JOINT PLATFORM
BAY ADAPT
Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay
October 2021
Attachment 2
BAY ADAPT
Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay
Joint Platform
October 2021
3 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Contents
Getting ready for sea level rise.....................................................................................................4Getting ready for sea leve l ris e.....................................................................................................4 Sea level rise as an equity challenge.........................................................................................6Sea level rise as an equit y challenge .........................................................................................6 What is Bay Adapt?...............................................................................................................................8What is Bay Adapt?.............................................................................................................................. .8 Where do we start?...............................................................................................................................13Where do we star t?...............................................................................................................................13 Guiding Principles for the Joint Platform..................................................................................16Guiding Principles for the Join t Pla tform..................................................................................16 What does adaptation look like?................................................................................................17What does adapta tion look like?................................................................................................ 17 The Joint Platform Actions..............................................................................................................19The Joint Platform Action s..............................................................................................................19 People ......................................................................................................................... 20People ......................................................................................................................... 20 Information............................................................................................................ 24Information............................................................................................................ 24 Plans...........................................................................................................................2 9Plans...........................................................................................................................2 9 Projects...................................................................................................................... 34Projects...................................................................................................................... 34 Progress.......................................................................................................................3 9Progress.......................................................................................................................3 9 Bay Adapt process and Leadership Advisory Group (LAG)......................................41Bay Adapt proc ess and Leaders hip Advi sory Group (LAG)......................................41 Photo credits | Page 2 from top to bottom: Jaclyn Mandoske (BCDC), Schyluer Olsen (BCDC), Jaclyn Mandoske (BCDC); Page 3 Illustration by Sophia Zaleski. 4 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Getting ready for
sea level rise
The Bay is rising. The time to
come together to act is now.
For most of t he e ight million o f u s w ho li ve ar ound S an Francisco Bay, sea level rise s eems lik e a s leeper i ssue. A s we w alk t he do g along our f avorite w aterfront, t he w aves don’t seem any taller. As we w ait in t raffic a t t he Ba y B ridge toll plaza, the w ater le vel lo oks t he s ame a s e ver. A fter a storm, however, those t rying t o t raverse C orte M adera’s Lucky Drive, Sonoma’s Highway 37 , or San Jose’s 237
underpass are not icing mor e w ater. S ea le vel r ise i s alr eady here and s tarting t o a ffect our high ways and c ommutes; another foot or two will seriously impact our homes, jobs and safety.
It’s subtle, but the Ba y, f ed b y a s welling P acific and me lting glaciers and ice s heets, i s gr owing f aster t han y ou t hink.
The r ise i s s low and s teady no w, bu t ar ound 2 040 s cientists project it will speed up. By then, in the t ime i t w ill t ake a current pre-schooler to graduate f rom c ollege, i t w ill b e t oo late t o s tart t o pr epare f or t he w ater t hat w ill b e r ising on to our airport runways and into our shoreline s treets. A nd though you can’t see i t, t he gr oundwater t able i s al so r ising under your feet – pushed up as the Ba y pu shes in . B efore long a big storm—like t he t rain o f a tmospheric r iver e vents that drenched us over and over in 2017—will bring water into our basements and BART stations, onto our bridge
approaches, our ballparks, and even release de cades o f t oxic pollution into our groundwater.
Going into another California drought and devastatingly dry fire s eason, i t’s ea sy t o pu sh s ea le vel r ise t o t he back of our mind s. B ut t he S an F rancisco Ba y A rea me tropolitan region stands to be one o f t he h ardest hi t c oastal ar eas in North America. Sea level rise w ill b e w orse her e t han ot her places for a variety of r easons r elating t o our uniqu e o cean conditions, atmospheric ch anges, and P acific g eography— and the f act t hat w e’ve buil t our r oads and home s r ight up to the e dge o f near ly e very s hore. I mpacts ar e inf luenced by our history of t oxic dump ing and e xclusionary l and u se practices. We’ve done t he s tudies - w e k now w hat’s a t r isk when it comes to our people, our homes, our habitats, and our commutes. The t hreat i s no long er v ague. I t’s pa st t ime for us to get ready.
28,000 socially vulnerable residents
1,900 residents living near contaminated
sites
13,000 existing housing units and another
70,000 new housing units
104,000 existing jobs and another
85,000 new jobs
20,000 acres of wetlands, lagoon and
tidal marsh habitat
5 million daily highway vehicle trips
60,000 daily rail commuters
At Risk of Flooding by 2060*
*Impacts from flooding that could occur at 48” Total Water Level from the ART Bay Area Regional Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Study. According to California State Guidance, under the H++ scenario, which represents the highest risk and least likely scenario, sea level rise could reach 46.8” by 2060, which corresponds to ART’s 48” TWL scenario. Under the Likely Range, or Low-Risk Aversion high-emissions scenario, 48”of sea level rise will not occur until 2120. Photo courtesy of the King Tides Project.
5 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Preparing for the flooding, erosion, disruptions and losses to come – whether our home, business,
commute, or favorite picnic area – is something we all have to do together. Whatever the best local solution, we have to consider our neighbors. If well-to- do waterfront towns build sea walls, the Bay will just find the next weak spots on the shore and flow there.
That town next door may have a smaller tax base or more elderly or vulnerable residents. If we leave them unprotected, families will be forced to move away from their homes, schools and places of worship - their communities - sometimes with no place else to go.
Waiting for the aftermath of this slow-moving disaster will just cost the region more later in emergency services, habitat loss, building repairs, and lost family time and productivity.
Many of our families came to this region for its freedoms, natural beauty, diverse cultures and myriad opportunities. Over the decades we’ve grown even
more diverse, and ever more activist as we battle to save our local creek, or stop devastating air pollution, or fight for equity. We’re restoring wetlands around the Bay, and taxing ourselves to do it, enhancing a natural first line of defense against flooding. So as we face down the advancing Bay we don’t have to start from scratch. Your city, your county, your regional
government is already working on it. Now it’s time for everyone to join the effort.
There’s no way around the need to think and plan like a region - the water that’s coming knows no boundaries.
Space for solutions is limited. T ogether, we can adapt to the increasingly scary checklist of challenges in the Bay Area. But we won’t get this done, and minimize the cost we pay in damage to lives and property, if we don’t act now, together.
As we face down the
advancing Bay we
don’t have to start from
scratch. Your city, your
county, your regional
government is already
working on it. Now it’s
time for everyone to join
the effort.
Community members enjoy the waterfront at Heron’s Head park in San Francisco. Photo by the Port of San Francisco licensed under CC BY 2.0. 6 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Sea level rise
as an equity
challenge
Tackling disproportionate
impacts on vulnerable
communities.
While everyone will feel the impacts of sea level rise to some degree, many factors have led to disproportionate flooding and sea level rise vulnerability for low-income communities across the Bay Area and the nation. A 2019 study by the National Academy of Sciences on urban flooding in the US revealed the populations that are most vulnerable to flooding are nonwhite, non- native English speakers, elderly, poor, chronically ill, uninsured, and renters1.
While it is broadly accepted that
environmental racism has been an
overarching theme for civilizations
throughout history, it is critical to
understand the patterns of racial injustice
that formed today’s cities and towns. After
Emancipation, white decision-makers
forced African Americans into undesirable
areas that experienced frequent flooding,
unhealthy air, and unsanitary water and
sewerage conditions. Industry and chemical
plants were regularly constructed close
to predominantly Black neighborhoods,
which led to lingering pollution and high
rates of cancer within these communities.
In the Bay Area, this often meant pushing
nonwhite communities to the marginalized
and often toxic Bay shoreline. These
discriminatory and deadly practices
continued for several decades.
1 Committee on Urban Flooding in the United
States (2019). Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States, National Academy of Sciences. https:/ /www.nationalacademies.org/our- work/urban-flooding-in-the-united-states
Equity is the fair and just
distribution of financial and
institutional resources to
address impacts across
communities that stand to be
adversely affected by those
impacts, and commitment to
include those communities
in the development,
prioritization, and
implementation of adaptation
policies, programs, and
services.
Definition of equity provided by West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and the Pacific Institute.
Community members participating in the Oakland Shoreline Leadership Academy. Photo by Jordan Greedy.
7 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Residents of these communities have often attended countless public meetings and focus groups to discuss concerns in their communities with engineers, planners, and other government staff, but these professionals are rarely trained or experienced in equitable community
engagement. Historically, attempts to inform meaningful solutions for environmental justice problems have been met with lack of accountability by local and regional agencies, leading to high levels of distrust between communities and governments.
The c umulative impac t o f under investment c oupled w ith lack of government accountability over the decades has led to an extremely disproportionate and inequitable situation for the residents of these communities.
Working with and listening to community
voices.
Recognizing the critical importance of community voices and perspectives on the development of the Joint Platform, the Bay Adapt team partnered with Nuestra Casa in East Palo Alto and Vallejo Housing Justice Coalition in Vallejo to conduct a series of community focus groups. Community members were introduced to flooding issues specific to their communities and invited to share their experiences, concerns, and priorities for their communities.
In East Palo Alto, community voices were represented by African American, Pacific Islander, and Latinx cohorts, while in Vallejo, community voices were represented by residents involved in a range of local organizations such as housing, climate change, environmental justice, and others. Bay Adapt recognizes that these community meetings provided an essential first step in building trust with communities, and that continued participation and partnerships must continue to advance equitable adaptation outcomes for the region.
Nuestra Casa’s Parent Academy provides programs for
community members and has begun environmental
justice community trainings. Screenshot courtesy of
Nuestra Casa.
This cycle adds insult to the daily injury of living in marginalized space and is exhausting to communities that are already struggling to meet their daily needs.
A landmark moment for the environmental justice
movement occured in 1994, when President Clinton
signed Executive Order 12898, a federal action to address environmental justice and included a
formalized definition (the definition can be found in BCDC’s report T oward Equitable Shorelines:
Environmental Justice and Social Equity at the San
Francisco Bay). T his de finition under pins t he e thos t hat should be imbued in any sea level rise planning process or solution.
We know we need
action, but we’re
not ready and we
don’t know what to
do. We need to get
to solutions.
- East Palo Alto Community
Member
8 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM What is Bay
Adapt?
A regional strategy for a
rising bay.
Adapting to sea level rise will require a broad range of planning, policy, community, and project decisions that promote the protection of people, infrastructure, and natural systems. In such a diverse and engaged
region, adaptation will also require balancing many
interests and needs, ranging from the health of the most vulnerable residents and the Bay ecosystem to local economic growth and jobs, services, housing, and recreational opportunities.
Much adaptation will and should occur at the local city or county levels, where adaptation planning is already accelerating. However, we live in a highly networked region where impacts in one area, and responses to them, have cascading effects around the Bay. A coordinated approach across the region can reduce
unintended consequences and greatly enhance local
efforts. Collective action can be expedited by shared goals that help communities find and enact their own
solutions. No one agency, jurisdiction or community can or should go it alone.
