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An in-depth look into the design, production, and community impact of Bayou La Batre's Alternative Housing Pilot Program (AHPP). The program aimed to transition families from FEMA trailers to permanent housing, with a focus on Bayou La Batre residents. information on the organizational capacity, applicant characteristics, and preliminary results of the building sciences evaluation. It also discusses property management and ongoing operations, as well as the community's reactions to the program.
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Prepared for: Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research
Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Assistance Directorate Alternative Housing Pilot Program
Prepared by: Abt Associates Inc. Amy Jones & Associates
Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................i Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... i Grantee Organization ..................................................................................................................................... ii Bayou La Batre Program Design .................................................................................................................. ii Unit Design, Production, and Installation.................................................................................................. iii Homeownership Program.............................................................................................................................. v
A Case Study of the Alabama Alternative Housing Pilot Program i
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, FEMA deployed 130,181 travel trailers and mobile homes to house disaster survivors along the Gulf Coast. During this time, it became clear that the breadth and severity of the damage would require a long recovery period and that the trailers were not appropriate long-term temporary housing for displaced households. In June 2006, Congress appropriated $400 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a pilot program to identify, implement, and evaluate alternatives to FEMA’s traditional disaster housing options for disaster survivors.
FEMA offered the opportunity to apply for Alternative Housing Pilot Program (AHPP) funding to the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, the five states most severely affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. FEMA’s particular interest was to identify unit types that would be suitable for short and intermediate housing following a major disaster. Grantees were given significant latitude in both the design of the units and how the program would be administered. FEMA selected projects for funding in four states. One of those projects was located in the City of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, which received an AHPP grant of $15,667,293. This Executive Summary highlights key aspects of the Bayou La Batre program and provides the preliminary observations and lessons learned that are discussed in more detail in the full case study that follows. This case study is one part of FEMA’s broader effort to evaluate the pilot program and identify lessons that can be applied in future disaster situations.
FEMA contracted with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to oversee an evaluation of AHPP implementation and outcomes. The evaluation is composed of two parts. The National Association of Home Builders Research Center, Inc. is tasked with evaluating the units and installations from a physical (building sciences) standpoint, including the speed and ease of construction and installation, durability, safety, and energy efficiency. Abt Associates, Inc. is conducting a “quality of life” evaluation that includes an assessment of the livability of the units as perceived by program participants, the extent to which the units aided participants’ recovery, how the units were perceived by community stakeholders, and how the grantee’s organizational capacity and implementation approach affected program and participant outcomes.
The implementation process for the four AHPP grantees will be followed through 2010. Two formal surveys of program participants will be conducted over the course of the project to help identify outcomes for participants. The first follow-up survey in Bayou La Batre is scheduled for October 2009, with a second survey scheduled for the summer of 2010.
This case study of the Bayou La Batre Alabama AHPP program is one of a number of reports to be produced for the quality of life evaluation. It covers the first two years of program implementation in Alabama, from August 2007 through July 2009. The timing of other evaluation reports will vary depending upon each grantee’s implementation schedule. Case study reports will be prepared for each site as it nears full occupancy. Interim and final reports will summarize the results of the participant surveys and make cross-site comparisons. The final report will be issued in late 2011.
A Case Study of the Alabama Alternative Housing Pilot Program iii
Photo: A completed Safe Harbor home. (Courtesy of Amy Jones & Associates/ Janet Pershing)
The City considered building elevated units on in-fill lots in areas that had been flood-damaged, but ultimately chose to place all units in a housing project in a safe haven outside of the storm surge area. Development of Bayou La Batre’s new Safe Harbor Estates and Safe Harbor Landing tested the concept that a new subdivision designed to permanently house disaster survivors could be developed quickly using appropriate modular housing.
The Alabama AHPP program was open to both homeowners and renters who had housing needs resulting from Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. A system was developed for selecting applicants based on factors such as place of pre-disaster residence (with priority to Bayou La Batre residents), receipt of government disaster assistance (with priority to FEMA assistance), and continued need for permanent post-disaster housing assistance.
A key element of the Bayou La Batre program was to focus on quality of life issues in the development. After negative experiences with the establishment of an emergency trailer site after Hurricane Katrina, the City determined that strict rules were needed to ensure that the development would be an attractive and safe place to live. To this end, the City implemented criminal background checks to screen out sexual predators, violent criminals, and those with a history of drug-related crimes. In addition, the City established strict covenants governing life in the development, with rules covering a range of topics, from unit maintenance to quiet hours to pet policies.
The Bayou La Batre AHPP project also took into consideration broader community planning issues. Unlike in-fill housing, a subdivision approach required planning for green space, park facilities, and other amenities that affect the quality of life in a community.
