Review of Land Use Planning in Coastal Louisiana: Recommendations for Protection from Natural Hazards

A study of Louisiana's nineteen coastal parishes revealed an absence of formal considerations of natural hazards in most planning initiatives. In most cases hazard mitigation is limited to the minimum standards of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and state-mandated building codes neither of which account for subsidence and relative sea level rise. Other states facing similar flooding hazards have successfully mandated planning for them at the local level. Louisiana should require planning for hazards in the coastal zone that are more protective than the NFIP and account for the state's unique coastal physical environment. Detailed measures are recommended.