Recovery Plan Protocol
The Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities
at College Station
Dr. Philip Berke
Director of The Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities at
College Station
pberke@arch.tamu.edu
2012
Acknowledgements: Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Award
CMMI-1066310. This protocol is the responsibility of the principal investigator and does not
necessarily represent the official position of the NSF.
Recovery Plan Protocol
2012
Type of Plan
 Stand-alone recovery plan
 Element in comprehensive plan
 Element in emergency management plan
 Element in local hazard mitigation plan
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Lead agency: _______________________
1. Goals (0 = not mentioned, 1 = mentioned)
Indicate if Goal is:
Restorative
Transformative
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Blight removal
Equity
Economic Development
Environment
Resiliency
Sustainability
Smart Growth (compact, mixed use)
Public safety
Engagement
2. Pre-Disaster Fact Base
(Notes: hazard identification could be included within the body of the recovery plan; as an annex to
the recovery plan; and from another document (e.g., local hazard mitigation plan) that is referenced
in the recovery plan)
2.1 Hazard Identification (0 = not mentioned; 1= mentioned, but text only, 2 = mentioned and mapped)
 Flood
 Hurricanes and coastal storms
 Earthquakes
 Tornadoes
 Climate change (drought, sea level rise, heat islands)
 Wind
2.2 Current Vulnerability (0 = not mentioned; 1 = mentioned, but text only; 2 = mentioned, mapped
and/or tabulated = 2)
 Infrastructure
o Transportation
o Electricity
o Water supply
o Health care/social service facilities (clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, day care, etc)
o Communication
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o Schools
o Fire
o Police
Economy (number of businesses, jobs)
Natural environment
Housing
Historic structures
Social vulnerable population (by demographic characteristics, special needs)
2.3 Sites for Temporary Post-disaster Activities (0 = not mentioned; 1 = mentioned, but text only; 2 =
mentioned, mapped and/or tabulated = 2)
 Housing
 Business
 Debris dump
2.4 Scenarios (not mentioned = 0, mentioned = 1)
 Scenarios based on range of hazard severities (e.g., category 1, 2 3 hurricane)
 Scenarios based on alternative future growth patterns
2.5 Projected Future Vulnerability (0 = not mentioned; 1 = mentioned, but text only; 2 = mentioned,
mapped and/or tabulated)
 Infrastructure (transportation, electricity, water supply)
 Health care/social service facilities (clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, etc)
 Economy (number of businesses, jobs, monetary losses)
 Natural environment
 Housing (number and type e.g., single and multi-family)
 Historic structures
 Population
o number of people vulnerable
o number by demographic and/or special need characteristics
2.6 Pre-Disaster Capability Assessment (0 = not mentioned; 1 = mentioned, but brief or fragmented
description; 2 = mentioned, detailed description)
 Inventory of Local Plans (comprehensive, emergency, mitigation, open space, housing)
 Inventory of Local Development Management Tools (land use and bldg. regulations, incentives, )
 Staff Capability (planners, engineers, emergency managers, GIS experts, outreach specialists)
 Fiscal Capability (capital improvements plan, development impact fees, community
development block grants, tax districts with fees for infrastructure in high risk areas)
 Note: Technical Capability (see sec. 2.1-hazard identification, and sec. 2.2-vulnerability
assessment)
3. Policy Tools for Rebuilding
Temporary and Flexible Regulations
3.1 Damage Assessment (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Damage assessment procedure
 Structural condition or habitability criteria, e.g. habitable, restricted, unsafe
3.2 Temporary building moratorium (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
3.4 Debris clearance (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Designation of local authority to clear debris without notice to private parties
3.5 Streamlined permitting procedure (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
3.6 Non-conforming uses (policy to deal with structures that need to be brought into conformance after
they are damaged) (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
3.7 Housing (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Temporary housing: siting criteria (safe location, , proximity to public services, holding capacity)
 Temporary housing: time limits that account for availability of permanent housing to meet
demand
 Long term housing: siting criteria (safe location, holding capacity, achieves other goals like
sustainable development, equity, econ dev.)
