Isle de Jean Charles Resettlement
The Isle de Jean Charles Resettlement is a first-of-its-kind, national initiative that offers resettlement options to current and former residents of Isle de Jean Charles who wish to relocate to a safer and more sustainable community. The island, located in Terrebonne Parish, is the historic home of a Native American community in coastal Louisiana, connected to the mainland by a two-lane road that regularly floods. Coastal land loss has taken a toll on the island, which once encompassed more than 22,000 acres, with now only 320 acres remaining. The Resettlement focuses on developing a safer place to live that reflects the community’s unique culture, history and diversity.
The state won a $92 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2016 as part of the National Disaster Resilience Competition. LOCD-DR used $48 million of the NDRC funding to implement the Resettlement, with another $40 million going toward LA SAFE resilience initiatives in six coastal parishes in Louisiana. LOCD-DR administers the programs and actively seeks input from residents, local governments and other stakeholders regarding needs of the resettled community.
The New Isle
After extensive research, evaluation and input from island residents, the Louisiana Land Trust, on behalf of LOCD-DR, purchased 515 acres of rural land near Schriever in Terrebonne Parish to serve as the site for the resettlement community. The selected site is about 40 miles north of Isle de Jean Charles and is a higher, safer and more resilient location. In November 2019, Isle de Jean Charles residents agreed to name the resettlement community The New Isle.
Program Overview
Eligibility
The Resettlement was available to those who lived on the island and those displaced since Hurricane Isaac’s landfall in 2012 (Option A). Those displaced before Isaac could also rejoin the Isle de Jean Charles community by building their own homes on free lots (Option B). Participation was voluntary, and the state did not force anyone to leave the island, allowing residents to make their own independent decisions.
Site Selection
On behalf of LOCD-DR, the Louisiana Land Trust purchased 515 acres of high ground farmland about 40 miles north of the island in the Schriever area of Terrebonne Parish for $11.7 million. The site selection involved extensive research, including more than 20 separate site evaluations, technical analysis and input from island residents and other potential participants. Seventy-eight percent of resident households chose the Schriever site as either their first or second preferred choice of sites. LOCD-DR received environmental clearance for the acquisition under the regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and signed the purchase agreement in March 2018. Residents named the site of their new home The New Isle.
Design Process
Since the grant’s announcement in 2016, LOCD-DR led a robust planning process built on expansive and ongoing outreach and engagement efforts—efforts unprecedented for a project of the Resettlement’s scale and scope. These efforts were underpinned by weekly on-island, in-home consultations with residents. In addition, LOCD-DR held five community meetings—three on the island itself, and two in the nearby communities of Montegut and Pointe-aux-Chenes. Additionally, the Resettlement’s design team conducted three design workshops for residents, who co-designed specific site elements hand-in-hand with the team. Finally, a steering committee led by island residents was formed to guide the planning process and convened on six occasions.
Community Features
The New Isle includes an event space where residents can hold powwows, festivals and other cultural events, as well as a market and community center. The design team plotted residential lots along a circulation network that resembles a braid pattern woven around Bayou Blue, integrating storm water management, walkability, privacy and public space in a structured community grounded in the bayou ridge landscape.
Homes
The 37 homes of The New Isle evoke a way of life experienced and loved by current and former residents of the island. The island's houses, wetlands and spaces under the homes shape the way people relate to their surroundings and each other. Consequently, the design of the Resettlement aims to recreate these spaces to encourage the continuation of these relationships, in addition to accommodating the varied and changing needs of a multigenerational community. The homes provide privacy for residents and reinforce the community’s deep connection to nature by using appropriate forms for south Louisiana’s climate, as well as lasting and quality materials. Every home is on a pier-and-beam foundation above the 500-year floodplain, is fully ADA compliant, includes a screened porch and covered outdoor space and is located within a five-minute walk of a park or natural space. The homes are FORTIFIED Gold and ENERGY STAR certified. With resilience in mind, the Resettlement incorporates sustainable and energy-efficient building materials, as well as practices conducive to residents’ future storm safety and their stewardship of natural resources.
Move In
By fall 2024, 37 residents/families will have resettled at the New Isle since move-in began in August 2022.
Phase II
Under Phase II of the New Isle development, also called Option B, nine additional homes will be available for purchase by Option B participants by fall 2024.