Elevate homes or move them: Village considers drastic measures to stay above water as sea levels rise
Village Mayor Bruce Tucker said future village leaders and residents will have to decide when and whether to adapt or retreat.
Piermont village leaders are trying to prepare their residents for a future that might require homes to be raised up higher, or even be moved to higher ground.
Brenda Benscome realized after Monday's high tide she has work to do to protect her low-lying house on Ohio Street.
By 4 p.m. Monday, her home was surrounded by water and sustained some damage in the crawl space, which still had 2 inches of water in it late Tuesday.
Benscome knows her risk is only increasing because local sea level is rising.
She is looking for help to fortify her home.
"I'd have to be a little more proactive," she said, "and figure out what the town is doing with this water situation."
One part of the village's long-term Comprehensive Plan recommends a requirement that all homes in flood hazard areas be elevated at least 30 extra inches to account for more intense flooding in the future.
One example of such a climate resilient home is on Paradise Avenue, right where the Sparkill Creek covers the road during higher than usual tides.
Fran Laura's home is elevated a full story by steel poles.
The home is newly built and receiving final approvals.
"It's wise to be climate-resilient," she said, "and all the government agencies interacted with each other in order to make it possible."
The poles reach 40 feet into the ground.
Fran Laura needed clearance from several agencies including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Mayor Bruce Tucker said Tuesday Fran Laura's home is will likely be the first of many like it in the village, especially near the Sparkill Creek, which typically plumps up along with the Hudson River.
Tucker said future village leaders and residents will have to decide when and whether to adapt or retreat.
Either way, it will cost a lot. To adapt, several more homes would have to go up on stilts.
Tucker is looking into state and federal grants to help homeowners cover the costly job of lifting a home.
"I think that's something Piermont will have to reconcile with if sea-level rise continues the way it has been," Tucker said in an interview Tuesday at village hall.
A retreat strategy would require at-risk homes to be broken down and rebuilt on higher ground.
That too would require government grant funding because it would cost millions of dollars the village does not currently have.
The outgoing mayor hopes the next generation of village leaders will be aggressive on this issue.
Illustrations in the village's Waterfront Revitalization Plan show a progression from increasing flood risks in the 2020s to the year 2100, when most of the pier could be underwater and the village's business district would be prone to constant inundation during high tides.