The City’s goal was to design units that could be manufactured and installed quickly, but were also of high enough quality to provide a long-term, permanent, affordable housing solution. The City’s original plans for 194 units had to be scaled back, and after budget reductions, revisions to comply with government requirements, and project redesign, the 100 homes actually produced were more modest than those initially envisioned. Nonetheless, the units retained many of the original key features, including wind-resistant siding and roofs, mold-resistant construction materials, and energy-efficient features.
The AHPP homes were factory-built modular units, and ranged in size from one bedroom and a den to four bedrooms. They included features such as covered front porches, a dining area in the kitchens, vaulted ceilings in the living rooms, air conditioning, ceiling fans, washer/dryers, and window treatments. As required under the AHPP program, all units came equipped with basic furniture and a “living kit” of kitchen equipment and linens - the basic furnishings a family that had lost everything in a storm might need. Square footage ranged from 820 to 1360 square feet.
iv Executive Summary
In addition to standard permanent housing units, the AHPP program required the City to include units that could be re-deployed in the event of a future disaster. The City accomplished this by constructing 10 of the 100 homes as single-wide units, attached to their foundations in such a way that they can be removed and transported elsewhere if necessary. The City’s agreement with FEMA stipulated that these units will be available for redeployment only if they are vacant at the time they are needed. Six percent of the units provided accessible features for people with mobility impairments. This exceeded the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) requirement that five percent of the units be accessible and provided more accessible units than the applicants actually needed. The table below provides a summary of unit distribution and sizes.
A Summary of AHPP Unit Distribution and Size
Number of Standard Units
Number of UFAS Units
Total Units Square Footage
Re-deployable 1-Bedroom plus den 2-Bedroom 7 3 10 820 sq. ft. 2-Bedroom 65 0 65 1,035 sq. ft. 3-Bedroom 17 2 19 1,155 sq. ft. 4-Bedroom 5 1 6 1,360 sq. ft. Total 94 6 100
Because the units were built in a subdivision rather than as in-fill housing, neighborhood amenities were of considerable concern to the City. Amenities included in plans for the neighborhood were:
A playground (supplemented with $16,000 Bush-Clinton Grant funds that remained available to the City after completion of another project) A ‘tot lot’ A quiet garden Off-street trailer and boat storage Space for future community center Lots available for future in-fill housing to foster community diversity (i.e., not only Katrina survivors), including units for City police officers and fire fighters. Landscaping trees (provided for use throughout the City, including the Safe Harbor development, through a $20,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture and a donation of trees from Auburn University).
The Alabama AHPP team sought supplementary funds from other sources as well. Some requests for supplementary funding were successful but required a matching component that the City was unable to provide (e.g., Alabama Department of Transportation grants for sidewalks between the Safe Harbor development and the nearby high school and elementary school, and for vans to provide public transportation to employment centers). Other grant applications were unsuccessful (e.g., a request for CDBG funds to construct the planned community center).
vi Executive Summary
^ Government approval processes (e.g., environmental approval, accessibility for people with disabilities) take time, which can slow down the recovery process. At the same time, they help ensure that important safety and quality of life standards for both residents of the development and the broader community are met. Striking a balance in this area during a disaster situation can be difficult. Attention to the overall quality of the neighborhood and its amenities, such as parks, open spaces, and off-street parking for boats and trailers, was an important part of the City’s strategy.
Establish a vision In the wake of a disaster, efforts to ensure a rapid response could easily result in housing units that do not support the long-term interests of the community. Articulating a vision in advance of a disaster and sticking to the fundamentals of that vision can help ensure that disaster recovery units will be long-term assets for a community. This implies a need to integrate disaster recovery planning with long-term community planning and to include the diverse views of disaster response experts, housing experts, and community development experts in this process.
Establish technical and quality requirements for units in advance of a disaster The City spent a good deal of time designing and redesigning the units to ensure they would meet the desired standards within budget. Similarly, lack of clarity about UFAS requirements resulted in investments of time and production delays. Construction could be expedited and unit quality enhanced if designs for both standard and UFAS-compliant units were developed in advance of an emergency.
Plans for coordination of government entities prior to a disaster Some activities that encountered administrative delays in Bayou La Batre two to three years after the disaster could be expedited during an immediate post-disaster time frame with waivers of certain State and Federal regulations. With advance planning, post-disaster recovery efforts could be further facilitated by knowing exactly what waivers will be in place. This might involve establishing formal understandings about issues such as interstate transportation of oversized modular homes, modified procurement rules, and streamlining of environmental reviews in a post-disaster situation. Whatever the arrangements, clearly articulating them prior to a future disaster will allow those responding to the disaster to plan most effectively.