 Long term housing: programs to transition people to permanent housing (relocate, repair, rent
or buy, and furnish a home)
 Long term housing: density bonuses for affordability
Tools that Link Rebuilding to Sustainable Development (Mitigation, Equity, Economic development,
Environment)
3.8 Land Use Regulations (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Zoning (restrictions for permitted use and density)
 Site design requirements for mitigation (sub-division)
3.9 Taxes, Fees, Incentives (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Tax increment financing
 Special tax districts that finance infrastructure
 Tax abatement
 Development impact fees
 Development density bonuses
3.10
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Land and Property Acquisition (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
Building relocation
Acquisition of damaged properties
Transfer of development rights
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Rolling easement
3.11
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Building Reconstruction Standards (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
Structural strengthening
Green rebuilding standards
3.12
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Natural Environment (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
Restoration of damaged natural areas (sand dunes, wetlands, forests, re-vegetation for slope
stabilization)
Mediation of health-related polluted areas (e.g., cleaning of hazardous contamination)
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3.13
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Infrastructure and Public Facilities (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
Retrofit to structurally strengthen
Relocation to avoid hazard areas
Target priority redevelopment areas
3.14
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Across Local Jurisdictions (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
Mutual aid agreements
Joint data sharing
Joint actions to coordinate rebuilding
3.15
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Other Vertical Coordination Actions (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
Coordinate recovery volunteers through
Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters
(VOADs) or other means
Establishes pre-event contracts with private
sector contractors and vendors
Coordinate resources across the disaster
recovery assistance network (see definition
in Smith/Sandler protocol)
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4. Pre-and Post-disaster Inter-organizational Coordination
__Pre-disaster__
Planning
Organizational
Committee Involvement
4.1 Horizontal Coordination (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
Local Government & Independent Groups
 Local business community
 Local civic groups (United Way, Red Cross)
 Chuches
 Local government agencies
 Regional government agencies
 Utilities (electric, water)
 Elected officials
 Environmental groups
 Schools
4.2 Vertical Coordination (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
National Level
 FEMA
 HUD
 NFIP Coordinator/Floodplain Man Office
 NOAA/NWS
 Army Corps of Engineers
 National advocacy organizations
(eg, NAACP, National Council of La Raza)
 Other agency
State Level
 Coastal Agency
 Emergency Man Agency
 Natural Resources/Environment Agency
 Planning Agency
 State Sea Grant
 Transportation Agency
 Other Agency
Regional Level
 Regional Planning Government/Organization
 Transportation Agency (MPO)
 Regional Utility (electric and water)
 Airport authority
Post-disaster
Task Force
5. Pre- and Post-disaster Participation and Communication
5.1 Public Engagement Tools (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Designate communication liaison
 Citizen Advisory Committee
 Identifying Emergency Organizations Post-Event
 Public Comments/Recommendations
 Public Meetings
 Media releases (radio, tv, local paper)
 Public Notice (Legal)
 Targeted Outreach
 Website
 Educational video
 Brochures
 Public surveys
Pre-disaster
Post-disaster
5.2 Description of the Pre-disaster Planning Process
(0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned, but vague; 2 =
mentioned in detail)
 Provides a general narrative overview of how the recovery plan was prepared
(1 – General, description of planning process is present; 0 – No description present)
6. Implementation
6.1 Plan Maintenance (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Mock exercise of the plan at regular intervals (e.g., every year)
 Provision of technical assistance (e.g., training, funding)
6.2 Plan Activation (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Plan activation procedure to implement post-disaster actions
6.3 Actions, Responsibilities, Timeline and Funding (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Implementation actions (global)
 Organizational responsibility (global)
 Implementation timeline (global)
 Funding sources (global)
7. Monitoring and Evaluation
7.1 Monitoring Losses (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned)
 Indicators that track losses (global)
 Indicators that track recovery outcomes (global)
 Organizational responsibility (global)
7.2 Financial Monitoring and Accountability (0 = mentioned; 1 = mentioned, but vague; 2 = mentioned
in detail)
 Process to receive, record, and manage federal/state recovery funds
 Process to monitor all recovery resources, including non-profit, private sector, and quasigovernmental organizations