For the past five years, the Bay Area has been thinking about this problem in earnest. Forward-thinking
planners, scientists and activists have already laid some important groundwork, and pinpointed the areas and
communities that will be most at risk. Since 2019, Bay Adapt has worked to establish regional agreement on
the actions necessary to protect people and the natural and built environments from rising sea levels.
Bay Adapt was convened by the San Francisco Bay
Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), a
state agency, in partnership with a broad range of Bay Area leaders. The principles, actions, goals, and tasks in this document—a Joint Platform for adaptation—were
developed in close collaboration among BCDC staff, a large Leadership Advisory Group, and hundreds of stakeholders.
We envision a Bay Area that
is resilient and adaptive
far into the future. As
the region grows and
changes, such resilience
can only be achieved by
supporting collaborative
action, fostering greater
equity among residents,
and sustaining the unique
ecosystems we all rely upon
and thrive within.
9 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Figure 1 | The Bay Adapt process kicked off in late summer 2019. The development of the Joint Platform started in early summer 2020, convening hundreds of stakeholders to brainstorm and refine the series of actions and tasks laid out in the final Joint Platform. Over this time period, Bay Adapt also facilitated multiple working groups, committee meetings, public forums, community and stakeholder focus groups, and conducted extensive outreach throughout the nine-county Bay Area. Implementation of the tasks begins in Fall 2021.
Co-creating the Joint Platform.
In 2019, BCDC convened a Leadership Advisory Group (LAG) made up of a diverse group of Bay Area leaders from public agencies, interest groups, community-based organizations, and academia. Throughout 2020 and 2021, stakeholders participated in dozens of working group and small committee meetings to discuss and shape the Platform. The Platform was also informed by two public forums, ten community and stakeholder focus groups, over 50 presentations to boards and groups around the region, and an Environmental Justice Caucus convened regularly throughout the process. In other words, this platform, and the ideas in it, belong to everyone, and seek to serve everyone, now and into the future.
This platform, and
the ideas in it,
belong to everyone,
and seek to serve
everyone, now and
into the future.
10 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Figure 2 | Summary of the presentations and focus groups BCDC staff led throughout the Bay Adapt process between 2019 and 2021. Staff engaged with a wide variety of community members, local staff, elected officials, and special interest stakeholders throughout the engagement process.
11 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Prioritizing and elevating
equity in Bay Adapt.
In an effort to ensure equity perspectives were present and included in the leadership of Bay Adapt, invitations were extended to at least five environmental justice- focused organizations to join the LAG, comprising the Environmental Justice (EJ) Caucus. The EJ Caucus received a small honorarium for their participation.
The EJ Caucus kicked off by providing a training to the LAG on EJ principles. During this training, LAG members explored how to embed principles on
environmental justice, equity and inclusion into Bay
Adapt’s planning process, the Joint Platform, and in implementation. EJ Caucus members also provided
leadership to Working Groups and met with BCDC’s
Environmental Justice Manager to provide input and feedback before and after each LAG meeting.
However, all of the equity practices and benefits outlined in the Joint Platform will not be achieved if the agencies and other stakeholders implementing the actions don’t fundamentally change their practices to explicitly en sure t hat e quity i s f ront and c enter. A gencies and stakeholders need to deeply understand the factors that have led to inequity and commit to ongoing training to learn and improve a new essential set of skills and work directly with EJ communities in order to achieve
equity benefits.
Without this commitment, the region will continue to repeat the same inequities as our predecessors. Bay Adapt is an opportunity to set a new, more equitable
course for climate adaptation.
Two critical themes emerged
during discussions with the EJ
Caucus and other community
leaders:
‣ The need for fair and
equitable funding for
community partners,
including targeted
employment and economic
opportunities for diverse
frontline community
members; and
‣ Capacity building,
administrative support,
and technical training and
assistance are essential
to realizing truly equitable
adaptation planning.
Community forums on sea level rise risks in East Palo Alto.
Photo by Jaclyn Mandoske, BCDC.
12 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Setting the foundation for
the Joint Platform.
Rather than specifying individual projects, the Joint
Platform lays out guiding principles that inform
overarching region-wide actions, goals and tasks.
Its aim is to overcome barriers, accelerate keys
to success, and share targets to help the region achieve:
‣ Flood protection and reduced flood risk for
communities, businesses, infrastructure, and
habitat.
‣ Robust integration of adaptation into
community-focused local plans.
‣ Recognition, elevation, and support for frontline
communities.
‣ Accelerated permitting and faster project
construction for priority adaptation projects.
‣ T echnical assistance for local governments to
plan and implement projects faster.
‣ More funding for adaptation that is easier to
get.
‣ Metrics for deciding what makes the best
kind of adaptation plan or project (equitable, efficient, multi-benefit, nature-based, and
coordinated with others) and for tracking local
and regional progress.
Engaging the entire region in collective action
requires clear agreement on the path forward
and checks and balances to ensure no voice is
left unheard, and no community left behind. This
Platform provides that roadmap for adaptation.
The Joint Platform will help
the Bay Area engage in
faster, better, and more
equitable adaptation to a
rising Bay.
Sea level rise in our regional plans.
Plan Bay Area 2050 is the region’s long-range strategic plan focused on the interrelated elements of housing, the economy, transportation and the environment.
Adopted in Fall 2021, Plan Bay Area 2050 is the first
multi-topic plan of its kind to question what the future will look like in the face of sea level rise and other natural hazards. How will these threats impact housing, transportation, environmental, and economic goals?
What are the consequences if we don’t plan ahead? Starting with Horizon, Plan Bay Area 2050’s preliminary research and analysis phase, MTC/ABAG integrated
the best available sea level rise mapping into imagining the impacts of sea level rise within the 2050 timeline of the plan. T o address areas of near-term sea level rise impacts, Plan Bay Area incorporated an Adapt to sea
level rise strategy, mapping protections on vulnerable portions of the shoreline and calculated at $19 billion need for adaptation over the next thirty years.
Plan Bay Area 2050’s Implementation Plan, which sets
the strategic direction to advance strategies in the next five years, identifies key actions that MTC/ABAG and its partners should take to adapt the region to sea level rise.
While these actions are compatible with Bay Adapt’s tasks and will be implemented in partnership with Bay Adapt, they are part of a larger, multi-element plan and do not go into the level of detail on sea level rise that Bay Adapt does.
Plan Bay Area has been, and will continue to be, a critical tool for region-wide resilient land use decisions as sea levels rise. The Plan will continue to grow to become a comprehensive plan that brings in key regional topics, and will incorporate the best available science and regional sea level rise planning envisioned by Bay Adapt. MTC/ABAG will continue to be a key partner for planning, funding, and implementing
adaptation solutions in the Bay.
13 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Where do we
start?
Preserving what we care about.
The Bay Area is the most culturally and geographically diverse region in the United States, with people of color comprising 59% of our population. More than 75% of residents believe that racial diversity is what makes the Bay Area such a great place to live. Our region is also called the “Bay Area” for a reason — the Bay is the defining characteristic of our geography and defines so much of our economy, infrastructure, and lives.
Residents cherish the beautiful blue expanse of San Francisco Bay, and their ability to walk beside it, sail over it, and gaze across its open horizons. With its diverse habitats—beaches, wetlands, grasslands, tidal flats, lagoons and more—the Bay supports hundreds
of species, ranging from critically endangered salmon and marsh mice to charismatic sea lions, busy beavers, and wayward whales. Thanks to decades of careful
stewardship and public investments in shoreline parks and habitats, the West Coast’s largest Estuary is both more habitable and healthier for humans and wildlife alike.
Our diversity of people and habitats also supports one of the most innovative economies in the world. The Bay Area is a hub of technology, industry, agriculture, services, and more, though this has created significant challenges in income equality.
Within this context is both diversity and inequity.
Across our communities, cities, and counties, we
have different histories, different challenges and different opportunities. Deciding which climate change adaptation options are right for each community can be complex. Many people contribute to making these decisions, and lots of considerations go into deciding what the right solutions may be for each particular waterfront.
If we are to prepare ourselves fully for sea level rise throughout the region, cities and counties must work with local communities and the state and federal
governments to make decisions about what should— and shouldn’t—exist along the shoreline in the future.
San Francisco Bay Area. Photo courtesy of
NASA satellite imagery.
14 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Centering and protecting
people, habitats, and wildlife.
Vulnerable Communities
Exposed to Sea Level Rise
Around the Bay
Figure 3 | Map of census block groups considered socially vulnerable in their ability to plan for, respond to, and recover from natural hazards (orange hash) and flooding depth and inundation from 108 inches of sea level rise (blue). Data from ART Bay Area Regional Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Study: Chapter 2.6 Vulnerable Communities (March 2020).
The risks from sea level rise, and the resources necessary to address those risks, are unequally distributed among communities and ecosystems across the Bay Area.
In order to understand community vulnerability to
sea level rise, BCDC’s Adapting to
Rising Tides (ART) Program leverages
existing research on socioeconomic
characteristics that may reduce ability
to prepare for, respond to, or recover
from a hazard event or impacts from
environmental burdens. It has identified
potential impacts to communities from
current and future flooding including:
‣ Loss of property and income;
displacement from t heir c ommunities.
‣ Disrupted access to medical care and
other critical services.
‣ Loss of power and utilities.
‣ Spread of disease and worsened pre-
existing health conditions.
‣ Physical and men tal di stress r esulting
from the flooding of homes and
infrastructure.
The Bay has also long been a dumping
ground for polluted waste and industrial
sites are still located along many parts
of the shoreline. In addition to flood
impacts, sea level rise may mobilize
pollution as flooding becomes more
prevalent, spreading to communities and
ecosystems at an unprecedented rate.
All of these impacts are often
disproportionately distributed to
populations with certain existing
socioeconomic vulnerabilities.
Additionally, these populations tend to
be highly sensitive to impacts, leading
to potentially devastating implications from even minor flooding.
Natural ecosystems are also disproportionately impacted by sea level rise. When given a choice between an
endangered salmon and a farm, a wetland or a vineyard,
a nesting island or a waterfront hotel, it can be difficult 15 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM for wildlife and open space to prevail in the battle over human priorities and money. Preserving shoreline
habitats will require prioritizing sediment to built up wetlands and providing room for habitats to migrate
upslope. But sediment is limited and many wetlands
abut development and levees.
The health of Bay ecosystems is inextricably linked to our way and quality of life. We continue to learn how nature protects people from natural
disasters and improves public health.
But as water levels rise coastal habitats
risk being drowned and lost. Both nature,
and people, will suffer.
