| "We’ve tried to keep up with anything new that affects our coastal areas." | |
| Tina Shumate,
Mississippi Office of Coastal Management and Planning |
|
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi coast, local communities, state agencies, and the business community—including developers and real estate agents—were already familiar with smart growth concepts, which has helped speed the state’s post-storm recovery. These concepts were introduced through an annual smart growth conference hosted by Mississippi coastal resource managers.
“I can’t think of anything that’s cast such a wide net of bringing so many people together to talk,” says Lolly Barnes, vice president of White House Properties in Biloxi. “This has been important to the coast because we had a track record leading up to Hurricane Katrina. We all knew each other, and the ideas were out there for how we could rebuild well.”
Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the annual Coastal Development Strategies (Smart Growth) Conference hosted by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Office of Coastal Management and Planning.
“It is the oldest and largest smart growth conference nationally,” says Tina Shumate, office director. “The conference has grown from 25 attendees in 2000 to more than 500.”
The conference began, Shumate says, as a way to bring environmentalists and developers together to help plan for casino growth along the coast, and each year has had a different focus.
It has evolved from rolling out tools, such as the Stormwater Management Toolbox and GIS (geographic information system) Land Suitability Model, to helping the coast attain national heritage status, rebuilding after the storm, and sharing information about climate issues such as sea level rise.
“We’ve tried to keep up with anything new that affects our coastal areas,” Shumate says.
It is the networking opportunities that really make the conference stand out, says Liz Ford, a volunteer with the City of Pascagoula and a conference attendee.
The conference draws elected officials, city and county staff members, contractors, developers, bankers, planners, zoning officials, real estate agents and appraisers, engineers, landowners, students, lawyers, environmentalists, resource managers, and representatives of industry, federal and state agencies, boards of supervisors, and private and corporate entities, as well as others committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast.
The coming conference, being held May 12 and 13, 2009, in Biloxi, will present information on sustainable development, heritage tourism, green building, working waterfronts, livable and walkable communities, the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) affordable housing tax credit, and insurance issues.
In addition to networking opportunities, Shumate says many in the business community, such as real estate agents and appraisers, have been attracted to the conferences for the opportunity to earn up to 10 hours of continuing education credit.
She notes that it was community leaders asking for the conference after Katrina that enabled it to continue.
“The value of the smart growth conference has been its longevity,” says Lolly Barnes. “It’s all tied back to these seeds that were planted and have been growing for a while here.”
For more information on the Coastal Development Strategies (Smart Growth) Conference, point your browser to www.dmr.state.ms.us/CMP/CRMP/Conference/09/conference.htm. You may also contact Tina Shumate at (228) 523-4122, or tina.shumate@dmr.ms.gov, Susan Perkins at (228) 523-4124, or susan.perkins@dmr.ms.gov, or Leslie Young at (228) 523-4123, or leslie.young@dmr.ms.gov.
