{"id":491,"date":"2021-11-08T12:49:57","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T12:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/?p=491"},"modified":"2022-04-26T13:34:22","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T13:34:22","slug":"its-a-lonely-neighborhood-how-flood-buyouts-have-changed-one-newport-news-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/?p=491","title":{"rendered":"‘It\u2019s a lonely neighborhood’: How flood buyouts changed one Newport News community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo by Kristen Zeis. An overhead view of Salters Creek. The marsh that surrounds the creek used to be homes before the city of Newport News bought out the properties.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is part of \u201cAt A Crossroads,\u201d<\/a> a WHRO Public Media series exploring how coastal Virginia is dealing with higher waters due to climate change. The project is funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting <\/a>as part of its nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative<\/a>.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a dilemma climate adaptation experts warn about as coastal Virginia localities begin retreating from flood-vulnerable land<\/a> in response to sea level rise \u2014 although buyouts help move some people out of harm\u2019s way, they also can erode the social fabric of communities for the families staying behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by Kristen Zeis. Walter Murray walks along Salters Creek in Newport News. Murray calls the marsh surrounding the creek a cesspool and mosquito haven. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A plan to deal with flooding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About two decades ago, Newport News had a problem. Floods were inundating properties and damaging homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So city officials settled on an idea that was innovative at the time \u2014 pay people to voluntarily give up their flood-prone properties. If residents accepted the offer, the city would tear down the houses and never rebuild. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Newports News has acquired nearly 80 flood-prone properties, more than anywhere else in Virginia. The city pays families the assessed value of their homes and also covers some moving expenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials set aside about $200,000 annually to fund the program. If that\u2019s ever not enough to pay for buyouts in a given year, federal grants can cover the difference.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the buyouts are in the Salters Creek neighborhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a \u201clow-lying area,\u201d said Kathie Angle, who oversees the buyout program. \u201cJust on an abnormally high tide they experience flooding. And that\u2019s going to continue to get worse.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a flood projection map<\/a> produced by Old Dominion University in partnership with WHRO Public Media, more than 50 homes in the Salters Creek area could go underwater by 2060. The creek itself could become part of a large channel running several miles inland from the James River. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angle suggested projects to defend the neighborhood against sea level rise could be futile \u2014 \u201cthe water is coming toward these properties no matter what we do,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, the main goal of the acquisition program is to give families an opportunity to flee the rising water before it\u2019s too late and their properties become worthless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more and more it floods, the less likely they\u2019re going to be able to sell their houses,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by Kristen Zeis. According to a flood projection map, produced by ODU in partnership with WHRO, Salters Creek could become part of a channel running inland from the James River. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other cities around coastal Virginia also are embracing buyouts as a response to sea level rise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chesapeake has acquired 42 properties. In the past, Virginia Beach and Norfolk have opted to elevate vulnerable homes. But Virginia Beach is currently working on three property acquisitions, and Norfolk has a zoning ordinance that incentivizes developers to help fund buyouts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Newport News, officials say they\u2019re planning for more buyouts around the Salters Creek community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018They want to get us out of here\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodney Jackson knows how Newport News\u2019 buyout program has changed the Salters Creek neighborhood as much as anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He still lives along the creek and has watched the city gradually demolish nearby houses and convert the lots to wetlands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore they knocked everything down, there was a field back there,\u201d Jackson said, standing in his backyard and pointing toward a thick patch of neck-high grasses. \u201cKids could play football. Since they redid everything. It\u2019s just a mess now. It\u2019s a jungle.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson\u2019s home has never flooded, and he said he doesn\u2019t plan to take a buyout anytime soon. But every month, he has to put on a double set of gloves and spray his yard with mosquito repellant and weed killer to keep the grasses from invading his property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he usually doesn\u2019t mind nature and knows the marsh is supposed to help absorb floodwater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut at least maintain it,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause if they let it just grow wild, then the homeowner\u2019s got to deal with it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walter Murray agrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a walk around the marsh, he pointed to overgrown bushes blocking a nearby sidewalk. Someone dumped a pile of red bricks in the creek. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murray fears the marsh is depressing property values around the neighborhood, giving residents no choice but to also accept a buyout from the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA person come to buy in this neighborhood and then drive around and see this,\u201d he said. \u201c[They\u2019ll say] I\u2019m not buying in that neighborhood with that cesspool over there.