PLANNING FOR COASTAL COMMUNITY RESILIENCY: A CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF SOUTH CAROLINA BEACHFRONT COMMUNITIES

Because dynamic coastal processes and hazards threaten the resiliency of coastal communities throughout the United States, hazard mitigation and coastal management policies are constantly evolving. While various agencies throughout all levels of government have attempted to mitigate the impacts of coastal hazards, it is difficult for local communities to converge the separate requirements of state and federal agencies. Because there are many land use planning and hazard mitigation steps involved in building resiliency, this manuscript attempts to combine the hazard mitigation knowledge of a wide array of practitioners, researchers, and visionaries to develop a comprehensive land use model that integrates hazard mitigation practices into the planning and codes of beachfront communities. This model is meant to help local land use planners in beachfront communities throughout the United States determine if they are adequately integrating federal, state, and local hazard mitigation policies into local land use policy and practice. Three beachfront communities in South Carolina, including Hilton Head Island, Pawleys Island, and Surfside Beach, serve as case studies to test the hazard mitigation integration model. Each of these communities varies in population, growth, and geologic composition. Their local land use practices, coastal management policies, and conservation efforts vary as well. By evaluating the integration of hazard mitigation into local policies and codes, coastal communities will be able to use this model to identify gaps and weaknesses in the planning process that can be bridged to strengthen their community\u27s hazard resiliency