The Joint Platform places a high value
on both the region’s diverse people
and its ecosystems. Throughout the
formation of the Joint Platform, a coalition
of community advocates, environmental
activists, and adaptation practitioners
have made clear that cleaning toxic
sites and reducing future pollution is
a priority for our region. The resulting
document explicitly acknowledges the
disproportionate risks and burdens
on communities of color and other
historically marginalized populations,
and tasks in the Joint Platform begin
to outline how our region can begin
to right generations of wrongdoing
through elevating the role of vulnerable
communities in developing solutions,
filling in knowledge gaps about the
challenges t hey f ace, m apping h azardous
sites, and more. With people at the
center o f s olutions, t he Ba y r egion c an b e
a national model for equity in resilience
planning.
The Joint Platform tasks also prioritize
natural habitats to support a healthy,
resilient Bay. Going green, meaning
prioritizing nature-based strategies for shoreline
adaptation as much as possible, is already a regional
priority. T aking actions to support healthy Bay
ecosystems now and as sea levels rise is essential,
not only for the many other benefits they provide but as they are also our first —and most at risk —line of defense from rising seas. Our efforts now will affect the health and livability of the Bay Area for generations.
Communities Exposed to
Contamination and Sea Level
Rise Around the Bay
Figure 4 | Map of census block groups considered contamination vulnerable based on subset of Cal Enviro Screen 3.0 indicators impacted by flooding and flooding depth and inundation from 108 inches of sea level rise (blue). Data from ART Bay Area Regional Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Study: Chapter 2.6 Vulnerable Communities (March 2020).
Our efforts now will
affect the health and
livability of the Bay
Area for generations.
16 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Support socially vulnerable
communities
Actively ensure that socially vulnerable
communities don’t just bounce back in
the face of sea level rise, but “bounce
forward” by providing additional resources
and support to areas where socially
vulnerable communities live, work, and
play and reducing negative impacts to
these communities. Climate change will
disproportionately impact marginalized
communities with fewer resources.
Put nature first whenever
possible
Prioritize natural infrastructure solutions
that benefit ecosystems and the health
of the Bay as well as people, especially
in the near-term. Adapting to rising sea
level will require a mix of green and gray
infrastructure. Working with nature, instead
of against it, can produce better results for both people and wildlife.
Solve interconnected problems
at the same time
Prioritize adaptation actions that maximize
regional risk reduction to flooding and sea
level rise and minimize tradeoffs within the
context of other regional priorities such as
housing, economy, social equity, habitat
protection, and other climate risks. Sea
level rise and flooding is just one of several regionally interconnected crises facing the
Bay Area.
Guiding Principles of
the Joint Platform
The San Francisco Bay connects nine counties and
millions of people together. Photo SF Baykeeper,
Cole Robb Most, and LightHawk.
Practice inclusive, community-led
governance and decision-making
Remove barriers and enhance capacity to
increase transparent, coordinated decision-
making among community members and
organizations and local, regional, state, and
federal governments that acknowledges and
leverages the unique roles, responsibilities,
and authorities at each scale. Adaptation
outcomes will better protect the entire region
when all interests, including those who know
their neighborhoods and communities best,
contribute and collaborate in reducing risk.
Support existing efforts but plan
for the long term
Support, encourage, and learn from early
innovators charting a new course for the
region, especially for wetland restoration,
while maintaining a long-term vision for more complex planning and investments. Early
action is important for regional learning,
setting precedents, and shorter-term flood
control, and widespread or significant capital
investments require careful and collaborative
planning.
Pick the right strategy for the right
place at the right time
Ensure that local and regional investment
strategies to address flooding and sea level
rise are grounded in local needs, conditions, and plans, and are phased to allow for
uncertainty, flexibility, and iteration. The Bay
is a collection of distinct places with unique
physical and social conditions and there is
no “one size fits all” solution – or timeline - to address climate-related impacts.
17 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM What does adaptation
look like?
Developing targeted solutions.
In climate change, adaptation is different
from mitigation, which are the ways we try to
reduce our carbon footprint. Adaptation refers to making changes to how we live in the face
of change to reduce hazards and increase
resilience to future conditions.
In the Joint Platform, adaptation specifically
means the plans and projects that either
prepare us for sea level rise or alter our shorelines to reduce its impacts.
In some cases, we will adapt by restoring
natural wetlands to absorb more water and
buffer us from storms, while in other places
when nature-based solutions are not feasible,
we will build higher protections, such as
seawalls, to keep water out. We may also
avoid building new roads or homes in areas
that are likely to flood or provide migration space for wetland habitats. Sometimes
adaptation may even require removing things
that are already built out of harm’s way.
Adaptation also will spur innovative solutions
as we learn how to co-exist with more water in the future.
The adaptation solutions we choose in one
part of the Bay are inextricably linked to
everywhere else along the shoreline. Since
the Bay is an interconnected system, flood
protection measures in one location of the
Bay may increase the risk of flooding in other areas. It is critical that we consider shoreline
solutions as a whole Bay, rather than on a
project-by-project basis.
Bay Adapt helps to set the stage for
successful adaptation region-wide. While
each community will need to decide which
approach is best now and over time, the actions
in Bay Adapt help support multiple adaptation
approaches within the larger regional context
we need to think about before it’s too late.
Figure 5 | Regional “hot spots“ identify areas in the region with highest consequences from flooding at 108” TWL to both vulnerable communities, transportation networks, and urban growth areas or open space. Data from ART Bay Area Regional Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Study: (March 2020).
Regional Hot Spots
Around the San
Francisco Bay
18 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Adaptation Actions that Prepare
‣ Actions that help us set the stage to make
decisions about what to do next that are
equitable, inclusive, and based on science,
local k nowledge and v alues, s uch a s incr easing information or community capacity.
‣ Changes to regulatory environments, political
settings, land use, or other contexts for
decision-making that improve the outcomes of
adaptation decisions.
‣ Agreement on a shared approach about who
makes decisions, what informs those choices,
and how we plan and fund those decisions
equitably to addresses disproportionate
impacts on the most vulnerable.
Adpatation Actions that Protect,
Accommodate, Avoid or Retreat
‣ Actions that change the physical
characteristics of the shoreline, such as
integrating natural ecosystems (green
infrastructure) and/or building engineered
structures (gray infrastructure) to protect
shorelines from flooding.
‣ Projects that accommodate flooding such
as preserving transition zones for wetlands,
elevating structures, or using flood resistant
materials.
‣ Efforts to retreat from the shore, such as
removing existing development or avoiding
placing new development in areas at risk of
flooding.
Sea level rise will change our way of life in the Bay Area dramatically. Our daily commutes, the goods
and services we depend on, the places where
we live and work, the natural spaces that provide habitats and make the Bay Area a beautiful place to live, will all be affected. The Bay Adapt Joint Platform’s 6 Guiding Principles, 9 actions and 21
tasks suggest a way forward for us all. Figure 6 | Different adaptation approaches facilitated by the actions in Bay Adapt seek to prepare the region to equitably respond to sea level rise, while also strengthening implementation and ensuring lessons are learned over time.
What are adaptation actions?
PROTECTACCOMODATEAVOID/RETREAT
Gray Infrastructure
Traditional Levees
Seawalls
Green Infrastructure
Horizontal Levees
Wetlands Restoration
Elevate structures
Flood resistant materials
Restrict development
Equitably re-locate
19 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM The Joint Platform
9 actions, 21 tasks, 1 region moving forward together Action 1: Collaborate on a “One Bay” vision to adapt to rising sea levels.
T ask 1.1: Create a long-term regional vision rooted in communities, bay habitats, and the economy.
T ask 1.2: Lay the foundation for a proactive regional legislative agenda.
Action 2: Elevate communities to lead.
T ask 2.1: Improve how communities and public agencies learn from each other and work together.
T ask 2.2: Fund the participation and leadership of community-based organizations (CBOs) and frontline communities in adaptation planning.
Action 3: Broaden public understanding of climate change science and impacts.
T ask 3.1: T ell local and regional stories about people and places adapting to climate change.
T ask 3.2: Weave climate literacy into school programs.
Action 4: Base plans and projects on the best science, data, and knowledge.
T ask 4.1: Align research and monitoring with information gaps.
T ask 4.2: Make scientific data, information, and guidance easier to use.
T ask 4.3: Increase access to technical consultants for local adaptation partners.
Action 5: Align local and regional plans into a unified adaptation approach.
T ask 5.1: Provide incentives for robust, coordinated adaptation plans.
T ask 5.2: Align state-mandated planning processes around adaptation.
Action 6: Figure out how to fund adaptation.
T ask 6.1: Expand understanding of the financial costs and revenues associated with regional adaptation.
T ask 6.2: Establish a framework for funding plans and projects.
T ask 6.3: Help cities and counties expand ways to fund adaptation planning and projects.
Action 7: Refine and accelerate regulatory approvals processes.
T ask 7 .1: Accelerate permitting for equitable, multi-benefit projects.
T ask 7 .2: Assess environmental regulations and policies that slow down progress on projects.
Action 8: Fund and facilitate faster adaptation projects.
T ask 8.1: Incentivize projects that meet regional guidelines.
T ask 8.2: Encourage collaboration among people doing projects in the same places.
T ask 8.3: Facilitate faster construction of nature-based projects.
Action 9: Track and report progress to guide future actions.
T ask 9.1: Measure regional progress using metrics and share results.
T ask 9.2: Monitor and learn from pilot projects.
PEOPLE
INFORMATION
PLANS
PROJECTS
PROGRESS
20 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM As we adjust the way we live, work, and play to adapt to a changing climate, we must act together with a true regional vision and ensure that this transition does not reinforce pre- existing inequities. Who will lead who will decide, and how do we all get on the same page? Frontline communities that feel the most acute impacts from sea level rise have local knowledge critical for equitable solutions. Likewise, legislators in Sacramento and Washington need to hear our collective voice loud and clear—two-thirds of the State’s total sea level rise impacts will occur in the Bay Area, so our collective voice must be strong.
Collaborate on a “One Bay”
vision to adapt to rising sea
levels.
Goals:
‣ A shared vision for regional adaptation that reflects the Bay Area’s diverse conditions and communities. ‣ A proactive legislative agenda supporting sustained Bay Area adaptation.
TASK 1.1: Create a long-term regional vision rooted in
communities, bay habitats, and the economy.
Engage communities and stakeholders in envisioning a resilient future shoreline, relying on grassroots input from start to finish. Using Bay Adapt’s Guiding
Principles to guide the process, it should define and articulate what successful adaptation should like at ground level, and around the Bay, beginning in the most at-risk frontline communities.
The vision must be built on a deep understanding of communities’ unique social, cultural, economic, and physical needs and be developed through a
participatory, transparent, and iterative process and create opportunities for diverse stakeholders to learn about each other and have conversations.
The vision must also be built on regional environmental, housing, transportation, recreation, economic and other PEOPLE
ACTION 1
priorities, including visions already established for these sectors, such as in Plan Bay Area 2050 or the San
Francisco Estuary Blueprint.
