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LOOKING FORWARD WHILE LOOKING BACK
<br />Local governments are challenged daily to
<br />regulate hazardous locations, while at the
<br />same time being sensitive to the deep and
<br />abiding concerns of the property -rights move-
<br />ment. Many believe that the answer is in a
<br />maxim of ancient Roman law expressed in
<br />Latin as Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas.
<br />In English, "Use your own property so that
<br />you do not injure another's property." One
<br />thing upon which virtually all legal philoso-
<br />phers agree is that nobody possesses a right
<br />to use their land to harm others.
<br />ASFPM has developed a philosophy
<br />that attempts to capture the concept of man-
<br />aging land use in such a manner as to not
<br />harm one's neighbors: No Adverse Impact
<br />Floodplain Management (NAI). ASFPM de-
<br />fines NAI as "... an approach that ensures
<br />the action of any property owner, public
<br />or private, does not adversely impact the
<br />property and rights of others." This principle
<br />makes a community look at what really
<br />needs to be done to prevent damage to
<br />people, property, and the environment.
<br />In 1543, when Hernando De Soto's
<br />expedition observed the earliest recorded
<br />significant flood of the Mississippi River,
<br />they noted that the indigenous communities
<br />"built their houses on the high land, and
<br />where there is none, they raise mounds by
<br />hand and here [took] refuge from the great
<br />flood." Fast forward from 1543 to modern
<br />day, where, in the last 10o years, more than
<br />9,00o people have died as result of inland
<br />flooding in the United States.
<br />Obviously, the nation must rethink its
<br />basic approach to flood -risk reduction and
<br />floodplain management. Roles must be
<br />defined, responsibilities must be assigned,
<br />and governance, via the regulatory process,
<br />must be at the forefront of all we do within
<br />the community in order to adapt to the vari-
<br />ous risks associated with flooding and in
<br />order to have the ability to withstand and
<br />rapidly recover from disruptions in function
<br />after a flood event. What we do today can
<br />shape the future of our communities, in
<br />terms of flood resiliency, and significantly
<br />impact the lives of millions of Americans.
<br />We have a conscious choice: Do we take
<br />personal responsibility and move forward,
<br />carefully and cautiously, adapting our
<br />regulations to promote flood resiliency as
<br />we proceed, or do we continue on the path
<br />of least resistance, perpetuating the cycle
<br />of build -damage -rebuild -damage, that far
<br />too many communities have traveled on in
<br />the past?
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<br />0 Kent County,
<br />Delaware, uses
<br />a transfer of
<br />development
<br />rights program
<br />to preserve
<br />land outside
<br />of the county's
<br />designated
<br />growth zone.
<br />Cover Image Conservat}on desrgp endouragesthe protectlon ofefivirox ment lly'sensltive
<br />areas without reducing residential densities Source Randall Arendt
<br />VOL. 29, NO.4
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<br />ZONING PRACTICE 4.12
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 7
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