Jefferson/Chalmers: Seawalls and Flooding Scam

[casscorridor65]

I am sick of these people who live in a designated flood plain but want the city [our tax dollars) to fix/replace very EXPENSIVE seawalls on their personal property. And of course, they want the designation REMOVED so they can make all the flooding A CITY PROBLEM! If you want to live waterfront, the seawall is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY not the city taxpayers. These people keep poo-pooing every proposal by the city even after increased drainage pipes and pump stations because their ultimate goal is to get CITY DOLLARS to make improvements to their privately owned seawall. Disgusting!

Jefferson Chalmers residents face floods, pollution — and feel unheard [[freep.com)

[JBMcB]

Expecting the city to take care of your seawall is a strange concept. I know a couple of people who live on waterfront property, including a couple who live on the St. Clair river, and their seawall is 100% their responsibility.

I'm not sure why someone would think that other residents should subsidize the cost of where they choose to live.

[Henry Whalley]

IDK but people probably don't move because Jefferson Chalmers properties are unsaleable.

[Richard]

Florida is the same way,individual property owners are responsible for their seawalls.

So what makes this a flood plain ? Run off from the rest of the city and apparently including the occasional sewage discharge.

So if it is a part of the bigger picture of the cities drainage system that prevents other parts of the city from flooding,then it should be a shared expense.

They are city taxpayers and are subject to city infrastructure improvements like everybody else,but not everybody else is getting instantaneous results either.

Everywhere else in the world those types of properties are considered highly desirable and worth a lot more then a non waterfront property.

From purely a tax base aspect it’s probably worth it to invest in that area and double the values.

Millions of homes in Florida and the south do not have basements and people live just fine,if I lived there and the basement was constantly flooding,I would fill that sucker in and concrete cap it off,why keep dealing with the headaches.

Thats what is going to happen,they are going to be told to raise the house or they will not be able to get flood insurance.

And they will not allow new houses to be built unless they are above flood plain.

When it comes to the park and the claim that the soil was contaminated,then the rest of the residents have a right to know - contaminated with what ?

If you see the videos of the recent storms in Florida where all of that sand was washed far inshore,they cannot just scrape that sand up and put it on the beach,because when there is flooding the soil gets contaminated with,septic system stuff and all kinds of nasty stuff,so it has to be cleaned and decontaminated before being put back.

So if that area was flooding and there were sewage discharges,and run off from the rest of the city that would explain the contamination in the park,and every piece of property that was flooded.

[casscorridor65]

You're 100% correct JB. I have a close friend that lives over there and spent $50,000 on his sea wall [replacing and raising it 18") and another $40,000 on drainage, basement improvements, etc. He said when the city increased the drainage it helped immensely. He is frustrated because HE SPENT HIS OWN MONEY while there's a certain faction of his neighbors that are trying everything to get city dollars to make private property improvements. In his mind, the city has bent over backwards to help but people are mad because the city, so far, isn't budging on fixing up their personal property. It's upsetting to see it sometimes portrayed in the news that the city has done nothing, and these flood-plain homes are all because of the city.

Like the city told them, "If you don't want to be classified as a flood plain, we can fill in and damn the canal." Problem solved. Of course, they poo-poo'd that idea. So I guess they have to deal with it themselves!

Expecting the city to take care of your seawall is a strange concept. I know a couple of people who live on waterfront property, including a couple who live on the St. Clair river, and their seawall is 100% their responsibility.

I'm not sure why someone would think that other residents should subsidize the cost of where they choose to live.

[Zacha341]

Hah! Talk about a captive audience.

IDK but people probably don't move because Jefferson Chalmers properties are unsaleable.

[expatriate]

Flooding in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood a few years ago was caused by lake levels that were at a 60 year high, a much more unusual event than the almost annual hurricane flooding that happens in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Many properties did indeed raise their seawalls after that event at their own expense. The more usual flooding seems to come from the inability of the storm drains to handle a deluge that equally effects inland properties, roadways and freeways. This infrastructure failure should indeed be a responsibility of the greater society and the municipalities involved.