The vision should be expressed through multiple deliverables that will be utilized throughout many other tasks included in the Joint Platform, including:
‣ A “vision statement” for the Bay shoreline that sets a long-term picture of successful adaptation.
‣ Regional and sub-regional objectives, tied to
measurable metrics (such as safety, equity,
a functioning and thriving ecosystem, reuse
of sediment resources, shoreline access, and
economic growth), to be used for tracking progress in T ask 9.1.
‣ Specific regional and sub-regional strategies, actions, and an assessment of priority project
locations, types, and timelines, building off existing analysis such as on vulnerable communities, Bay
interconnectedness, and the Adaptation Atlas.
This can be used in conjunction with the above guidelines to incentivize and prioritize the right kinds of actions in the right locations.
‣ Guidelines, evaluation methodologies, and technical
modeling capacities for evaluating local plans and
projects for funding and other incentives that align
with desired outcomes (T asks 5.1, 6.2, and 8.1).
People learning about shoreline restoration. Photo by
LEJ from Estuary News from March 2021.
PEOPLE
21 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 1.2: Lay the foundation for a proactive regional
legislative agenda.
Build a unified advocacy voice for Bay Area adaptation needs. In the short term (next two years), pilot a legislative working group to work toward consensus on regional priorities and shared criteria for future
legislation while taking advantage of opportunities within current state and federal legislative sessions.
Foster relationships with state and federal legislators to lay the groundwork for future legislation. Build support for the nine-county Bay Area as the focus for new regional climate adaptation programs. In the mid-term (2-4 years), build support for multi-year sources of funding for a wide range of adaptation activities, such as a regional ballot measure. Identify and collectively advocate for additional regional priorities that would require le gislation, s uch a s r egulatory ch anges, pl anning guidance, new fiscal authorities, and funding support.
In the long term (5+ years), coordinate, update and communicate legislative needs on a biennial basis, such as through an annual legislative agenda.
EQUITY
Elevates frontline community
voices in long-term regional
visioning and advocacy.
ENVIRONMENT
Elevates environmental advocacy
voices in long-term regional
visioning and advocacy.
ECONOMY
Elevates business and economic
voices in long-term regional
visioning and advocacy.
Action 1 Benefits
TASK 5.1
Provide
incentives for
plans
TASK 8.1
Provide
incentives for
projects
TASK 1.1
Create a long-
term regional
vision
TASK 2.1
Improve how public
agencies and
communities work
together
TASK 1.2
Proactive
legislative agenda
TASK 3.1
Tell stories about Tell stories about
adapting to adapting to
climate changeclimate change
TASK 9.1
Measure Measure
progress using progress using
metricsmetrics
Figure 7 | Many different tasks
outlined in the Joint Platform
flow from the vision, guidelines,
and metrics outlined in Task
1.1, either directly or indirectly.
How the
regional vision
can inform
Joint Platform
actions
PEOPLE
22 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Elevate communities to lead.
Goals:
‣ Adaptation grounded in local vision and needs.
‣ Increased capacity of community members,
especially those historically excluded from
decision-making, to contribute to the process.
‣ Long-term funding that supports sustained
community leadership and equitable
partnerships among communities and
governments.
TASK 2.1: Improve how communities and public
agencies learn from each other and work together.
Build community capacity to influence government
and support a region-wide training program led
by communities and geared towards government
to shift values towards place-based expertise.
Adopt and share best practices for equity-focused
adaptation decision-making throughout the region.
Ensure that best practices nurture meaningful
relationships, center community concerns and
priorities, and make community and social benefits
clearer.
Support community leaders in raising awareness
and capacity within their own communities.
Host trainings for communities on sea level rise
risks, adaptation options, community storytelling,
and best practices for engaging effectively with
governments. Whenever possible, choose
community-based organizations (CBOs) or
community members to lead trainings geared
toward government and communities.
Training topics for agency staff may include
general environmental justice and local histories,
community mapping, culturally appropriate
communication, meaningful community
engagement at all phases of planning, use of
community benefit agreements, alternative
approaches to traditional cost-benefit analyses that
elevate community value, and measuring successful
engagement.
Ideas for the Bay Area
The Greenlining Institute, an Oakland-based advocacy
group, has created a guidebook to help users embed
equity in a meaningful way in climate adaptation and
community resilience policies and programs. Access the Guidebook.
A coalition of community organizations in East Oakland
partnered with the City of Oakland to secure a
Transformative Climate Communities grant for local
equitable climate planning. City staff and community
groups collaborated on the scope of work, goals, and
budget for the project. The resulting community-driven
plan led to a $28 million implementation grant. Access the Plan.
The West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
received a Restoration Authority grant to lead a
Shoreline Leadership Academy to raise the capacity of
local frontline community residents to engage and lead
in climate adaptation. Participants are paid for their time to develop plans for the shoreline while increasing their knowledge and participation.
The Resilient Communities Initiative created an equity
checklist and sample partnering agreement that could
be a model for successful future partnerships. Access
them Here.
The Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
(BARHII) recently released a new report on best
practices for community engagement to create healthy
and resilient communities. This report can serve as a
resource for governments. Access it Here.
Conversations and decisions
are being made without the
community’s input. How do we
make sure that people’s stories
and perspectives are at the
forefront?
- East Palo Community Focus Group Participant
ACTION 2
PEOPLE
23 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 2.2: Fund the participation and leadership of CBOs and frontline communities in adaptation planning.
Establish a stable and ongoing funding program to support frontline communities and CBOs as full partners and leaders in adaptation planning. Use the funding to build and sustain community capacity to participate in decision-making as described in T ask 2.1. Support CBO operating expenses, staffing, stipends for community representatives in planning processes and meetings, and expenses associated with participation such as transportation, food, and childcare. Also fund the community-led training programs identified in T ask 2.1.
Consider state budget or bond allocations, legislation, grants, development fees, or regional funding measures as sources of funding. Equity initiatives could receive a dedicated percentage of any resilience-focused funding, for example. Other initiatives to increase community access to funds could include supporting collaborative grant-writing, or streamlining the process for governments or industry partners to contract with CBOs (such as setting up a bench of CBOs available for fee-based consulting and managing those contracts on behalf of the CBOs).
It is harder to ask
communities to engage
on something that they
have not been involved
in shaping. You need
representatives with
direct experience and
engagement in these
communities, what
they want, and agency
staff typically doesn’t
have that.
- Bay Adapt EJ Caucus Member
Community forum in East Palo Alto on rising sea level. Photo by Jaclyn Mandoske, BCDC.
EQUITY
Elevates frontline community
members as key decision-makers
and compensates them for their
time and expertise.
ENVIRONMENT
Prioritizes natural resources that
people value, promoting local
stewardship.
ECONOMY
Prioritizes local businesses and
jobs, keeping local economies
thriving.
Action 2 Benefits
PEOPLE
24 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Cities, landowners, residents and students all need to
understand how the latest science on sea level rise
applies to their lives and decisions. Understanding risks, consequences, options, and tradeoffs enables everyone to be part of the solution. We also need ways to share our stories, struggles, and successes as we confront climate change and learn to adapt. Stories of individual and
shared experiences of change are the foundation of future action. But where do we find and keep up with the latest science and these evolving stories? And how do we share the best of them?
Broaden public understanding of
climate change science and impacts.
Goals:
‣ Increased climate literacy in the region’s general public. ‣ Communities and youth who are better prepared to plan and implement adaptation solutions.
‣ More value placed on community history and first-hand experience.
TASK 3.1: T ell local and regional stories about people and places adapting to climate change.
Launch a sustained storytelling campaign to amplify awareness of climate change, sea level rise impacts, and Bay health in the Bay Area. Listen and learn from residents’ direct experiences and empower them to advance their own solutions for climate adaptation. Encourage youth, neighborhoods, and frontline communities to shape and share their own stories. Base stories on local successes and hopeful narratives about what makes the Bay Area special, including the Bay’s unique natural ecosystems and culture of environmental and social activism. Allow communities to share their stories of concern, risk, needs, and loss in order to center these narratives and base future adaptation planning on mitigating these challenges. Share stories widely, and make them available on diverse platforms – newspapers, radio, television, social media, neighborhood news apps, and the web. Use these stories to train local government staff about the communities they serve and increase trust between communities and local staff (coordinated with the trainings outlined in T ask 2.1).
INFORMATION
Ideas for the Bay Area
As part of the Islais Creek Adaptation
Strategy, the San Francisco Planning
Department developed a magazine, I
Am Islais, that provided a platform for
residents and stakeholders to speak
about sea level rise in the neighborhood
and how it would affect their lives.
Platforms like these allow residents to
have their voices heard.
BCDC staff presenting to stakeholders on sea level rise vulnerability. Photo by Jaclyn Mandoske, BCDC.ACTION 3
INFORMATION
25 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 3.2: Weave climate adaptation literacy into school programs.
Support partnerships between public and private schools and community-based organizations (especially those led by youth and frontline community members) to educate students about the health and future of the Bay and ways to adapt to climate change. Share adaptation visions, solutions, and local pilot projects showcasing innovation with teachers, students, school districts and parent associations. Support schools so they can get more involved as partners in educating their local communities about rising sea levels and as leaders in elevating the importance of climate action and adaptation. Help schools offer both climate-literate curricula and career pipeline opportunities based in diversity and inclusivity.
Consider partnerships with local employers to connect training with local jobs. Provide our future decision-makers and workforce with the knowledge and experience to tackle climate problems with equitable and innovative solutions.
EQUITY
Empowers frontline community
members by increasing awareness
of climate risks, sharing stories
about their own communities, and
engaging youth in schools.
ENVIRONMENT
Raises awareness of the health
and future of the Bay and its
resources and the value of natural
and nature-based solutions in
addressing rising sea levels.
ECONOMY
Reduces likelihood of economic
damage by flooding by building
public support for adaptation
measures; prepares youth to enter
climate resilience careers.
Action 3 Benefits
Ideas for the Bay Area
The Mycelium Youth Network
partnered with The Exploratorium
and BCDC to engage local youth in
the science, political issues, and civic
processes involved in responding
to climate change and its impacts
on infrastructure and people. The
collaboration produced Water Is Life,
a program that offered an in-depth
analysis of water justice issues with
a specific focus on sea level rise and
how it will impact the entire Bay Area.
The program reached 150 students
at several Title I schools around the
Bay Area, including Leadership High
School and Mission High School in
San Francisco, and Elmhurst United
Middle School in Oakland. Learn
More Here.
The San Mateo County
Environmental Literacy and
Sustainability Initiative works with
school districts, community-based
environmental literacy partners,
educators, and youth to actively
integrate environmental sustainability
into school communities, classrooms,
and programs. Learn More Here.
