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North Kingstown adopts 2024 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan; FEMA approval now pending final local adoption step
Summary
The Town Council voted to adopt the Town of North Kingstown Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (2024 update), a five‑year plan FEMA had already found approvable pending local adoption. The plan updates risk assessments, mitigation actions and an implementation table intended to support grant eligibility and Community Rating System points.
The North Kingstown Town Council voted to adopt the Town of North Kingstown Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, the 2024 update, during its Monday, August 2025 meeting. The council approved the plan by voice vote after a staff presentation and public comment.
The plan is a required five‑year update intended to satisfy federal and state review. Nicole (Planning Department staff member) told the council that Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RI EMA) deemed the plan complete in March 2025 and that FEMA determined the plan to be approved pending municipal adoption in July 2025. "We are required to update it every 5 years," Nicole said during her presentation, summarizing the update process and the outreach that informed the plan.
Council members and residents asked questions about what the plan covers and how the town will share its findings with residents. Tom Segura, a resident who reviewed the draft, told the council he appreciated the document's scope but said it omitted stronger town actions on reducing carbon emissions in new construction: "I find it somewhat disappointing that so much effort can be put into a document like that without ever once acknowledging that the town itself has a part to play," Segura said, urging closer links between mitigation and decarbonization strategies.
Staff responded that the hazard mitigation plan is focused on reducing exposure and risk from hazards (coastal flooding, hurricanes, storm surge, riverine flooding and related threats) and that other town or state climate policies are referenced rather than repeated in full. Nicole noted the plan is meant to complement, not duplicate, other climate and adaptation efforts and pointed to specific action items within the update.
The plan's action table lists goals, smaller strategies and discrete actions with estimated benefits, costs, prioritization, timelines and potential funding sources. Nicole highlighted several actions in the plan text that the council might note, including an assessment of municipal structures located in the special flood hazard overlay used by vulnerable populations (item 15); policy language directing development away from areas prone to erosion, flooding and storm surge (item 31); implementation of town climate action recommendations (item 32); and expanded public education and outreach on preparedness and property protection (item 48). The staff presentation also described updates to the plan's risk assessment, added discussion of high‑hazard dams and emergency action plans, and the inclusion of FEMA loss‑estimation tools that were not in the 2019 version.
Adoption of the plan enables the town to receive full FEMA approval and makes the town eligible to pursue related grant funding and to earn additional points in the Community Rating System (CRS), which can reduce flood insurance rates for property owners. Nicole told the council that once adopted the plan will serve as a five‑year guide for mitigation actions and grant applications.
The council approved a motion to adopt the Town of North Kingstown Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (2024 update) and recorded the passage by voice vote. The town manager and planning staff said they will implement the outreach and project tracking in the plan and will return to the council with any project‑specific requests for funding or approvals.
The council and staff noted the plan's role in supporting future grant work and emphasized that some mitigation or recovery actions could require the town to shoulder more responsibility depending on external funding availability. Staff also said the plan's implementation table identifies potential funding sources and prioritizes actions for the next five years.
The plan and the council's adoption aim to formalize the town's mitigation priorities and help residents find information about local risks and resources; staff said they will continue to develop condensed outreach materials drawn from the plan for broader public distribution.
