StormSmart Coasts Pilot Projects

The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management's (CZM) StormSmart Coasts program features a menu of coastal floodplain management strategies and tools to assist coastal communities in addressing the challenges of erosion, coastal storms, sea level rise, and related issues. To help communities effectively implement these strategies and tools, CZM provides a range of technical assistance. Through the StormSmart Coasts pilot projects, CZM technical experts work with local officials to choose strategies that meet their community's needs and tailor tools to reflect local goals, capacity, and challenges. Pilot projects are selected through a competitive process and cover a variety of coastal floodplain management issues, landform types, regional characteristics, and technical needs.

2009-2011 Pilot Projects

In December 2008, CZM began the implementation phase of StormSmart Coasts by selecting five pilot projects that launched in 2009. The goal was to provide "direct in-community" technical assistance to help local officials effectively adopt StormSmart Coasts strategies and tools and to develop models that could be used by other communities. The following seven communities participated in the first five StormSmart Coasts pilot projects:

• Boston - Coastal Inundation Mapping and Regulatory Review
• Hull - Freeboard Incentive and Storm Surge Visualization
• Duxbury, Kingston, and Plymouth - Coastal Hazards Awareness
• Falmouth - Natural Hazards Planning
• Oak Bluffs - Coastal Floodplain Zoning Bylaw and Regulations