Middles schoolers from Oakland learn about rain catchment systems. Photo courtesy of Estuary News from March 2019.
INFORMATION
26 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Base plans and projects on the best
science, data, and knowledge.
Goals:
‣ Data and research tailored to the region’s specific needs. ‣ Accessible science, analysis, and monitoring information. ‣ User-friendly technical support.
TASK 4.1: Align research and monitoring with information gaps.
Partner with academics, scientists, and communities to fill information g aps t hrough or iginal r esearch, d ata c ollection, an alysis, and monitoring. T ailor the interpretation of science to the audience or user, ranging from the general public to academics. Curate and archive information for use and updates across decades. Align with similar statewide initiatives but ensure data is tailored to the Bay Area.
From a technical perspective, identified information needs include:
‣ Enhanced regional flood modeling related to multiple hazards (such as groundwater, watershed, riverine/tidal, subsidence, erosion).
‣ Expanded networks of water elevation monitoring stations for real-time updates to the rate and timing of sea level rise in the Bay.
‣ Expanded open data initiatives to facilitate sharing. ‣ Standard operating procedures for validating and nominating data for common use.
‣ More research on the cost and suitability of adaptation strategies for different Bay conditions.
‣ Identification of potential wetland migration pathways. ‣ Tracking, sharing, and integrating data from various sectors to spotlight opportunities to reuse sediment.
‣ Research on the equitable distribution of burdens and benefits of adaptation.
‣ More explicit research on the impacts and consequences of contaminated sites as they intersect with flooding and/or rising groundwater and strategies for mitigating these impacts.
Solicit and value local knowledge from residents, particularly in frontline communities, and use it to inform research needs and priorities and to confirm and validate academic research. Prioritize co-production of data and tools with communities through community-based asset mapping and storytelling or participatory science to form a more complete data picture.
Ideas for the Bay Area
Created in 2000, the California
Ocean Science Trust recognizes the
value of independent science and
the opportunity to better connect
the wealth of scientific expertise in
academia with policy and management
decisions in the state. The Ocean
Science Trust seeks and provides
funding for ocean resource science
projects and encourages coordinated,
multi-agency, multi-institution
approaches to ocean resource science.
It can serve as a model for how to
connect real-world planning and policy
needs with scientific and academic
research but be adapted for the unique
needs and constraints of the Bay Area.
Learn More Here.
The Wetlands Regional Monitoring
Program (WRMP) is convening
stakeholders from a broad range of
backgrounds and expertise to develop
a regional monitoring program for
wetlands in the Bay Area. The program
aims to use wetland habitat data to
improve the efficiency of permitting and
monitoring wetland restoration projects
and to evaluate the condition of the
tidal marsh ecosystem at a regional
scale. Learn More Here.
ACTION 4
INFORMATION
27 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 4.2: Make scientific data, information, and
guidance easier to access and use.
Help users creating adaptation plans and projects
understand where, when, and how to use climate
science and planning tools. Facilitate widespread access to, and understanding of, technical information
and guidance. Improve and ease access to the most relevant information.
Establish or support an independent Climate Science
Consortium that provides high-quality science
translation tailored to the Bay Area’s needs and fed by the research outlined in T ask 4.1.
Also offer a separate technical assistance “storefront” to support plans and projects that provides users:
‣ Standardized, up-to-date scientific data, such
as common flood models and sea level rise
projections, as created by the Climate Science
Consortium.
‣ Best available science white papers on specific issues, as curated or developed by the Climate
Science Consortium.
‣ Individualized consultations via a professional help
desk network.
‣ How-to guidance on the steps of assessing
vulnerability and developing adaptation plans.
‣ Adaptation plan and project examples and case
studies.
‣ T ools for evaluating adaptation options.
‣ Funding and financing assistance.
‣ Lecture series, conferences, trainings, working groups, and/or workshops.
‣ Access to a technical consultant bench (T ask 4.3).
TASK 5.1
Provide
incentives for
plans
TASK 8.1
Provide
incentives for
projects
TASK 4.2
Make data and
guiadance easier
to use
TASK 4.3
Increase access
to technical
consultants
TASK 6.3
Help expand
ways to fund
adaptation
TASK 2.1
Improve how public
agencies and
communities work
together
Figure 8 | Many different tasks outlined in the Joint
Platform should connect to and coordinate with the
technical assistance outlined in Task 4.2; however,
they are not included in the task because they have
technical assistance as their secondary function and/
or have a natural home elsewhere.
The Adapting to Rising Tides Bay Shoreline Flood Explorer is a tool developed by BCDC to explore current and future flooding scenarios. This information is available at explorer.adaptingtorisingtides.org.
How science and
planning assistance
can assist other Joint
Platform actions
INFORMATION
28 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 4.3: Increase access to technical consultants for local adaptation partners.
Establish a region-wide consultant bench that cities, counties, and others can tap for technical services. Use regional planning and project guidelines (T ask 1.1) to articulate common technical needs in region-wide RFPs for consultants to serve on the bench.
Also use guidelines to guide evaluation of proposals from potential consultants. Contract with consultants to be “on call” for cities and counties, as needed. Simplify and manage contracting processes for users when accessing a consultant. Vet consultant-led goods and services to ensure they align with the region’s vision and objectives.
EQUITY
Elevates local knowledge and
needs in the development of data
to inform decision-making and
ensures data transparency and
accessibility to communities.
ENVIRONMENT
Improves guidance, data, and
feedback on projects that preserve
and enhance habitats and on
natural and nature-based solutions
to incr ease implemen tation o f t hese
projects.
ECONOMY
Increases information and better
planning and project procesess
to expedite shoreline protection
projects.
Action 4 Benefits
Ideas for the Bay Area
MTC/ABAG’s Housing T echnical
Assistance (TA) Consultant Bench
is an effort to recruit and vet multiple
consultants with various skill sets to
support local planning at favorable
rates and facilitate access to consultant
resources, achieve economies of scale,
and reduce costs. This bench supports
regional TA efforts and local jurisdictions
can use it to connect with specialized
resources on a wide range of issues and
services using their SB2, LEAP, REAP,
and PDA planning funds. Learn More
Here.
Levee breach in the Montezuma wetlands restoration project.
Photo courtesy of the Montezuma wetlands project.
INFORMATION
29 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Now is the time to plan for carrying out the region’s
adaptation vision and seeking the billions of dollars
needed to pay for it. As shoreline communities
incorporate adaptation into local plans, we must ensure that those plans contribute to a “One Bay” solution,
whose goals and objectives are shared across cities,
counties and the region. Decisions in one community,
municipality or new development can displace costs
and impacts to others. How can we help locals make
successful, coordinated plans? And how will we pay for
new initiatives?
Align local and regional plans
into a unified adaptation
approach.
Goals:
‣ Local plans that are coordinated across the region, and incentivized by expanded adaptation funding.
‣ Improved and coordinated state planning
requirements for adaptation plans and projects.
TASK 5.1: Provide incentives for robust, coordinated
local adaptation plans.
Utilize collectively-developed plan guidelines and minimum requirements (T ask 1.1), tied to financial
incentives (T ask 6.2), to develop strong local and
community-driven adaptation plans that also contribute
to regional goals and align with current state guidelines for adaptation plans. Incentives should include funding to develop the plans. Plans should also include planned projects that contribute to regional goals (T ask 8.1).
Guidelines should be developed with the input of many stakeholders but may provide:
‣ Guidance on how to prioritize and include
vulnerable communities in sea level rise planning, including best practices for community engagement
and community-led adaptation planning processes.
PLANS
‣ Common minimum short and long-term sea level
rise climate projections for planning.
‣ Standard flood data sets.
‣ Regionally-appropriate strategies for protecting natural areas, frontline communities, public access, regional transportation links, and other critical
regional assets.
‣ Guidance on how and where to prioritize nature- based solutions along the shoreline where feasible
and appropriate.
‣ Land use guidance, such as how to plan for habitat migration with sea level rise.
‣ Guidance on how to plan for long-term implications of sea level rise beyond current planning horizons. ‣ Guidance on how to connect sea level rise planning to other critical topics, including public and
environmental health, emergency response, and
housing considerations.
Assistance on applying the guidelines should be available through regional technical assistance
programs (T ask 4.2).
Community engagement for Plan Bay Area 2050.
Photo by Karl Nielsen.ACTION 5
PLANS
30 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 5.2: Align state-mandated planning processes around adaptation.
Assess the state’s myriad planning requirements beyond adaptation (such as those for housing, emergency response, local hazard mitigation, social equity, and climate action) through the lens of adaptation planning for conflicts, redundancies, and synergies. Jointly advocate for updated legislation to coordinate these requirements. Also create opportunities and incentives at the state level for cross-jurisdictional planning to improve the siloed scope of local plans that are often limited to jurisdictional boundaries.
EQUITY
Rewards planning processes that
value inclusive engagement and
equitable outcomes.
ENVIRONMENT
Rewards planning processes that
value long-term protection of Bay
habitats and prioritization natural
and nature-based adaptation
outcomes.
ECONOMY
Rewards planning processes
that value the protection of jobs,
businesses, and infrastructure.
Action 5 Benefits
Ideas for the Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Shoreline
Adaptation Atlas has extensively
evaluated the Bay shoreline to identify
the most appropriate adaptation
strategies for the unique physical
characteristics shared by different
“Operational Landscape Units” around
the Bay. It identifies where nature-based
approaches can help create a resilient
shoreline with multiple benefits and
where these solutions can work together
across the interconnected Bay to avoid
unintended impacts in neighboring
locales. The Adaptation Atlas can
provide a guide toward appropriate
plans and projects in different locations
around the Bay to ensure that the most
appropriate strategies are considered in
any given location. See it Here.
Wetlands and development near Highway 37. Map data ©2019 by Google Earth Pro.
PLANS
31 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Figure out how to fund adaptation.
Goals:
‣ Clear assessment of the region’s adaptation funding needs.
‣ Identification of local and regional funding sources and financing tools.
‣ Mechanism for prioritizing and distributing funds for adaptation over the next several decades.
TASK 6.1: Expand understanding of the financial costs and revenues associated with regional adaptation.
Reduce unknowns and uncertainties related to the costs of adaptation. Start by expanding on the existing MTC/ABAG Sea Level Rise Needs and Revenue Assessment, which supports Plan Bay Area 2050 and also advocates for more state and federal funding. Build on and improve the assessment’s calculations of what it may cost the region to adapt to sea level rise as well as the cost of inaction. As part of this calculation, consider both actual costs of current projects and the anticipated costs of untested or new construction or restoration techniques, as well as the costs for pre-construction phases of projects such as engagement, planning, and land acquisition or post-construction costs such as monitoring and maintenance. Consider when future funds may be needed as sea levels rise and impacts accelerate. Also develop a more in-depth understanding of possible revenue from related special assessments, taxes, and fees to refine estimates of the potential funding gap.