Plan in advance for a subdivision approach to housing after a disaster The City was able to locate appropriate land for the AHPP subdivision, but the process required time for locating the land, making the purchase, and annexing the land to the City. To speed such a process in the event of a future disaster, participants in the Bayou La Batre process suggested that other communities consider land banking. In the event of a disaster, such land might be divided in a way that uses part of the site for temporary FEMA-trailer-type homes while permanent homes are built on the rest of the site. Once families are moved into their permanent homes, the trailers could be removed, and that land used for additional housing or for other community needs.
Consider not only unit quality, but also neighborhood quality when planning for post-disaster housing When working in a subdivision context, planners need to integrate neighborhood amenities into the planned community design. This will help ensure that the housing units are located in a neighborhood that will remain attractive and desirable over time. Even if funds are not immediately available for all desired amenities, planning for them in advance will allow for the community to be enhanced gradually as funds are made available.
A Case Study of the Alabama Alternative Housing Pilot Program vii
Be prepared for changes in plans Over the course of the project, the Alabama AHPP team found numerous ways to adapt its original plans. Sometimes changes were made to deal with fiscal realities. Other times they were based on insights that helped enhance the quality of the units and the development. Any rigid requirements involving adherence to an initial plan, or cumbersome processes for approving minor alterations, would have slowed down the implementation process and resulted in an inferior final product. While it is important to hold developers to core standards, flexibility in the implementation process can be important to maximizing the quality of the units and the neighborhood.
Quality of Life
The results of the first survey of a large representative group of AHPP participants in Alabama will not be available until winter 2010. In the meantime, discussions with participants, Alabama AHPP team members, contractors, and local government representatives can provide a preview of participant perceptions.
Residents experienced a sense of relief and elation upon moving to their AHPP units. After years of cramped quarters in a FEMA trailer and uncertainty about where they might go next, having a place to call home meant a great deal to the new residents of the AHPP development. ^ Returning to “normal” through activities such as entertaining guests at Thanksgiving, hosting grandchildren for sleep-over visits, and having a private place to study were mentioned by residents as important changes in their lives. ^ Residents had some trepidation about moving to a development that might suffer from the problems of crime and violence that plagued the City’s temporary FEMA trailer park shortly after Hurricane Katrina. To date residents have been pleased with the peace and quite and sense of safety offered by the AHPP development.
Take steps to establish and enforce community standards Conducting criminal background checks took a fair amount of effort, as did developing covenants governing resident behavior and unit maintenance. The effort appears to have paid off in terms of the quality of life reported during the early months of occupancy in the development. Other communities facing disaster situations may wish to implement similar standards.
Offer support during the application and move-in process Residents needed assistance throughout the application process, including help filling out application forms. Residents expressed great appreciation for the staff members who were available to ease their fears and answer “silly questions.” The Alabama AHPP team also found it important to provide in-depth move-in briefings for new residents. This helped ensure that residents thoroughly understood the lease and the covenants. In addition, the team walked residents through the operation of each appliance, system, and feature of the units to ensure that they would be able to properly use and maintain the unit. Allocating resources to address this human dimension is an important part of supporting a vulnerable and traumatized population following a disaster.
A Case Study of the Alabama Alternative Housing Pilot Program ix
Organizational Capacity
Bayou La Batre, a tiny community with minimal City resources or staff expertise for reconstruction efforts, has succeeded in replacing 19 percent of its pre-Katrina housing stock with a combination of CDBG funding (44 units) and AHPP funding (100 units). This accomplishment was made possible through careful planning and committed tenacity on the part of those responsible for implementation of the projects.
The Alabama AHPP team followed a well-defined hierarchical structure to ensure accountability and clear communication, while still remaining flexible to find solutions when roadblocks were encountered. This combination of clear organizational structure and commitment to problem solving allowed the team to accomplish a great deal. The City did not have internal capacity to undertake development of the AHPP units. Using a contractor to administer the process, as well as a general contractor to manage the construction aspects of the project, was invaluable for the City. At the same time, it was viewed as crucial for the City to remain in control of the process at the highest levels. Oversight by the City Council in terms of policy decisions and budget authority were important. In addition, close coordination with the Mayor to ensure day-to-day accountability to the City’s vision ensured that the City got the outcomes it was seeking from its contractors. ^ Simplicity was important for the project’s success. The Alabama AHPP program developed only one floor plan for each unit size, with appropriate adaptations for UFAS-complaint units, and the team did not offer choices to residents about things like interior options, exterior color, or porch design. This streamlining was selected as a strategy based on the City’s experience with allowing residents to make choices under the CDBG housing program. Not offering cosmetic options helped simplify the process and speed development of the units. The Bayou La Batre AHPP grant was structured to cover not only the costs of unit and neighborhood development, but also operations and management costs for several years. An important side benefit of this ongoing funding is that it will provide operational support for the development while the City’s new Public Housing Authority (PHA) determines how to support the development’s long-term operating costs while ensuring affordability for the families.
