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<br /> <br />Call Kinston Home - A Grassroots Approach to Community Revitalization <br /> <br />In a major move to stimulate investment in dowmown Kinston, the city council approved "Call Kinston <br />!lome," a residential and redevelopment initiative that is guided by two goals: to promote the city as a <br />desirable place lO live and own a home and secondly to revitalize established neighborhoods. By stimulating <br />investment in existing homes and new dwelling units on in-fill vacant lots, the City hopes to revitalize arl'as in <br />and around downtown, <br /> <br />In essence, Call Kinston Home can play an important role in a phased program to move families out of the <br />floodplain in Kinston, and into safe and affordable homes, The initiative has brought together a broad <br />coalition of partners: local government (Kinston city council and Lenoir county commissioners); quasi- <br />governmem agencies (the Kinston Housing Authority); state and federal government (NCEMD, XC Depart- <br />ment of Corrections and FE~H); cilic and professional groups (the Chamber of Commerce and North <br />Carolina Homebuilders Association); and business and industry. <br /> <br />In 1998, Call Kinston Home fonned a leadership team, developed an action plan and marketing strategy, and <br />identified speCific neighborhoods for a pilot program, When Hurricane Floyd struck Kinston and Lenoir <br />County in September 1999, the City had the advantage of a planning process and coalition in place to serve as <br />the foundation for a broader initiative to construct permanent housing in targeted areas within the city limits, <br /> <br />Against this backdrop, the NCEMD selected Kinston as a pilot for the North Carolina Pernlanent Housing <br />Initiative. <br /> <br />Mitigation Strategy Otlicially Adopted by Kinston <br /> <br />Less than three weeks after Hurricane Floyd struck, the Kinston city council formally adopted a Mitigation <br />plan to guide land use decision-making and priority setting, Among the key prolisions of the Strateh'Y: <br /> <br />. expand the Flood Buy-Out Program <br /> <br />. adopt an interim prohibition of new residential conslrnction, replacements of manu- <br />factured homes, rebuilding destroyed or substantially damaged housing in the 100-year <br />floodplain <br /> <br />. prepare a Redevelopment Plan for adoplion (by February 2000) in the flood areas of <br />the City of Kinston <br /> <br />. prepare amendments to the Floodplain Regulations (new elevatioo standards for <br />residential and conservation areas proposed) <br /> <br />. investigate new engineering studies of the floodplain to determine the accuracy of <br />previous floodplain mapping <br /> <br />. prepare a Master Plan for specific arC'JS of the City and Groll1h Areas where new <br />investments in housing and economic development l'all be sponsored or encouraged <br /> <br />. enhance the City's tax base hy encouraging and supporting development wilhin the City <br />boundaries <br /> <br />. provide conservation areas within floodplains that can be used for recreation and at the <br />same time improve storm water management <br /> <br />These steps are an integral pan of a long-term effon by the City of Kinston to reduce the vulnerability of the <br />remaining 150 properties in Kinston that are exposed to the flood hazard, <br /> <br />30 <br />