Ideas for the Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Restoration
Authority is a regional agency
created to fund shoreline projects that
will protect, restore, and enhance San
Francisco Bay through the allocation
of funds raised by the Measure AA
parcel tax. This parcel tax generates
$25 million in grants annually
for wetland restoration projects
throughout the region. The Restoration
Authority is overseen and staffed by
representatives from several Bay Area
government agencies with various
types of expertise and authority. The
Restoration Authority could either be
expanded to fund a wider variety of
adaptation projects or could serve as
a model for a new adaptation-focused
finance authority for the Bay. Learn
More Here.
ACTION 6
The East Bay Shoreline looking towards Emeryville and
Oakland. Photo by Andre Perrin-Martinez.
PLANS
32 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 6.2: Establish a framework for funding plans and
projects.
Develop and implement a framework or process to aggregate, generate, and distribute adaptation funding for communities, plans and projects. Use guidelines developed in T ask 1.1 to direct funding to incentivize successful local planning (T ask 5.1), and to evaluate and assign funding to proposed adaptation projects included in such plans (T ask 8.1). Consider modeling the process on the MTC/ ABAG Transportation Project Performance framework, in which partners nominate local projects for evaluation based on specific criteria and then prioritize them for funding. Actively advocate for adaptation funding for the region (T ask 1.2) and consider TASK 5.1
Provide
incentives for
plans
TASK 8.1
Provide
incentives for
projects
TASK 6.2
Establish
funding
framework
TASK 2.2
Fund CBOs
and frontline
communities
TASK 1.2
Proactive
legislative agenda
TASK 6.1
Expand Expand
understanding understanding
of costs and of costs and
revenuesrevenues TASK 6.3
Help expand
ways to fund
adaptation
Figure 9 | Many different tasks outlined in
the Joint Platform should be considered in
the funding framework outlined in Task 6.2;
however, they are not included in the task
because 6.2 focuses on the creation of the
funding framework while the related tasks rely
on the outcomes of the funding framework.
How can we see
future things
happening if we
can’t even fix our
streets and drains?
- East Palo Community Focus
Group Participant
How the funding
framework can assist
other Joint Platform
actions
PLANS
spearheading new regional taxes, fees, or other financing mechanisms to fund plans and projects.
33 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM EQUITY
Outlines a process to pay for
adaptation that does not rely on
a community’s wealth, advocacy
skills, or grant-writing success to
fund plans and projects.
ENVIRONMENT
Identifies ways to prioritize long-
term protection of Bay habitats
and natural and nature-based
adaptation outcomes in funding
decisions.
ECONOMY
Increases funding for shoreline
projects and protection of key
assets critical to the region’s
economic health.
Action 6 Benefits
Ideas for the Bay Area
There are several existing resources
that can help serve as the foundation
for the services outlined in T ask 6.3:
‣ Finance Guide for Resilient by
Design Bay Area Challenge
Design T eams, NHA Advisors, 2018
‣ Paying for Climate Adaptation in
California, AECOM, 2018
‣ Climate Adaptation Finance and
Investment in California, Routledge
Focus, 2018
‣ Adaptation Finance Challenges:
Characteristic Patterns Facing
California Local Governments
and Ways to Overcome Them,
California Natural Resources
Agency, 2018
‣ The California Grants Portal is
an access portal to all grants and
loans offered on a competitive or
first-come basis by California state
agencies. Learn more here.
‣ The Funding Wizard, hosted and
maintained by the California Air
Resources Board, is a searchable
database of grants geared toward
sustainability projects, including
climate change mitigation and
adaptation. Learn more here.
TASK 6.3: Help cities and counties expand ways to fund
adaptation planning and projects.
Provide local governments with expertise and assistance to generate additional funds by identifying, evaluating, and applying local financing tools and to apply for other sources of funds for local adaptation needs (above and beyond any regional funds identified in T ask 6.2). Work with cities and counties to identify their needs and match the myriad federal, state, regional, and local funding sources to local needs for planning, community engagement, project implementation and costly project resources (i.e. sediment).
Help local governments understand grant requirements and shape projects to fit them. Assist with project cost-benefit analysis, grant writing, and fulfilling reporting requirements. This assistance should be provided through the regional technical assistance storefront outlined in T ask 4.2.
Isais Creek in San Francisco. Photo by SF Baykeeper, Robb Most, and LightHawk.
PLANS
BRRIT Partners
34 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Refine and accelerate regulatory
approvals processes.
Goals:
‣ Less time and fewer resources spent on permitting adaptation projects so they can be constructed
ahead of sea level rise.
‣ Updated laws, regulations, and policies that reflect
the changing shoreline.
TASK 7 .1: Accelerate permitting for equitable, multi-benefit projects.
Dedicate a multi-agency group to work collaboratively on permits for adaptation projects that reflect regional guidelines and have been identified as regional priorities (see Ideas for the Bay Area at right for a possible model or forum). Achieve smoother, speedier regulatory approvals that don’t compromise environmental protections, transparency, or community engagement by:
‣ Using standard, transparent criteria and checklists (linked to T ask 1.1. guidelines) to evaluate candidate projects for eligibility for accelerated permitting.
‣ Providing opportunities for proactive coordination and collaboration between agencies and project proponents and sharing criteria and checklists with project proponents early in their design process.
‣ Improving coordination across agencies and between potential project proponents and regulators before projects are even designed (such as regular engagement with the groups
Conceptual drawing of the Islais Hyper-Creek project from Resilient By Design.
Getting adaptation projects approved and built can
be challenging. Permitting and construction should
accelerate, not hold back, resilient shoreline adaptation projects that value ecosystems and people, align with the region’s vision and funding priorities, and apply innovative approaches. Measures to smooth and speed regulatory
approvals for multi-benefit projects are important. Other measures can help facilitate place-based collaboration
around project development and remove logistical
challenges to construction.
PROJECTS
Ideas for the Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Restoration
Regulatory Integration T eam (BRRIT)
is a multi-agency team dedicated to
improving the permitting of multi-
benefit habitat restoration projects
and associated flood management
and public access in and along San
Francisco Bay. The BRRIT consists of
staff from state and federal regulatory
agencies who work closely with
project proponents from the pre-permit
application stage through permit
completion. However, the BRRIT is a
small team that reviews only a limited
number of habitat projects and has
a limited scope. The BRRIT could be
expanded to cover additional green or
hybrid shoreline protection projects,
or a similar team could be created to
handle projects that provide regional
adaptation benefit but do not meet
current BRRIT criteria.
ACTION 7
PROJECTS
35 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM outlined in T ask 8.2).
‣ Establishing a dispute resolution process among permitting agencies.
‣ Conducting CEQA and permitting concurrently.
‣ Enhancing the technical knowledge of permitting staff (via working groups and by tapping outside expertise).
‣ Increasing regulatory capacity for permit review.
TASK 7 .2: Assess environmental regulations and policies that slow down progress on projects.
Review plans and laws, including BCDC’s Bay Plan, RWQCB’s Basin Plan, the California Endangered Species Act, California Environmental Quality Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Clean Water Act, and Federal Endangered Species Act, to pinpoint policies that may unintentionally impede permitting or construction of adaptation projects. Starting with local and regional plans and policies, develop consensus on recommended policy changes that balance original intent with changing conditions due to sea level rise, and help facilitate multi-benefit projects. The scope of the review could include:
‣ Clarifying or creating new policies on climate change. ‣ Identifying conflicting regulatory mandates.
‣ Identification of “regulatory gaps, ” such as wetland migration space that is not currently protected.
‣ Clarifying design standards for nature-based projects. ‣ Integrating data from pilot projects into planning for new projects. ‣ Reevaluating restrictions on Bay fill for shoreline protection. ‣ Reevaluating criteria for dredged material disposal to incentivize beneficial reuse over in-Bay or ocean disposal. ‣ Reevaluating contaminant criteria for beneficial reuse. ‣ Identifying more funding sources for sediment delivery to beneficial reuse sites and other adaptation projects. ‣ Updating land use policies to allow for habitats to migrate upland. ‣ Permitting that allows for temporary impacts to achieve long-term adaptation goals.
‣ Ensuring that construction work windows provide the expected benefit to special status species.
‣ Addressing the short and long-term impacts of turbidity plumes in water.
‣ Strengthening requirements around long-term monitoring of adaptation outcomes to inform regulatory and policy updates.
Ideas for the Bay Area
In 2016, BCDC completed Policies
for a Rising Bay, which outlines
the policy issues identified in the
Commission’s laws and policies in
light of new challenges, including sea
level rise. The report identifies four
policy issues where BCDC’s policies
were found to be inadequate regarding
risks associated with rising sea levels,
including:
1. Fill for Resilience and Adaptation -
Habitat Restoration and Protection
2. Fill for Resilience and Adaptation -
Innovative Shoreline Solutions
3. Environmental Justice and Social
Equity
4. Adaptive Management
In 2019, BCDC adopted its Fill for
Habitat and Environmental Justice
Bay Plan Amendments that formally
amended its regulatory program to
address these policy gaps.
(TASK 7 .1 continued)
PROJECTS
36 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM EQUITY
Rewards projects that value
inclusive engagement and
equitable outcomes.
ENVIRONMENT
Rewards projects that value long-
term protection of Bay habitats
and natural and nature-based
adaptation outcomes.
ECONOMY
Rewards projects that protect jobs,
businesses, and infrastructure.
Action 7 Benefits
Wetlands along the San Jose shoreline during King Tides in December 2019. Photo by SF Baykeeper, Robb Most, and LightHawk.
PROJECTS
37 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Fund and facilitate faster
adaptation projects.
Goals:
‣ Accelerated and funded projects that advance the
regional adaptation vision.
‣ More efficient construction processes for multi- benefit, equitable shoreline adaptation projects.
TASK 8.1: Incentivize projects that meet regional
guidelines.
Jump start critical local projects that also contribute to regional goals using collectively developed plan
guidelines and minimum requirements (T ask 1.1), tied to financial incentives (T ask 6.2) and permitting incentives (T ask 7 .1). Projects eligible for financial incentives should be included in successful local plans that follow compatible guidelines (T ask 5.1).
Guidelines should be developed with the input of many stakeholders but may provide:
• Guidance on how to prioritize and include
vulnerable communities in sea level rise projects, such as through robust and meaningful community
engagement in the project planning process.
• Evaluation of the degree to which a project protects the health of the bay and local ecosystems, and considers space for habitat migration.
• Evaluation of project impacts on flooding or wave erosion in other areas of the Bay, and guidance for best practices to avoid unintended consenquences
in an interconnected Bay system.
• Evaluation of project impacts on natural areas, frontline communities, public access, and other consequences to neighbors or the region, such as
displacement.
• Use of an equitable cost-benefit analysis that values frontline communities and other non-monetary
benefits.
