Description

Tropical cyclone events have historically made an imprint on coastal landscapes.
The burgeoning growth of Florida’s coastal population has amplified the effects of
cyclone damage. In addition to threats posed to life and infrastructure, the loss of historic architectural fabric is a compelling concern because of the potential to lose an important part of history. The historic community of Cedar Key is particularly vulnerable as a
result of its location along Florida’s Gulf Coast and has been impacted by a few
destructive hurricanes and many tropical storms throughout its history. Cedar Key is recognized as a National Register District that retains a historic context beginning in the
mid-nineteenth century. The development is associated for its function as one of
Florida’s first major ports and cross-peninsular railroad destinations that contributes to the historic context of the island.
The historic architectural fabric contributes a tangible element to the historic
significance creating a cultural link between the past and present. It is an expression of the community’s identity through a sense of place, which needs to be preserved. This thesis explores the governing principles of historic preservation in conjunction with planning measures to mitigate the impacts of a tropical cyclone event using Cedar Key as a case study. These impacts have a direct effect on the building fabric and are indirectly affected through building regulations and historic preservation concepts.
The problems facing Cedar Key are particular to its identity and historic resources and at the same time reflect the broader concerns of disaster-prone historic districts. This
study advocates the following measures to address these problems: planning objectives
that integrate a historic preservation element into the local emergency management plan,the use of tools to identify and assess risk to historic resources, mitigation methods for building materials in the context of the effects of a tropical cyclone event, enactment of the responsibilities of a historic preservation coordinator, and the application of design
criteria to evaluate the compatibility of new development in the historic district. The combination of the planning initiatives results in an interdisciplinary program of disaster management that expands the scope of traditional disaster planning methods.
Insufficient planning for a tropical cyclone event can lead to avoidable loss of
historic fabric. These disasters are predictable in terms of their nature and ability to have a devastatingly widespread impact, which previous hurricane seasons have exhibited.
This study concludes that adopting planning initiatives to reconcile historic preservation with diverse mitigation opportunities for a tropical cyclone event will benefit preservation of the historic context in Cedar Key, Florida. The initiatives recommended in this study can serve as a template for other similarly vulnerable areas by recognizing a method to integrate historic preservation and local emergency management procedures.