Rockport, Texas, USA

Case Study Date: 2020

Rockport is a coastal city in Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. It is prone to coastal storms due to its low-lying geography. It was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey, which damaged 90% of homes in the city and reduced the population there by 20% due to displacement.

Brief Summary of Findings

Rockport’s network of plan reduces vulnerability to flooding in all district hazard zones. Two coastal districts receive the highest policy scores due to the environmental protection policies applicable there. The district with the lowest policy scores is an inland district, which is outside the floodplain thus receives little policy attention to mitigate the risk to flooding it bears. 

Plans Evaluated

• A Vision for Rockport: A Master Plan for the Heritage District and Downtown Rockport
• Rockport Heritage District Zoning Overlay Code
• Aransas County Long Term Recovery Plan and Report
• Aransas County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Action Plan
• Aransas County Multi-Jurisdictional Floodplain Management Plan

---

Rockport, TX

The City of Rockport is the county seat of Aransas County and a notable tourist destination in the Texas Coastal Bend Region along the Gulf of Mexico. Residents and businesses are highly exposed to coastal storms as the majority of the city’s geographic area (16.8 square-miles) is only seven feet above sea level, with 17% within 100-year floodplain and additional 10% within the extending from the 100-year to 500-year floodplain (Aransas County, 2018, as cited in Berke et al., 2020). In August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall just to the south of the city as a Category 4 storm that inundated 45% of the city’s land area. Rockport suffered major damage from wind and storm surge. Over 90% of homes experienced some level of damage and 30% of homes were destroyed entirely (City of Rockport, 2020). The pre-Harvey population of 10,759 has declined by nearly 20% largely due to a displacement of low-income households. Affordable rental units experienced significant losses, but these units are less profitable to rebuild (City of Rockport, 2020).

Community leaders were determined that rebuilding presented a “window of opportunity” that could transform the city to be safer, smarter, and more resilient. One local government official observed that recovery of the city was about “bouncing forward,” rather than merely “bouncing back.” Rockport engaged in the Aransas County Long-Term Recovery Plan to be eligible for federal recovery funds to start the arduous process on rebuilding of housing and the economy (Aransas County, 2018, as cited in Berke et al., 2020). Soon after the disaster, the city invited a Recovery Planning Assistance Team (RPAT) from the American Planning Association to identify actions that can help achieve the twin goals of an economically revitalized and disaster resilient downtown (Recovery Planning Assistance Teams [RPAT], 2020). Participation by Rockport in these activities forged a commitment to taking an integrated communitywide approach to recovery.

Findings of the Overall Network of Plans:

The PIRS analysis revealed several key findings regarding Rockport’s plan network. First, all district-hazard zones receive positive composite scores, indicating that Rockport’s network of plans support vulnerability reduction in three hazard zones (100-year, 500-year, Harvey inundation). As expected, the plans that specifically focus on mitigation – hazard mitigation plan and floodplain management plan – consistently receive the highest scores among all the plans. The Master Plan for the Heritage District and Downtown Rockport has the lowest scores as its priority is to preserve historic structures, as well as to support tourism and economic development.

Second, Districts 2 and 15 receive the highest positive policy scores (see Figure 1). Environmental protection policies receive strong support as significant critical wildlife habitats and wetlands are present in both districts. District 2 is targeted by policies that support floodproofing of residential properties, acquisition of wetland areas, residential buyouts, and investment in stormwater drainage infrastructure. District 15 is targeted by policies aimed at reducing coastal erosion to preserve wildlife habitats, and bulkheads structures to protect economic assets of a marina.

Third, District 14 receives the lowest policy scores. It is located inland of the downtown and was inundated by Hurricane Harvey. It does not contain 100-year and 500-year flood zones under the National Flood Insurance Program and the developments there are primarily low-density. As a result, it is subject to limited mitigation policy attention aimed at maintaining or improving drainage infrastructure for runoff generated by rainfall events, and city- and county-wide policies for acquiring parklands and environmentally sensitive areas. Examples of policies that support increasing vulnerability include moderate density single family residential development and mixed-use development.

Fourth, hazard zones in District 9 that overlaps or is adjacent to the downtown has several conflicting policies from different plans. The district receives the second lowest category of scores (see areas outlined in pink color on Figure 1). Examples of policies that increase vulnerability include:

• “Develop waterfront property along Water Street for condominium units, ground floor retail and restaurants…” in Master Plan for the Heritage District and Downtown Rockport (City of Rockport, 2006, pp.3-9, as cited in Berke et al., 2020).
• “Secure funding for Heritage District & Downtown utility improvements, housing and economic development [to] help create a ‘Developer-Ready’ zone” in Aransas County Long Term Recovery Plan (Aransas County, 2018, p.49, as cited in Berke et al., 2020).

In contrast, examples of policies in the floodplain management plan that reduce vulnerability in the same location include:

• “Review and update zoning regulations to reduce population density in areas [including downtown] vulnerable to hazards” in Aransas County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Action Plan (Aransas County, 2017a, pp.17-44)
• “Investigate grant opportunities for property buyouts, open space preservation, or other flood mitigation measures” in Aransas County Multi-Jurisdictional Floodplain Management Plan (Aransas County, 2017b, pp.65) 

---

“Plan Integration brought in nearly 50 potential planning actions into one central matrix. You can assess previous plans and you may have thought ‘Oh, we are not ready for the next disaster… we haven’t done anything… I’m completely unprepared!’ And then you make an assessment and realize your community has been having these conversations about resiliency and you just didn’t realize it until you went through those processes and mechanisms. There’s a lot of different partners in this process [of building community resilience], and it’s important for us to be on the same page when it comes to planning for our future.”

Amanda Torres, MPA, CFM
Community Planner and Floodplain Administrator
City of Rockport, TX

---

References

Berke, P. R., Masterson, J. H., Malecha, M. L., & Yu, S. (2020). Applying a Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard to Practice: Experiences of Nashua, NH, Norfolk, VA, Rockport, TX [Preliminary report]. https://planintegration.com/cross-case-paper

City of Rockport. (2020). Rockport Strong: City of Rockport Comprehensive Plan 2020-2040.  Retrieved from cityofrockport.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2916

Recovery Planning Assistance Teams. (2020). Downtown Rockport: Strength, Vitality, and Resilience. cityofrockport.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2907

Aransas County. (2017a). Aransas County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Action Plan.  Retrieved from https://actx.app.box.com/v/ACMJHMITPLAN2017

Aransas County. (2017b). Aransas County Multi-Jurisdictional Floodplain Management Plan Retrieved from www.cityofrockport.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1441