I think a great example of a good outcome when people give a hoot about stormwater (and other water removal options since it is an low lying coastal island!) and the environment is Hilton Head Island, SC. The town is aggressive or even militant about unnecessary tree removal.

The result is really interesting suburban infrastructure that reducing demand on the storm sewer. The Walmart parking lot isn't 5 acres of asphalt -- they left trees in place and have soil buffers with grass or other landscaping. Curbs are designed to direct water flow to those buffers.

I live in upstate NY, and even in that very different environment, those types of techniques as well as things like retaining pounds can really improve the situation with respect to flooding. Otherwise, the only way to remediate the impact of the increasing number of high volume thunderstorms is to dig up streets and build cisterns to sudden inflows.