Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition Eastwick Public Land Strategy Comments and Concerns Public Meeting Thursday, October 25, 2018 Embassy Suites Hotel Bartram Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19153 1
Eastwick Public Land Strategy Planning the Future, Today EFNC advocates for equitable and meaningful participation by Eastwick residents and Heinz Refuge in any planning for the future of the Eastwick neighborhood. We are at the point of Reviewing the study, and submitting our Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy ‐July 26, 2018 Final Public Mtg Recommendation comments. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 2
Eastwick Public Land Strategy Review, Consider, Comment – What do YOU Think? • Is it in Eastwick’s best interest to develop in a special flood hazard area? • Are the right land uses proposed for the right places? • Who benefits and who pays the costs in the proposed strategy? Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy ‐July 26, 2018 Final Public Mtg Recommendation Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 3
Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 4
Eastwick, Then and Now Environmental (In)Justice Community • Disproportionate environmental hardships – two superfund site landfills; pollution from nearby airport and mega‐highways. • Sub‐standard homes built on dredge spoil. • Short‐dumping on dead‐end, poorly‐lit streets. • Community disenfranchised by ill‐conceived urban renewal of the 1950’s that displaced 8,000+ residents and 50 churches. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 5
Eastwick, Then and Now Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy – September 27, 2017 Public Meeting Flooding #1 Issue for decades Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 6
Eastwick, Then and Now Hurricanes ravage Eastwick John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, pedestrian boardwalk under water. Hurricane Irene, 2011 August 2011. Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy – September 27, 2017 Public Meeting. During Hurricane Sandy (2012), Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter stood on Saturn Place, adjacent to the rising Cobbs Creek, and publicly stated the need for a comprehensive solution to the flooding issues in Eastwick. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 7
Eastwick Public Land Strategy Study Commences 2016 PRA Site 1: 128 acres green space Bordered by Heinz Refuge, residential streets, Mario Lanza Blvd. PRA Site 2: 5.6 acres green space Corner 84 th St & Lindbergh Blvd. PRA Site 3: Acreage along 84 th Street and Mario Lanza Blvd., ball fields, Pepper and CommTech (Wolf) schools. 2011 Source: Interface Studio. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 8
Eastwick Public Land Strategy What is this study for? Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy ‐July 26, 2018 Final Public Mtg Recommendation Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 9
Eastwick Public Land Strategy What are we trying to Accomplish? Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy ‐July 26, 2018 Final Public Mtg Recommendation Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 10
Eastwick Public Land Strategy Clear Principles: RESIDENTS’ SAFETY MUST BE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY BEFORE ANY OTHER PRIORITIES ARE MET From Roundtables, Interviews, and Public Meetings From Residents and Stakeholders Assessment Survey conducted in 2013; sentiments from 93% (244 of 250) residences south of 84 th Street Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 11
Eastwick Public Land Strategy Our Principles: FLOODING IS EASTWICK’S #1 CONCERN • No increase in flood hazard risk • No net loss of flood storage • No change in flood elevations • No change in local flooding • No adverse impacts on adjoining communities including the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum (the Refuge). The burden of proof is on PRA before development could occur. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 12
Water Always Wins A legacy of filling wetlands and floodplains Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 13
Water Always Wins The Filling Legacy Must Not Continue Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy ‐ July 26, 2018 Final Public Meeting Recommendations.. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 14
Water Always Wins FILL, FLOODING, FUTURE Reduce the severity of future flooding in Eastwick Source: Interface Studio. Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy – April 24, 2017 Public Meeting. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 15
Water Always Wins Stormwater versus Floodwater Comparing apples and oranges…What gives? • ‘Leaving the site undeveloped will not alleviate flooding issues in this community. Development of the parcels can only improve the situation.’ Rina Cutler, Deputy Mayor ‐Testimony to City Council on October 9, 2012 • ‘Our friends at the Water Department have assured us that development on this site will improve the stormwater situation in the area.’ Greg Heller, Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority ‐Opening remarks at the Lower Eastwick Public Lands Strategy Presentation, July 26, 2018. • ‘So we've been trying to be very honest with those officials about a plan like this. One can certainly not address catastrophic flooding. You have hundred‐year storms. Our systems are going to flood. There's really not a whole lot you can do about that…’ Philadelphia Water Dept., Darby And Cobbs Creeks Watershed Act 167 Stormwater Management Plan Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 16
Water Always Wins Stormwater versus Floodwater • STORMWATER refers to all precipitation that falls on the ground and runs off into ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, or the ocean. • In Philadelphia, stormwater runs into the storm sewer system. In Eastwick it flows into the storm sewers and then into the Mingo Creek Basin before being pumped into the Schuylkill River . • FLOODWATER refers to unmanaged water that exceeds the capacity of watercourses such as streams and rivers, to handle the flow from catastrophic rain or tidal surge events. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 17
Water Always Wins Stormwater Management • PWD’s toolbox addresses stormwater; they acknowledge they can’t manage floodwater — BUT they’re bringing those tools anyway — • If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail • Goal: to capture the first 1.5” of runoff from the proposed Light Industrial and Residential sites. • Eastwick’s stormwater system is designed to accommodate the 3‐5 year design storm. Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 18
Water Always Wins Flood Storage: Protect the Floodplain Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 19
Water Always Wins Room for Water • Water spreads out during a flood • Increase flood storage • “Nearly all floodplain filling activities create negative consequences to adjacent areas. The ‘bottom line’ is, if you fill in floodplain and reduce the flood storage area, you will likely cause more flooding and other problems in the homes and properties adjacent to it.” Association of State Flood Plain Managers Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 20
Water Always Wins Eastwick’s experience tells us the smart thing is NOT to build there, even if the regulations allow for it. An OUNCE of Prevention Is Worth a TON of Cure Eastwick Friends & Neighbors Coalition – Comment on Eastwick Public Land Strategy Recommendation – Public Meeting 10‐25‐2018 21
Recommend
More recommend
