Title
Adoption of Resolution to Endorse the Bay Adapt Joint Platform, a Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay (City Manager 10021032)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
By endorsing Bay Adapt, the City of Alameda (City) would join many neighbors across the region in endorsing a consensus-driven strategy to protect people and the built and natural environments from a rising Bay.
BACKGROUND
Coastal adaptation to rising sea level is a state priority to avoid devastating impacts to people, the economy, and natural habitats. Despite having only one-third of the state's coastline, two-thirds of California's economic losses due to rising sea level are forecast to occur in the nine-county Bay Area, absent adaptation actions. The San Francisco Bay is a state-protected resource that is the largest estuary on the West Coast of North and South America, a key part of the Pacific Flyway for migrating waterfowl, and a critical economic driver of the State's economy.
Alameda is at the forefront of sea level rise planning. The City's Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) identifies 12 priority flooding locations where assets or areas are exposed to flooding risk soonest and with greatest consequence. Locations with significant flooding at a total water level of 24 or 36 inches (above today's high tide) were identified as at risk of sea level rise flooding "soon." Since the CARP adoption in 2019, Alameda has developed a deeper understanding of the implications of sea level rise for our island community, global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase at alarming rates, and the federal government has not provided the financial and technical support that we need to meet our greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation goals. Furthermore, the City conducted a study in 2020 on emergent groundwater issues that showed sea level rise as elevating the water table, which is expected to cause more flooding, liquefaction and soil contamin...
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