Membership

The inaugural five (5) members of the CFRTF were appointed by Commissioners Court in Fall 2020 and are responsible for appointing the remaining twelve (12) members. All seventeen (17) members of the CFRTF must be able to meet the commitments in Appendix A below and the following qualifications:

Be residents of Harris County
Represent the geographic, gender, age, racial, and ethnic diversity of Harris County
Have a demonstrated interest in and commitment to serving the community
Be able to contribute meaningful time and effort to achieving the purpose and objectives of the CFRTF. “Meaningful time and effort” includes, but is not limited to, time and effort to review provided materials, contribute ideas and thoughts to flood resilience discussions, and meet at least once every other month for a total of at least six (6) times per year

If possible, members must also meet one or more of the following qualifications:

Be able to represent the perspective(s) of one or more communities that have been adversely impacted by flooding in Harris County.
Have a demonstrated knowledge of or interest in innovative and environmentally sustainable approaches to flood resilience and flood risk mitigation
Have a demonstrated knowledge of or interest in equitable approaches to flood resilience and the socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental factors that affect the relative resilience of communities in response to flooding

The CFRTF must include at least one member from each of the eight competency areas in Appendix B below.

Out of the 17 members, there must also be:

2 members from flood-prone low-income communities
2 members from flood-prone communities of color
3 members with scientific and/or technical expertise in flood resilience or flood risk mitigation

Members may satisfy more than one category. For example, the Environmental Sustainability representative may also represent a flood-prone community of color.

A - Commitments

Serving a 1- or 2-year term.

Contributing meaningful time and effort to achieve the purpose and objectives of the CFRTF, including meeting at least once every other month, for a total of at least six (6) times per year.

Advising the Infrastructure Resilience Team (IRT) and Harris County Commissioners Court to promote collaboration among stakeholders and encourage equitable resilience planning efforts and flood resilience projects.

B - Competencies

Competency Area	Description of Particular Competency Needs
Housing	Expert or experience in the Fair Housing Act, housing justice, housing equity, homelessness, public housing, and/or affordable housing.
Public Health	Expert or experience in public health, health equity, mental and behavioral health, and/or a related field.
Engineering/Construction	Expert or experience in sustainable urban infrastructure systems, equitable infrastructure, flood resilience and mitigation, and/or hazard mitigation for socially vulnerable populations.
Urban Design/Planning	Expert or experience in equitable planning for multi-modal transportation, land use, and green infrastructure networks.
Flood Risk Mitigation	Technical or scientific expertise in areas related to flood resilience or flood risk mitigation, e.g., floodwater diversion and storage, floodplain restoration.
Environmental Sustainability	Expert or experience in environmental justice, environmental equity, renewable energy, integrated climate adaptation, conservation, and/or pollution mitigation.
Community Leadership or Membership Organization	Represents a membership or grassroots organization with deep, authentic connections to local communities or populations with lived experience.
Equity and Social Justice	Represents an organization or interest group dedicated to ameliorating social and/or demographic inequalities and differentiated access to power, knowledge, and resources.

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C - Definitions

For purposes of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force Bylaws, the terms below are defined as follows:

“Equitable resilience” refers to “[a] form of human-environmental resilience that takes into account issues of social vulnerability and differentiated access to power, knowledge and resources. It starts from people’s own perception of their position within their human-environmental system and accounts for their realities and their need for a change of circumstance to avoid imbalances of power into the future.”
“Infrastructure resilience team” (IRT) refers to the Harris County Engineering Department, Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County Community Services Department, Harris County Toll Road Authority, and the Harris County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. See Article V below for additional information.
“Flood resilience planning efforts” refers to flood resilience planning activities by the IRT or any of its member departments, including to develop goals, strategies, or an overall approach for improving Harris County’s flood resilience and reducing its vulnerability to flooding and flood-related disasters. Also refers to plans or initiatives that are developed, overseen, or implemented by the IRT or any of its member departments to strengthen Harris County’s capacity for flood resilience and preparedness, which includes but is not limited to long-term funding strategies, land use planning activities, and buyout programs that are developed and implemented for this purpose.
“Flood resilience projects” refers to Harris County’s flood resilience projects and activities that are developed, overseen, or implemented by the IRT or any of its member departments in accordance with or to effectuate flood resilience planning efforts (defined in Section 5 above). Also refers to future projects being carried out by the IRT or any of its member departments to strengthen Harris County’s flood resilience that are in the Capital Improvements Program. Also refers to policies, standards, and regulations developed or enforced by the IRT or any of its member departments to further flood resilience goals, while maintaining consistency with state and federal law. Projects undertaken and funded by the individual Precinct Commissioners are not subject to review by the CFRTF unless specifically requested by the Precinct Commissioner that is funding the project.