DATE:
January 25, 2022
CATEGORY:
Consent
DEPT.:
Public Works
TITLE: Resolution Supporting Bay Adapt:
Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay
Joint Platform
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Mountain View to Support the Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform, to be read in title only, further reading waived (Attachment 1 to the Council report).
BACKGROUND
The City of Mountain View has been confronting coastal flood risks for the City shoreline along San Francisco Bay. Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate and will continue to rise for the foreseeable future, impacting businesses, residents, and Shoreline at Mountain View in the City’s North Bayshore Area and beyond. The projected rising sea level prompted the City to develop a sea level rise Capital Improvement Program (SLR CIP) in 2012, which was updated and presented to Council o n June 22, 2021. While the City continues to plan and implement the SLR CIP projects in Mountain View, sea level rise and increasing coastal flood risk constitute a regional problem. For this reason, the City is also actively engaged on regional projects, such as the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration project.
Sea level rise adaptation requires regional col laboration to plan and implement in a consistent and coordinated approach. There are multiple local, regional, State, and Federal government agencies with authority over San Francisco Bay and its shoreline .
While local governments, such as the City of Mountain View, have broad authority over shoreline land use, most local governments have limited resources to address climate change adaptation on a regional basis. In addition, local government actions, absent a regional context in which to make policy decisions, can lead to potential planning and project implementations that are in conflict with regional interests and common goals.
In 2019, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Co mmission (BCDC), in collaboration with a Leadership Advisory Group comprised of 35 Bay Area public,
Resolution Supporting Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform January 25, 2022
private, and nonprofit leaders, embarked on the development of Bay Adapt, a consensus- driven strategy for regional sea level rise adaptation. The principles, actions, goals, and tasks for regional sea level rise adaptation are documented in the “Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform” (Bay Adapt Joint Platform), which is provided in Attachment 2. BCDC adopted the Bay Adapt Joint Platform on October 21, 2021.
BCDC is seeking local and regional governments and organizations to support the Bay Adapt Joint Platform and its implementation. At its December 1, 2021 meeting, the City’s Council Sustainability Committee expressed an interest in staff assessing the Bay Adapt Joint Platform and bringing a resolution to Council if appropriate.
In December 2021, BCDC released a separate paper entitled “Bridging the Gap: Funding Sea Level Rise Adaptation in the Bay Area.” The report provides an initial exploration of the Bay Area and the forecasted estimated damages without sea level rise adaptation as well as funding needs for the region to adapt to sea level rise. It further emphasizes the need for a regional approach for greater opportunities to secure and distribute adaptation funding. The paper is provided as a reference in Attachment 3.
ANALYSIS
The Bay Adapt Joint Platform lays out a set of guiding principles, priority actions, and vital tasks that will enable the region, and most notably local governments, to adapt faster, better, and more equitably to a rising San Francisco Bay. If fulfilled, it will have the following benefits:
• Reduce flood risks for communities, businesses, infrastructure, and habitat;
• Increase technical assistance for local governments and funding for adaptation;
• Protect natural areas and wildlife;
• Recognize and equitably support low-income, frontline communities;
• Robustly integrate adaptation into community-focused local plans; and
• Accelerate permitting and project construction of local adaptation projects.
Implementing the Bay Adapt Joint Platform’s recommended actions and tasks goes beyond the capacity of any single organization or jurisdictio n. It requires strong and broad leadership and participation at both the local and regional levels, where the coalition of stakeholders shares responsibility for the success of the tasks outlined in the Resolution Supporting Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform January 25, 2022
Joint Platform. The Bay Adapt Join t Platform identified the following tasks for which local governments, such as the City of Mountain, can lead, participate, and advise.
Task for local government to lead:
TASK 1.1: Create a long-term regional vision rooted in communities, bay habitats, and the economy.
Tasks for local government to participate:
TASK 1.2: Lay the foundation for a proactive regional legislative agenda.
TASK 2.1: Improve how communities and public agencies learn from each other and work together.
TASK 2.2:1 Fund the participation and leadership of community-based organizations (CBOs) and frontline communities in adaptation planning.
TASK 3.1: Tell local and regional stories about people and places adapting to climate change.
TASK 3.2: Weave climate adaptation literacy into school programs.
TASK 5.2: Align State-mandated planning processes around adaptation.
TASK 8.2: Encourage collaboration among people doing projects in the same places.
Tasks for local government to advise:
TASK 4.1: Align research and monitoring with information gaps.
TASK 4.2: Make scientific data, information, and guidance easier to access and use.
TASK 4.3: Increase access to technical consultants for local adaptation partners.
TASK 6.1: Expand understanding of the financial costs and revenues associated with regional adaptation.
TASK 6.2: Establish a framework for funding plans and projects.
1 Staff discussed this task with BCDC , who clarified that they do not expect the City to fund this task.
BCDC is currently further refining the details of tasks like these and others.
Resolution Supporting Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform January 25, 2022
TASK 6.3: Help cities and counties expand ways to fund adaptation planning and projects.
TASK 7.1: Accelerate permitting for equitable, multi-benefit projects.
TASK 7.2: Assess environmental regulations and policies that slow down progress on projects.
TASK 8.3: Facilitate faster construction of nature-based projects.
TASK 9.1: Measure regional progress using metrics and share results.
TASK 9.2: Monitor and learn from pilot projects.
The Bay Adapt Joint Platform is in alignment with the City’s long-standing commitment to sea level rise adaptation and collaboration across the region . Staff recommends Council adopt a resolution to support the Bay Adapt Joint Platform and champion and support the implementation of the Bay Adapt Joint Platform for sea level rise adaptation.
FISCAL IMPACT
There are no fiscal impacts to the City of Mountain View to support the Bay Adapt Joint Platform. Staff will continue to identify and seek funding opportunities to support implementation of the City’s SLR CIP and the tasks identified in the Bay Adapt Joint Platform.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Do not support the Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform.
2. Provide other direction.
Resolution Supporting Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform January 25, 2022
PUBLIC NOTICING—Agenda posting.
Prepared by:
Raymond Wong
Senior Project Manager
Lisa Au
Assistant Public Works Director
Approved by:
Dawn S. Cameron
Public Works Director
Audrey Seymour Ramberg
Assistant City Manager/
Chief Operating Officer
RW-LA/TS/4/CAM
931-01-25-22CR
201639
Attachments: 1. Resolution in Support of Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay Joint Platform
2. Bay Adapt Joint Platform (October 2021)
3. Bridging the Gap: Funding Sea Level Rise Adaptation in the Bay Area (December 2021)