Resilient De Soto
Next Community Meeting: Tuesday, May 16, 6:30-8:30PM @ The De Soto Community Center
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Next Community Meeting: Tuesday, May 16, 6:30-8:30PM @ The De Soto Community Center ---
The Next Community Meeting for Resilient De Soto will take place on:
May 16th , 2023 from 6:30PM – 8:30PM at the De Soto Community Center!
In this meeting, community members can share their priorities for Resilient De Soto and discuss how the city should fund and implement community recommendations.
What do you think the City of De Soto should prioritize in order to be more resilient?
Community Development & Livability - A healthy balance of resources to develop housing, amenities, recreation, and walkability in De Soto.
Emergency Preparedness & Response - Community planning and development for emergency evacuation and community readiness with expanded resources for police, fire, and medical
Education & Engagement - Actively training staff and community members and providing open and transparent communications resources for flooding, flood risks, financial resources, and relief.
Environment & Hydrology - Forming county, state, and local partnerships to actively maintain the Joachim Creek and mitigate water runoff while promoting green infrastructure.
Infrastructure - Continually working to improve storm, sewer, electrical services with increased mobility networks inclusive of key bridges and channels.
Policy & Regulation - Actively cooperating with state and county leadership to enact best practice measures and regulatory code updates for the watershed to actively protect against development impacts and runoff.
Economic Sustainability - Forming partnerships, pursuing grants, helping protect and expand local businesses, funding city programs and amenities, contributing to buyouts.
A voluntary property acquisition program – helping residents of De Soto who have experienced and are under threat of serious flooding from the Joachim Creek move somewhere safer, using a mix of federal, state, and local funding, and converting their properties into a public, floodable open space that all residents in the community can enjoy.
Announcements and Updates:
SAVE THE DATE!
The Next Community Meeting for Resilient De Soto will take place on: May 16th , 2023 from 6:30PM – 8:30PM at the De Soto Community Center!
VOTE FOR YOUR PRIORITIES!
What do you think that the City of De Soto should focus its priorities on? Fill out the prioritization survey to help the planning team decide what is most important for the city’s planning efforts in the years to come!
THANK YOU FOR HOSTING US!
The Buy-In and H3 teams visited De Soto with the Citizens Committee for Flood relief and heard feedback from members all around the community. Thank you for coming out to visit us at Be Kind Cafe and Pogolinos!
The results of our visit can be viewed by downloading the Neighborhood Meetings Report. Click here to download!
If you did not have a chance to share your voice, you can still participate! Fill out the prioritization survey and be sure to come to the next community meeting on May 16, 2023 from 6:30 - 8:30pm at the De Soto Community Center!
Meet the team
H3 Studio, an award winning multidisciplinary planning and design firm based in St. Louis, MO focused on the primary flood resiliency framework;
Buy-In Community Planning a national non profit working across the country to support the well-being of people whose homes and communities are threatened by natural hazards and assisting them in planning for and relocating to safer areas;
Robert Lewis and Cecile Denny of the SLU Community Planning Lab who will be developing an economic and affordable housing and relocation development framework; and
Dan Hanes of St. Louis University whose expertise in hydrology and natural sciences will guide the maintenance and development strategies to mitigate the effects of flooding from the Joachim creek and Upper Joachim Watershed.
The City of De Soto
The Citizen’s Committee for Flood Relief
About Resilient De Soto
The City of De Soto is working with a team of consultants to complete a flood resiliency and mitigation plan for the city called Resilient De Soto. This is a year-long process which is expected to wrap up in May of 2023. The plan involves an analysis of the existing area conditions and provides a comprehensive approach to resilience for:
Housing
Physical infrastructure creation and protection
Economic development
Open space amenities
A voluntary property acquisition program.
What is the purpose of this plan?
In the last six years, De Soto has conducted multiple studies to better understand and address the flooding hazards of the Joachim Creek. These include:
Upper Joachim Creek Floodplain Management Plan (US Army Corps)
In contrast, The Resilient De Soto Plan is focused on implementation. The plan will provide recommendations on how to finance, construct, and enact the strategies community members want to see.
What has happened to date?
To date, the team has:
Reviewed existing studies and plans for De Soto
Met with city and county officials to learn about existing programs
Met with businesses and residents to learn about their concerns
Presented our findings to the public.
These documents are available for download below:
Click the image below to view the Comprehensive City Wide Assessment
Click below to view the Public Report for Meeting #1
Click below to view the Neighborhood Meetings Report
Do you live in the Joachim Creek Floodway?
If you live next to Joachim Creek and have experienced flooding, please fill out this survey to let the city know if you are interested or NOT interested in a voluntary home buyout.
Filling out this survey does NOT guarantee funding for a buyout, but will put you on the waitlist. Thank you!