A strong and diverse team is essential for success Asked what allowed them to replace nearly a fifth of the City’s pre-Katrina housing stock in a short time period, the Alabama AHPP team cited the importance of assembling a group of qualified people with specialty skills in all the areas required for such a project. Having a savvy, organized team leader heading the team was considered essential. A staff that provided the needed support and appropriately interacted with applicants was also highly valued.
x Executive Summary
Future programs should incorporate a strong human services strategy The Alabama AHPP team, made up largely of local people, knew its applicant population well and was prepared to offer support and assistance to those who needed it. The team viewed this as an important aspect of making the organizational processes move smoothly. Future disaster planning efforts may benefit from planning for ways to support residents, whether through formal case management or through a less formal system of providing support where needed.
Details on implementation through July 2009 are contained in the body of this report. The pilot program is ongoing through 2011. Further program updates will be provided in a brief 2010 interim report along with results of the first follow-up survey of Alabama’s AHPP participants.
2 Chapter 1: Introduction to the Bayou La Batre Alabama AHPP Program
participate, with as much diversity as possible in terms of race, ethnicity, age, and family circumstances (e.g., family composition, employment status, disability). An in-person, on-site discussion panel consisting of residents of Safe Harbor Estates also provided resident perspectives in February 2009, approximately two months after move-in.
Systematic information about resident perceptions will be gathered through structured, representative participant surveys in the fall of 2009 and the summer of 2010. Additional interviews with residents are planned in order to gather detailed information about household experiences in the years after moving to Safe Harbor. On-going discussion with the Alabama AHPP team and City staff will be used to gather insights about the operations phase of the project to inform the final evaluation report.
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, leaving the City of Bayou La Batre (see location in Exhibit 1-1) with the greatest concentration of storm damage in the State of Alabama. Most of the city is below sea level, and flood waters and winds in excess of 100 miles damaged or destroyed 65 percent of all occupied housing units. During and immediately after the storm City officials and volunteers used boats to rescue approximately 400 people from rooftops. In the aftermath of the storm, much of the city was under 15 feet of water and roughly 1,000 Bayou La Batre residents faced homelessness. In
Exhibit 1-1: Map of State/County showing position of Bayou La Batre. (Courtesy of HUD/Dana Bres)
A Case Study of the Alabama Alternative Housing Pilot Program 3
Exhibit 1-2: Aerial view of Bayou La Batre before the storm, from the harbor entrance on the Gulf of Mexico. (Courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Adrien Lamarre) Fishing boats in Bayou La Batre. (Courtesy of Amy Jones & Associates/Janet Pershing)
Exhibit 1-3: Katrina’s aftermath in Bayou La Batre’s industrial area. (Courtesy of the City of Bayou La Batre) Cargo ship and boats aground after Hurricane Katrina. (Courtesy of NOAA)
addition, public buildings, schools, businesses, and churches were heavily damaged or destroyed. The municipal wastewater treatment plant also was flooded and sustained permanent damage.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Bayou La Batre was a small city with a population just over 2,300 people. It has been called the “Seafood Capital of Alabama” and has been frequently cited as one of the top ten seafood ports in the U.S. (see Exhibit 1-2). The storm greatly impacted the seafood industry, resulting in lost wages, inventories, and revenues totaling $112 million. Seventy-four commercial fishing vessels were blown from their moorings during the storm and were stranded on dry land after the storm (see Exhibit 1-3).
Bayou La Batre residents were faced with the task of rebuilding in the face of this devastation and began acquiring the resources needed. In the spring of 2006, the City of Bayou La Batre applied for and subsequently received a substantial Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). This funding was allocated for housing and infrastructure improvements to repair the damage to private dwellings and public facilities that resulted from Hurricane Katrina. Using these funds, the City has undertaken a wide array of housing and public infrastructure projects.
One of the CDBG projects involved helping homeowners replace seriously damaged homes with new modular homes, which are elevated to remain safe in the event of future storms (see Exhibit 1-4). It also provided an organizational model for managing the process of housing replacement, with the City overseeing a consultant who was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project.