• Adaptive project plans that consider flooding above and beyond the design level or flooding that occurs more rapidly than planned.
Guidelines should be made easily accessible via
regional technical assistance programs (T ask 4.2).
TASK 8.2: Encourage collaboration among people
doing projects in the same places.
Establish place-based, ongoing work groups to
coordinate large-scale, multi-jurisdictional plans and projects. Provide a forum for building relationships among agencies, project proponents, and communities,
enhancing communication, transparency, and synergies
among diverse players, and connecting communities to projects they care about.
Create local visions tied to the regional vision (T ask 1.1) and share best practices for project design, governance, and delivery. Use a neutral, third-party facilitator to facilitate these groups and help ensure a balance of voices, achieve consensus on common project goals, resolve challenges and conflicts, identify and nurture of project champions, and broker community benefits agreements. Consider formalizing these structures
such as in the Hayward example (above) to accelerate project funding, development and construction across
jurisdictional boundaries.
Ideas for the Bay Area
The Hayward Area Shoreline Planning
Agency Joint Powers Authority brings
together the City of Hayward, East Bay
Regional Parks District, and Hayward
Area Recreation and Parks District
and works with the Hayward Area
Shoreline Citizens Advisory Committee
to coordinate agency planning activities
and adopt and carry out policies for the
improvement of the Hayward Shoreline.
It has recently completed and adopted
a Shoreline Master Plan that outlines
adaptation measures to prepare for sea
level rise. Read it Here.
ACTION 8
PROJECTS
38 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 8.3: Facilitate faster construction of nature-based projects.
Increase the capacity of contractors to build multi-benefit or nature-based projects. Establish training programs on techniques and approaches to construct natural and nature-based shoreline projects for contractors, aligned with regional project guidelines (T ask 1.1) and informed by monitoring data (T ask 9.2). Coordinate the use of the limited regional supply of fill across the region and improve fill logistics (e.g. stockpiling, contaminant testing, delivery, etc). Strengthen partnerships with regulated communities. Expand RFP and State bond proposition language to make funding such complex projects more flexible.
Improve construction bidding and contracting processes by:
‣ Demystifying project costs.
‣ Contracting earlier in the design process (via
construction management general contracts).
‣ Incentivizing contracts with local or equity-focused
businesses.
‣ Incentivizing the reduction of construction impacts on communities.
Ideas for the Bay Area
Sediment for Survival, published by
the San Francisco Estuary Institute in
2021, analyzes current data and climate
projections to determine how much
natural sediment may be available
for tidal marshes and mudflats and
how much supplemental sediment
may be needed under different future
scenarios, and offers a strategy for
sediment delivery that will enable
wetlands to survive a changing climate
and provide benefits to people and
nature for many decades to come. This
report can form the foundation for a
region-wide conversation about how
to meet the region’s future sediment
needs for nature-based shoreline
adaptation projects. Read it Here.
EQUITY
Advocates for community voices
in projects; supports construction
practices that minimize impacts
to communities and support local
businesses.
ENVIRONMENT
Expands the ability of contractors
to build natural and nature-based
solutions.
ECONOMY
Facilitates cross-pollination early
on, resulting in multi-benefit
projects with shared costs;
supports construction practices
that support local businesses.
Action 8 Benefits
South Bay Salt Ponds restoration project. Photo by San Francisco Restoration Authority.
PROJECTS
39 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM People visiting recreational trails near the Palo Alto Baylands.
Photo by Jitze Couperus licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The cycle of adaptation never stops. Science evolves and we learn lessons from existing projects, often requiring updates to our plans and policies. But how do we know if our efforts have been successful, and whether everything is working out as planned? Tracking and learning from
our successes and failures will allow the region to adjust course, celebrate progress, maintain transparency, and
adapt to uncertainty. Accountability for how well we
achieve our collective adaptation goals goes hand-in-
hand with future support for this critical work.
Track and report progress to guide
future actions.
Goals:
‣ A process for gathering feedback and measuring progress on local and regional adaptation efforts.
‣ Clarity on how to adapt plans and projects to changing conditions and outcomes.
‣ Enhanced monitoring of nature-based projects to better understand the benefits and challenges of an ecosystems approach to adaptation.
TASK 9.1: Measure regional progress using metrics and share results.
Regularly check and report on adaptation progress based on the established and shared regional metrics identified in T ask 1.1.
Metrics should measure the difference between today’s “baseline”— the region’s current risk profile and adaptation status—and changes related to adaptation activities, or other measures of long-term sustainability. Also consider collecting qualitative reports, such as narratives and community feedback.
Resulting “report cards” should be transparent and understandable (through visually compelling online dashboards) to partners, stakeholders and the public. When appropriate, they should suggest ways to increase alignment with the regional vision, such as changes to incentives (T asks 5.1 and 8.1), funding models (T ask
6.2), technical assistance programs (T ask 4.2), or the legislative agenda (T ask 1.2).
PROGRESS
Ideas for the Bay Area
The State of the Estuary report
tracks indicators and trends that
measure the San Francisco Estuary’s
ecological health. Likewise, the Delta
Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan
Performance Measures uses several
metrics to measure, progress, and track
performance across the coequal goals
of a reliable water supply for California
and a healthy Delta ecosystem. It uses
an easy-to-access, graphics-rich online
interface to illustrate performance
measure information and data to ensure
transparency around the Delta Plan’s
goals and performance measures. This
website and the metrics it tracks could
be a model for how the Bay Area could
transparently track its adaptation goals
and progress.
ACTION 9
PROGRESS
40 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM TASK 9.2: Monitor and learn from pilot projects.
Monitor pilot projects to identify lessons learned and update or establish guidance based on these lessons. Expand and support existing monitoring programs, such as the Wetland Regional Monitoring Program and the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, to increase the context for learning and adaptation. Use monitoring to update and refine best practices for innovative, multi-benefit projects covered in regional vision (T ask
1.1), funding criteria (T ask 6.2), technical assistance guidance (T ask
4.2), and permitting processes (T ask 7 .1).
EQUITY
Ensures accountability for equity
and c ommunity-focused ad aptation
outcomes.
ENVIRONMENT
Ensures accountability for nature-
based, ecosystem, and habitat-
based adaptation outcomes;
monitoring and reporting will
improve the design, permitting,
funding, and construction of
nature-based adaptation strategies.
ECONOMY
Ensures accountability for job
and housing growth adaptation
co-benefits; monitoring of pilot
projects will lead to more efficient
and effective projects and
expedited protection for critical
assets.
Action 9 Benefits
PROGRESS
Ideas for the Bay Area
Pilot projects don’t have to be limited
to nature-based solutions. The San
Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit
District (BART) can serve as a model
for other agencies pursuing adaptation.
With limited funding and resources,
BART has conducted a number of pilot
projects to evaluate resiliency risks
and develop adaptation solutions. Pilot
findings have been used to inform
BART capital projects of risks. As a pilot
outcome, BART requires in the BART
Facilities Standards (BFS) that capital
projects account for SLR risk in their
designs. BART’s approach to leverage
existing data and partnerships to
maximize pilot outcomes are examples
of practices that can be shared and
benefit other agencies.
Creosote-treated pilings at the Red Rocks warehouse site in Richmond. Photo by Marilyn Latta, State Coastal Conservancy.
BCDC RW
ojecs in the same places. • • • • • • • • L • • • • • • • • L • • • • SCC, SFEI T ask 8.3: Facilitate faster construction of nature-
based projects. • • • L • • • • • • • • • • • • • SFEP T ask 9.1: Measure regional progress using metrics
and share results. L • • L • • • L • • • • • BCDC, SFEP , SFEI T ask 9.2: Monitor and learn from pilot projects. • • L • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • RWQCB
PEOPLEINFORMATIONPLANSPROJECTSPROGRESS
MTC/ SFEP SCC BARC Cal- DSC Other NOAA US- Other Local Bay- SFEI CHAR Nor- WOE- Explor- Green- CBOs EJ Enviro Busi- Priv Aca- Media* Education/ CO-LEADS Tasks Assigned as Lead 7 5 5 5 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Tasks Assigned to Participate 8 3 9 9 11 4 3 2 0 3 3 3 7 8 5 4 0 0 0 2 3 1 1 1 4 3 0 2 Tasks Assigned to Advise 5 2 2 2 2 4 4 6 2 1 3 0 11 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 10 10 9 8 0 5 0 0 m regional vision rooted
in communities, bay habitats, and the
economy.
L • • • • • • • • • L • • • • • • L • • • • • • •
BCDC
Local Jurisdiction(s)
CBO(s)
T ask 1.2: Lay the foundation for a proactive
regional legislative agenda. • • • • L • • • • • • • • • • • • • • BARC T ask 2.1: Improve how communities and public
agencies learn from each other and work
together.
• • L • • • • • • • • • • • • • L L L • • • •
RWQCB, BayCAN,
Norcal Resilience
Network, WOEIP
T ask 2.2: Fund the participation and leadership
of CBOs and frontline communities in
adaptation planning.
• • • • • • L • • • • L L • • •
BARC, Norcal
Resilience Network,
WOEIP
T ask 3.1: T ell local and regional stories about
people and places adapting to climate
change.
• • • • • L • • • • L • • • • L
BARC, Exploratorium
Media*
T ask 3.2: Weave climate literacy into school
programs. • • • • • • • • • TBD
T ask 4.1: Align research and monitoring with
information gaps. • • L • • • • • • • • • • L L • • • • • • • • • RWQCB, BayCAN, SFEI T ask 4.2: Make scientific data, information, and
guidance easier to access and use. L • • L • • • • • • • • • • • L L • • • • • • BCDC, MTC/ABAG, BayCAN, SFEI
T ask 4.3: Increase access to technical consultants
for local adaptation partners. L L • • • • • • • • • • MTC/ABAG, SFEP T ask 5.1: Provide incentives for robust,
coordinated adaptation plans. • • • • • • • • • • • • TBD T ask 5.2: Align state-mandated planning
processes around adaptation. • • • • • • • • TBD
T ask 6.1: Expand understanding of the financial
costs and revenues associated with
regional adaptation.
