Phase 2 Structuring the Disaster Recovery
  Program and Preparing the Action Plan
• Phase 3 Implementation and Strategies

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Disaster Recovery Resources

• COSCDA Disaster Recovery Toolkit
  http//coscda.org/disaster/
• CDBG Disaster Recovery website
  http//www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopmen
  t/programs/drsi/index.cfm
• Relevant supplemental appropriations laws
• Relevant Federal Register Notices
• Peer CDBG-DR grantees
• HUD CPD representative

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