Towns across the U.S. want to stop building homes that are vulnerable to climate-driven disasters, like wildfires, floods and droughts. It's easier said than done.
New homes are under construction in June at a housing development near Buckeye, Ariz. A growing number of local governments are considering limits on homebuilding in the face of floods, droughts and wildfires driven by climate change.In these challenging times, the need for reliable local reporting has never been greater. Put a value on the impact of our year-round coverage. Help us continue to highlight LA stories, hold the powerful accountable, and amplify community voices.
As a result, putting limits on homebuilding can feel like a non-starter for the local officials who generally control land-use decisions.But with often deadly extreme-weather disasters on the rise, the problem can no longer be ignored. In the last five years, floods, wildfires, severe storms and droughts have causedNPR visited three places that are grappling with the question of how to stop building homes in harm's way — with varying degrees of success.
Collinsworth directs Preserve Wild Santee, an environmental group that joined several others to file a lawsuit to stop the development after the city approved it in 2020. A, finding that the developer didn't adequately analyze how long it would take residents to evacuate during a fire or whether they could do so safely.
"We tried to take everything we can learn from the fires plus even more, making it, in my opinion, the best example of what can be done to make a defensible community," Aden says. In Casa Grande, about an hour south of Phoenix, Mayor Craig McFarland knows his city's future is linked to water. Housing is already in high demand. Industry is moving into the area, with both a battery and an electric car manufacturer offering thousands of jobs near town.
"Arizona is the only state in the country that requires 100 years' worth of water," McFarland says."It's a consumer protection." Not far from the center of town, construction workers are putting the finishing touches on new single-story homes in a 331-unit development. Water supply hasn't been a barrier to building because these units will be part of one large rental project.
Ferris helped write Arizona's 100-year water law four decades ago. She says its strength is that it tethers building decisions to water decisions. Back then, build-to-rent wasn't common. Now, she says, the state is reaching a pivotal moment when all water use needs to be accounted for. Arizona's groundwater law is a rarity among Western states, requiring cities to think about how building decisions will affect the water supply over the next century."I used to say, 'Maybe we're at our limit. Maybe we can't build any more houses,'" says Pinal County Supervisor Stephen Miller, who works on water issues."So now I say, 'If we're going to maintain any type of growth, we have to bring water in.
As a result, New Jersey appears to be doing significantly better than the national average when it comes to the number of homes in flood zones, according to preliminary findings by a group of climate scientists including Siders and Mach. Stephanie and Nicholas Cepparulo's home in Lambertville, N.J., was destroyed in a flash flood in 2021. The property had been in Stephanie's family for over 100 years, but with climate change causing more severe storms, it was no longer a safe place to live. They chose to accept a home buyout, with the support of their local mayor and a case manager from the state government.Because home buyouts are voluntary, the town could move forward only if people agreed to move.
"Our case managers are sort of our secret sauce," says Courtney Wald-Wittkop, who runs the Blue Acres program."They're very good about developing that rapport and relationship with the homeowners."
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3 cities face a climate dilemma: to build or not to build homes in risky placesTowns across the U.S. want to stop building homes that are vulnerable to climate-driven disasters, like wildfires, floods and droughts. It's easier said than done.
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