September 12, 2023
City Council
DATE: September 12, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Councilmember Bana
Subject:
Sea Level Rise and Shoreline Development
FINANCIAL IMPACT: N/A
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
The City Council previously a dopted the Climate Action plan and continues to bring awareness to and preparer for sea level rise.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Jessica Fain, Planning Director at the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC),
will provide an update on regional sea level rise
adaptation efforts, the risks we face, and regional efforts underway to address them.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECEIVE a presentation from Jessica Fain, Director of
Planning, San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission, on sea level rise preparation,
shoreline development, and BCDC regulations -
Councilmember Bana (510-620-6743)
DISCUSSION:
The Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s (BCDC) Bay Adapt initiative is a regional strategy to adapt a faster, better, and more equitable plan to a rising San AGENDA
REPORT
September 12, 2023
Francisco Bay. This presentation will highlight one of its first outcomes, a soon-to-be- released Sea Level Rise Funding and Investment Framework. This joint study between the BCDC, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Government (ABAG) provides the most detailed accounting to date on the costs the region faces to adapt to sea level rise.
BCDC’s mission is to protect and enhance the San Francisco Bay for future generations. The bay was much larger in 1849, but over time the bay has gotten smaller due to the filling of wetlands and shallow areas to create land for development and agriculture. The founders of BCDC fought against the pollution of the bay and formed Save the Bay. Save the Bay advocated for the MacAteer Petris Act, which made BCDC the nation’s first coastal management agency. BCDC permits a wide range of projects in and around the Bay that minimizes fill and maximizes public access. Over the past 10 years, BCDC focus changed from managing a shrinking bay, to now an increasing bay, due to sea level rise. BCDC has partnered with local jurisdictions to conduct vulnerability assessments in Contra Costa County through their adapting to Rising Tides program. BCDC has created tools and have conducted research to help our region respond to the risk of climate change and sea level rise.
Sea level rise is a California-wide coastal issue. Unfortunately, 2/3 of California’s sea level rise will impact the bay area. Over the past century, we have seen an increase of 8 inches in sea level rise in the bay area. By 2050, we expect to see an increase of 12 inches. Sea levels rising will affect our communities: areas that are temporarily flooding will be permanently underwater in the future and there will be erosion to shoreline edges, beaches, and wetlands. In the next 40 to 100 years, existing housing units will be unlivable and we will have less places to plan for housing units. The rise in sea level will also affect daily car commuters and rail commuters. The rise in sea level will not only affect people living next to the shoreline, but everyone in the bay area.
There are areas in the City of Richmond that could be permanently inundated by 2100.
The expected 12-inch increase of sea level by 2050 and combination of a 100-year storm surge can make this happen. We will see impacts to both utility sites and contaminated sites such as the West County Wastewater District Pollution Control Plant and Chevron Richmond Refinery.
The estimated cost for adaption needs and cost of inaction is $110 billion and $230 billion. Contra Costa County adaptation cost is expected to be $13 billion.
It is vital for the City of Richmond to work alongside other jurisdictions in the bay area to actively prepare and find solutions to the sea level rise in the bay. We are committed to preserving ecosystems and will continue to work with scientists and organizations who are actively trying to prepare for the ramifications of climate change.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
September 12, 2023
Attachment 1 – Powerpoint