Town officials, homeowners, renovators, and others now have a new tool to help them prepare historic buildings for sea level rise and storm surge.
The Cape Cod Commission has published new design guidelines for flood risk areas. The work was supported by funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Sarah Korjeff is the Historic Preservation Specialist at the Cape Cod Commission. She told CAI that the guidelines offer several strategies for saving historic buildings.
“We recommend in the guidelines that towns start thinking about those properties that are most important to them — that have a real community significance,” she said.
If a building can’t be moved or retrofitted, a barrier against water might be appropriate, she said.
“The idea is to lay out for everyone that there’s a wide range of possible options,” she said. “Specifically, to give some guidance on how you could make your decision in a way that could better protect the character of your neighborhood and your building.”
The Commission has been asked to share the new design guidelines at regional conferences. Korjeff and others recently spoke to officials in New Haven, Connecticut, to talk about the flood preparation ideas.