City of Cedar Rapids staff has prepared a Preferred Voluntary Acquisition Strategy for the flood-impacted neighborhoods of our city.  This strategy will be considered for approval by the City Council at its December 10, 2008 meeting.  City staff worked with a team of experts to prepare this strategy, including the US Army Corps of Engineers, State Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the River Corridor Redevelopment Plan consultant group.

The Preferred Property Acquisition Strategy divides the flood-damaged properties into three specific areas, based on location, land purpose and availability of funding.  These areas include:

1. Greenway Acquisition Area (green area on map) view address list – This is the unprotected area between the Cedar River and the structural flood management system.  The 192 properties in this area are eligible for voluntary property acquisition through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.  The City will be consulting with each property owner in this area about program options.

2. Construction Area (yellow area on map) view address list – This area is identified for the potential construction of structural flood management measures, such as floodwalls and levees, including the slope of the levee, safety zone for construction and potential utilities and infrastructure relocations. There are 554 properties in the Construction Area.

These properties (view map or list) cannot be acquired with FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program due to restrictions on the reuse of the land.  Plans for this area will not be finalized until the US Army Corps of Engineers completes its feasibility study in 12 to 24 months and construction begins in five to 15 years.  There is no funding available to acquire these properties at this time but the City is searching for resources to assist these property owners.

3. Neighborhood Revitalization Area (all flood-damaged neighborhoods) – All residents of the flood-damaged neighborhoods will be invited to participate in Phase 2 of the River Corridor Redevelopment Plan, the Neighborhood Planning Process.  The first kick-off meeting will be January 10, 2009.

Some scattered properties in this area have been determined to be beyond reasonable repair.  That means that these houses are significantly damaged and it is not financially feasible to rebuild them.  There is no funding available to acquire these properties at this time but the City is searching for resources to assist these property owners.

Update: The City Council will consider adoption of the Preferred Voluntary Acquisition Strategy during its December 10, 2008 meeting. This will include discussion about the use of Jumpstart funds for properties in the Construction Area.