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marshland along the creek isn\u2019t the only byproduct of home buyouts in the community. The city is also turning other flood-prone properties into vacant lots. Nearly half of one block is empty land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veralene Dickens and her son Derek live in a white two-story home in the neighborhood. Red shutters surround the windows; string lights hang over the front porch; a pink rose bush in the front yard is still blooming even as temperatures drop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But every time Veralene and Derek walk out their front door, they see empty land across the street. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re making this place a ghost town\u2026give me my neighbors,\u201d Derek said, suggesting the city at least build a park on the vacant land for kids around the area. \u201cIt\u2019s a lonely neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Derek and his mom agree the community has a flooding problem, but they don\u2019t trust the city\u2019s motives behind the buyouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it was in the white area, it wouldn\u2019t be like this,\u201d Veralene said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey want to get us out of here,\u201d Derek added. \u201cThey\u2019ll take care of the problem then.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by Kristen Zeis. The Dickens house, center, as water approaches during a king tide. Across the street are vacant lots that Derrick Dickens thinks should be converted to a park for kids.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some residents say the vacant lots do have perks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle Nix, who\u2019s lived in the area since 1968, doesn\u2019t like when houses are so close together that neighbors can see each other from their windows. She appreciates how the vacant lots create space between some houses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, she would prefer that families have the option to purchase those properties and build new homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city \u201ccan\u2019t just pick up and run,\u201d Nix said. \u201cWhy not invest in the community?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits and unintended consequences <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathie Angle with Newport News said race has nothing to do with the property acquisition program and stresses a city ordinance prevents any redevelopment of bought-out properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She noted anybody can ask the city for a buyout as long as their house is in the floodplain, has a first floor that\u2019s below the base flood elevation and was built before 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s completely voluntary and by word of mouth,\u201d Angle said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

City officials can\u2019t do much about the wild marsh surrounding Salters Creek because they use it for flood control, Angle said. But they\u2019ll look into trimming some of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added she understands why residents are upset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to help people,\u201d she said. \u201cIs it changing the neighborhood? Yes \u2026. Unfortunately, I can\u2019t change the fact they live in a highly flood-prone area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by Kristen Zeis. Robert Murray has lived in Newport News’ Salters Creek neighborhood for over five decades. He fears home buyouts around the area are depressing property values.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Climate adaptation experts say this is part of what makes buyouts of flood-prone land so tricky. Although they help people flee at-risk areas, property acquisitions also disturb the culture, heritage and bonds within a neighborhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, this has happened in most communities where governments have acquired flood-prone homes \u2014 including New York City, San Antonio and Kinston N.C \u2014 said Elyse Zavar, a University of North Texas professor who studies buyouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some residents may appreciate the empty lots and even think of them as an extension of their backyards, she said. But other people within that same neighborhood may view the vacant properties as wasted space and a reminder of what the community used to be like before the buyouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zavar said families in predominantly non-white neighborhoods could especially suffer. They may view their community as a safe space where they can be with people of the same cultures and ethnicities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo when we conduct a buyout, we\u2019re altering the social dynamics attached to that place,\u201d she said. \u201cThe people that make you feel comfortable aren\u2019t there anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zavar and Katharine Mach, a University of Miami professor who also studies buyouts, said neighbors could start to mistrust and resent the buyout program. One way to avoid that, they said \u2014 make the buyout process transparent. Consider everyone\u2019s ideas, like what to do with that new vacant land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs climate hazards intensify it becomes even more important to have a community-driven vision of how they would like to manage that change,\u201d Mach said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angle acknowledges Newport News hasn\u2019t done a good enough job communicating with Salters Creek residents about the buyouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said officials plan to launch an outreach campaign to explain the program to people and ask how the city should improve it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most buyouts in Newport News are around the Salters Creek area. Many residents aren’t happy about it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,16,18,15,10,14],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-flood","tag-homes","tag-newport-news","tag-property","tag-sea","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=491"}],"version-history":[{"count":62,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":902,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions\/902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atacrossroads.whro.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}