RESILIENT 415 578 2392
[email protected]
828 Mission Avenue
SHORE San Rafael, CA 94901
Comments for City Council Meeting
Agenda Consent Item F: Work Program for OPR Grant for Resiliency Good evening, Mayor Colin, and Council Members, I'm Jeff Rhoads Executive Director of San Rafael based Resilient Shore. My collogues and I have worked on this issue for 11 years.
Kudos to the city's resiliency team for securing grants totaling 1.4 million dollars for shore planning.
Unfortunately, risk reduction alone doesn't motivate. Folks aren't concerned about flooding until their feet get wet.
People care about reducing flood insurance premiums, increasing property values, and improving quality of life with things like parks, trails and better access to the shore and nature.
Preventing gentrification from displacing Canal Residents is necessary. Let's not let this lead to inaction.
A major portion of the grants is committed to community engagement and building capacity in the Canal Neighborhood. This certainly feels right and addresses social equity objectives.
Not so good is the lack of resources to engage all the other stakeholders who must be part of a successful stakeholder driven plan, The people who will pay for projects. We need to face this together as a whole community.
Before we start planning, we must know what success looks like and begin with the end in mind.
This isn't about simply conforming with grant criteria. It's about using grant recourses to get where we need to go.
We need:
• A clear definition of success.
• A shared vision driven by a desire to improve our physical environment, reduce flood risk and implement sustainable adaptation measures.
• A stakeholder driven planning process like the Learning Action Alliance model used in the UK and EU.
• A work program that results in actionable projects with strong stakeholder advocacy to get them built.
A work program that includes CEOA and NEPA programmatic environmental clearance that demonstrates coordination of individual projects and allows them to proceed independently.
Together we can do this.
- ResilientShore.or
4 Non-Profit Proje
• A disaster recovery plan to help Canal Neighborhood and other residents and businesses recover.
We need a stakeholder driven Shore and Watershed Plan and an East San Rafael Area Plan that motivate action and lead to completed projects. This is planning where everyone is brought along simultaneously and participates all the way from initial visioning to completed projects.
Thank you.