Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Master Management Plan - 2014

TOWN OF MORRISVILLE

 Reduce social, emotional, and economic disruption  Maintain critical facilities in a functional order  Protect infrastructure from damage  Limit legal liability of the government and public officials  Improve the ability to implement post-disaster recovery projects  Prevent water quality degradation

During the planning process, the Town reviewed numerous potential hazards, including dam or levee failure, drought, earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes and coastal storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes, wildfires, landslides, nor’easters, and winter storms or freezes. The Town’s level of vulnerability was ranked as being low for earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, and nor’easters. Vulnerability is high for tornadoes. Vulnerability is moderate for severe winter weather, flooding, and wildfires (Town of Morrisville, 2010). Along with other goals to address potential vulnerability and hazard threats, one of the goal categories included in the plan is natural resource protection. Specific natural resource protection goals included in the Hazard Mitigation Plan are to:  Minimize public and private losses resulting from flood conditions.  Reduce the impact of future natural disasters by regulating development in known high- hazard areas.  Seek funding to reduce the risks of natural hazards to existing developments, where hazards are clearly identified and mitigation efforts are cost effective.  Ensure that hazard mitigation is considered during redevelopment efforts.  Educate residents to protect themselves and their families. Section III.B of the Hazard Mitigation Plan outlines mitigation provisions for natural resource protection, which are designed to preserve and restore natural areas. Proposed protection measures are floodplain protection, fire-resistant landscaping, fuel breaks, erosion and sediment control, wetland preservation and restoration, habitat preservation, and slope stabilization. This section also outlines possible structural mitigation projects through modification of the natural progression of a hazard. Structural mitigation measures include reservoirs, levees, diversions and detentions, and storm sewers. The Town plans to use existing and future regulations to implement the identified mitigation measures. These include the Town’s UDO, Water Conservation Policy, and Town Code. Land use planning and the North Carolina State Building Code also will aid the Town in minimizing and mitigating impacts from natural disasters. Mitigation goals are listed in Section III.D of the Hazard Mitigation Plan. One mitigation objective is to preserve open space in floodplain areas. When this is not feasible, the Town encourages appropriate development that will pose minimal risks in these areas. 6.2.3.2 Floodplain Development Regulations The Town complies with FEMA regulations. No fill or development is allowed in the floodway, and for any development within the floodplain, the lowest floor elevation must be at least 2 feet above the 100-year flood level. For streams that are not mapped by FEMA,

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