L • • L • • • • • BCDC, MTC/ABAG
T ask 6.2: Establish a framework for funding plans
and projects. L L • • • • • • • • • • • BCDC, MTC/ABAG T ask 6.3: Help cities and counties expand ways to
fund adaptation planning and projects. • L • • • • • • • • • MTC/ABAG T ask 7 .1: Accelerate permitting for equitable,
multi-benefit projects L L L • • • • • • • • • • • BCDC, RWQCB, SFEP T ask 7 .2: Assess environmental regulations and
policies that slow progress on projects. L L L • • • • • • • • • • BCDC, RWQCB, SFEP T ask 8.1: Incentivize projects that meet regional
guidelines. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • TBD
T ask 8.2: Encourage collaboration among people
doing projecs in the same places. • • • • • • • • L • • • • • • • • L • • • • SCC, SFEI T ask 8.3: Facilitate faster construction of nature-
based projects. • • • L • • • • • • • • • • • • • SFEP T ask 9.1: Measure regional progress using metrics
and share results. L • • L • • • L • • • • • BCDC, SFEP , SFEI T ask 9.2: Monitor and learn from pilot projects. • • L • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • RWQCB
PEOPLEINFORMATIONPLANSPROJECTSPROGRESS
GOVERNMENT NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Bay Adapt
Implementation Chart
Draft as of October 2021
L Lead
Key
•• Participate
• Advise
Acronyms
BCDC
Bay Conservation and
Development Commission
RWQCB
Regional Water Quality Control
Board
MTC/ABAG
Metropolitan Transportation
Commission Association of
Bay Area Governments
SFEP
San Francisco Estuary
Partnership
SCC
State Coastal Conservancy
BARC
Bay Area Regional
Collaborative
Caltrans
California Department of
Transportation
DSC
Delta Stewardship Council
NOAA
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Association
USACE
US Army Corp of Engineers
Local Jurisdictions
City and County Government
BayCAN
Bay Area Climate Action
Networkl
SFEI
San Francisco Estuary Institute
CHARG
Coastal Hazards Adaptation
Resilience Group
Norcal RN
NorCal Resilience Network
WOEIP
West Oakland Environmental
Indicators Project
CBOs
Community Based
Organizations
EJ Advo
Environmental Justice
Advocacy Organizations
Enviro Orgs
Environmental Organizations
Business
Businesses, Associations, and
Civic Advocacy
Pri Phil
Private Philanthopy
Academia
Universities or research
*May include
KneeDeepTimes,
KQED, and Joint
Venture/SFEP
Bay Area Regional
Communications T eam
41 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Bay Adapt process and Bay Adapt process and
Leadership Advisory Leadership Advisory
Group (LAG)Group (LAG)
Bay Adapt was convened by the S an F rancisco Ba y C onservation and D evelopment C ommission (BCDC) in partnership with a broad range o f Ba y A rea leader s t hat c omprise t he L eadership Advisory Group (LAG). The L AG c onsists o f leader s f rom public ag encies, in terest gr oups, community-based organizations, and academia and provides strategic dir ection, f eedback, and leadership in implementing the J oint P latform ac tions.
The s trategies in t his do cument w ere de veloped b y BC DC s taff w ith near ly 1 00 s takeholders w ho participated in hundreds of hour s o f w orking gr oup me etings. T he s trategies w ere al so inf ormed by one P ublic F orum, t en C ommunity and St akeholder F ocus G roups, an E nvironmental J ustice (E J) Caucus which was convened regularly throughout the pr ocess, and m any pr esentations t o ot her region-wide e xisting gr oups c onsisting o f lo cal g overnment s taff and e lected o fficials.
For a summary of f eedback f rom t he P ublic F orum, C ommunity and St akeholder F ocus G roups, and a list of ou treach pr esentations, v isit t he Ba y Ad apt w ebsite a t www.bayadapt.org.
Leadership Advisory Group Members
Ana Alvarez, Deputy General Manager, East Bay
Regional Parks (EBRP)
T essa Beach, Ph.D, Chief, Environmental Section, U.S.
Army Corps of E ngineers, S an F rancisco D istrict
David Behar, Climate P rogram D irector, S an F rancisco Public Ut ilities C ommission (S FPUC)/ Ba y A rea C limate Adaptation Network (BayCAN)
John Bourgeois, Representative, Coastal Hazards
Adaptation Resiliency Group (CHARG)
Allison Brooks, Executive D irector, Ba y A rea R egional Collaborative (B ARC)
Amanda Brown-Stevens, Executive D irector, G reenbelt
Alliance
Paul Campos, Sr. Vice P resident, B uilding I ndustry
Association
Warner Chabot
, Executive D irector, S an F rancisco
Estuary Institute (S FEI) ( alt. J eremy L owe)
John Coleman, CEO, Bay Planning Coalition (alt. Emily
Loper)
Dina El-Tawansy, District 4 D irector, C altrans
Tian Feng, District Architect, San Francisco Bay Area
Rapid Transit District (BART)
Julio Garcia, Environmental Justice C aucus M ember
Ms. Margaret Gordon, Co-Director, West Oakland
Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP)
T erri Green, Director, Shore U p M arin C ity
Amy Hutzel, Deputy Executive O fficer, St ate C oastal
Conservancy/SF Bay Restoration Authority
Alicia John-Baptiste, Executive D irector, S PUR ( alt.
Laura Feinstein)
Melissa Jones, Executive D irector, Ba y A rea R egional Health Inequities Initiative (B ARHII) ( alt. M att V ander Sluis)
David Lewis
, Executive D irector, S ave t he Ba y ( alt.
Cheryl Brown)
Mark Lubell, Ph.D, Professor, University of C alifornia, Davis
42 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Working Group Members:
Ana Alvarez, EBRPD
Phoenix Armenta, WOEIP (Chair)
Julie Beagle, USACE
David Behar, BayCAN
Claire Bonham-Carter, AECOM
Allison Brooks, BARC
Cheryl Brown, Save the Bay
Paul Campos, Building Industry Association
Warner Chabot, SFEI
Chris Choo, Marin County
John Coleman, Bay Planning Coalition (Chair)
Heather Cooley, Pacific Institute
Adrian Covert, Bay Area Council
Jessica Davenport, State Coastal Conservancy
Paul Detjens, Contra Costa County
Hannah Doress, San Mateo County
Arthur Feinstein, Sierra Club
Laura Feinstein, SPUR
Xavier Fernandez, RWQCB
Andrea Gaffney, BCDC
Stefan Galvez-Abadia, Caltrans
Julio Garcia, Environmental Justice Caucus Member
Michael Germeraad, MTC/ABAG
Vincent Gin, Valley Water
Juliana Gonzales, The Watershed Project
T errie Green, Shore Up Marin
Marcus Griswold, San Mateo County
Dave Halsing, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project
Sami Harper, RWQCB
Katie Hart, RWQCB
Rachael Hartofelis, MTC/ABAG
Kristina Hill, UC Berkeley
Brian Holt, EBRPD
Stefanie Hom, MTC/ABAG
Lee Huo, San Francisco Bay Trail
Melissa Jones, BARHII
Nuin-T ara Key, Office of Planning and Research
Leslie Lacko, Marin County
Roger Leventhal, Marin County
Jack Liebster, Marin County (Chair)
Emily Loper, Bay Planning Coalition
Corina Lopez, City of San Leandro (elected)
Lindy Lowe, Port of San Francisco (former)
Jeremy Lowe, SFEI
Therese McMillan, Executive Director, MTC/ABAG (alt.
Brad Paul)
Mike Mielke, Sr. Vice President, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Michael Montgomery, Executive Officer, San Francisco
Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) (alt. Lisa Horowitz McCann)
Barry Nelson, Commissioner (Alternate), Bay
Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC)
Sheridan Noelani Enomoto, Resilience Hubs
Coordinator, NorCal Resilience Network
Dave Pine, San Mateo County Supervisor/Chair, San
Francisco Bay Restoration Authority
Erika Powell, Senior Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Bruce Riordan, Director, BayCAN
Caitlin Sweeney, Executive Director, San Francisco
Estuary Partnership (SFEP)
Laura Tam, Program Officer, Resources Legacy Fund
Will Travis, Independent Consultant
Zack Wasserman, Chair, Bay Conservation and
Development Commission (BCDC)
Jim Wunderman, President, Bay Area Council (alt. Adrian Covert)
43 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM Mark Lubell, UC Davis
Pat Mapelli, Granite Rock
Moira McEnepsy, State Coastal Conservancy
Paul Medved, BART
Mike Mielke, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Lil Milagro Henriquez, Mycelium Youth Network
Kris May, Silvestrum
Rafael Montes, BCDC
Hoi-Fei Mok, City of San Leandro
Stephanie Moulton-Peters, Marin County (elected)
Heidi Nutters, SFEP
Gail Payne, City of Alameda
Erik Pearson, City of Hayward
Dave Pine, San Mateo County (elected)
Jim Ponton, RWQCB
Erika Powell, CHARG (Chair)
Bruce Riordan, BayCAN
Harriet Ross, Delta Stewardship Council
Ana Ruiz, Mid Pen Open Space District
Sarah van der Schalie, NOAA
Magdalena Sta Maria, Santa Clara County
Sandra Scoggin, SF Bay Joint Venture
Jasneet Sharma, Santa Clara County
Stuart Siegel, SF NERR
Zoe Siegel, Greenbelt Alliance
Becky Smyth, NOAA
Robert Spencer, Urban Economics
Mark Stacey, UC Berkeley
Caitlin Sweeney, SFEP (Chair)
Laura T am, Resources Legacy Fund
Will Travis, Independent Consultant
Stu T ownsley, US Army Corps
Luisa Valiela, EPA Region 9
Matt Vander Sluis, BARHII
Edgar Westerhof, Arcadis
Angie Xiong, Ascent Environmental
Jacqueline Zipkin, East Bay Dischargers Authority
BCDC Staff
Larry Goldzband, Executive Director
Steve Goldbeck, Deputy Director
Jessica Fain, Planning Director
Erik Buehmann, Planning Program Manager
Dana Brechwald, ART Program Manager
Rachel Cohen, Planning Secretary
Andrea Gaffney, Senior Landscape Architect
Nahal Ghoghaie, Environmental Justice Manager
T odd Hallenbeck, GIS Specialist
Daniel Hossfeld, Environmental Scientist
Viktoria Kuehn, Environmental Scientist
Nicholas Sander, Environmental Scientist
Jaclyn Mandoske, Environmental Scientist
Rafael Montes, Senior Engineer
Sam Cohen (former BCDC)
Shannon Fiala (former BCDC)
Karen T anner (former BCDC)
Report Design
Jaclyn Mandoske, Environmental Scientist
44 BAY ADAPT | Regional Strategy for A Rising Bay JOINT PLATFORM AcronymsAcronyms
Acronym Description
ABAG Association of Bay Area Governments
BARC Bay Area Regional Collaborative
BARHII Bay Area Health Inequities Initiative
BART Bay Area Rapid Transit
BayCAN Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network
BCDC SF Bay Conservation and Development Commission
BRRIT Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration T eam
CHARG San Francisco Bay Regional Coastal Hazards Adaptation Resiliency Group EBRPD East Bay Regional Parks District
MTC Metropolitan Transportation Commission
NERR National Estuarine Research Reserve
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RWQCB Regional Water Quality Control Board
SCC State Coastal Conservancy
SFEI San Francisco Estuary Institute
SFEP San Francisco Estuary Partnership
SFBRA San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority
SFPUC San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
WOIEP West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project