What happens if residents are asked to choose between raising taxes or facing the costs of rising seas? Voters in Virginia Beach answered this question. Learn how years of community-driven planning helped this community secure $567.5 million in resilience financing.
In 2021, residents of the City of Virginia Beach did something historic for resilience. Over 70 percent of voters supported a bond referendum that allows the city to issue general revenue bonds – totaling over half a billion dollars – for 21 specific flood-control projects. Voters supported the referendum even though it is expected to raise property taxes by $115 to $171 a year for the median homeowner. Getting this level of community support was a big accomplishment, and it only came after years of extensive planning, analysis, and community engagement.
Virginia Beach’s journey and accomplishments offer insights and lessons for communities across the country that grapple with paying for flood-protection projects. The city’s "Sea Level Wise" planning effort set the stage by (1) assessing flood-related risks and effectively communicating the costs of inaction; (2) identifying specific, actionable green and grey flood-protection projects all across the city; and (3) engaging in expansive stakeholder outreach and education activities throughout the planning process. The presentation focuses on transferable approaches and resources for accomplishing similar achievements.
NPC Peer Reviewers assigned this presentation a learning level of Advanced. For more on learning-level descriptions, visit our General Information Page.
Learning Objectives:
Understand how a community might employ scientific and engineering analyses as the technical foundations for adaptation-planning efforts and crafting engaging narratives for public communication.
Employ diversified and appropriate public engagement and communication techniques (including de-politicizing the topics of sea level rise and changing precipitation patterns) to build support for public investment in resilience projects.
Explore a wider variety of funding and financing options and understand whether issuing general revenue bonds is a good option for community resilience needs.
