Tell BCDC Commissioners to protect community and ecological health in the RSAP guidelines

With potential for over 6 feet of sea level rise by 2100, rising waters put our shoreline communities and the Bay’s vibrant but fragile ecology at risk. Adaptation will require a dramatic re-envisioning of the region’s relationship to the Bay.

Under a new state law, SB272, every shoreline jurisdiction in the Bay Area must develop a sea level rise adaptation plan and get approval from BCDC. BCDC has until the end of 2024 to adopt Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) guidelines that will set minimum standards and criteria for approval of those plans. The RSAP represents an unprecedented opportunity for a coordinated regional approach to sea level rise that both saves the ecological health of the Bay and protects our most vulnerable communities.

Our baylands support the Bay Area’s globally important biodiversity. We depend on these living habitats to protect our communities by cleaning our air & water, storing carbon, moderating temperatures, and mitigating flood and storm surge impacts.

Now squeezed between shoreline development and a rapidly rising sea, our baylands are under extreme threat. Our tidal marshes, for example, can drown just like our communities. Fortunately, the Bay’s ecosystems can adapt – if given the proper space and resources to allow for them to trap sediment and grow higher as the waters rise or to migrate upland.

The Sierra Club, along with a growing consensus of scientists and policy makers, supports prioritizing nature-based adaptation strategies and environmental justice for the Bay Area as we adapt to the challenges of sea level rise. We need all hands on deck to make sure the RSAP will do the following.

Protect and restore healthy, living Bay habitats, not only to protect the aesthetic beauty and incredible biodiversity of the Bay, but also to maximize the baylands’ natural resiliency tools and preserve their inherent utility in the fight against climate change.
Level the playing field through collective regional action and by empowering community voice in adaptation planning and outcomes.
Create a flexible and incremental, phased approach that supports transition from one strategy to another as sea level continues to rise.

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Public Comment - RSAP

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Dear Bay Conservation and Development Commissioners,

Sea level rise poses an undeniable threat to the Bay Area. The Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) presents a crucial opportunity for coordinated regional action to bolster the resilience of our community and ecological assets against climate change.

San Francisco Bay’s shoreline habitats are invaluable public assets. Beyond mitigating flood and storm surges, these ecosystems sequester carbon, filter pollution, and moderate temperatures - services that are vital for our region’s health, safety, and ecological balance. As climate change worsens, they will become even more indispensable as our first, and arguably most cost-effective, defense against sea level rise.

As you finalize the RSAP, I urge you to champion the following strategies.

1. Make the most of nature’s resiliency tools. Prioritize restoration efforts and preservation of critical lands for habitat migration, aligned with the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture’s habitat goals. Deploy nature-based strategies wherever feasible to maintain biodiversity and leverage natural resilience, providing sustainable and cost-effective solutions that naturally adapt with changing conditions over time.

2. Level the playing field. Address the disproportionate impacts of sea level rise on disadvantaged and under-resourced communities. Advance environmental justice by ensuring robust community representation in decision making and prioritizing the identification, cleanup and maintenance of toxic sites vulnerable to sea and groundwater rise. Foster region-wide collaboration to empower vulnerable communities and promote equitable outcomes.

3. Create phased, adaptive resiliency pathways. Require sub-regional RSAP plans to adopt phased approaches to sea level rise adaptation. These pathways should facilitate smooth transitions between strategies as conditions evolve, employing nature-based measures first, wherever feasible.

A successful RSAP must safeguard both community wellbeing and the ecological health of Bay. By integrating the above strategies into the RSAP, we can ensure a resilient future for all.

Dear Bay Conservation and Development Commissioners, Sea level rise poses an undeniable threat to the Bay Area. The Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) presents a crucial opportunity for coordinated regional action to bolster the resilience of our community and ecological assets against climate change. San Francisco Bay’s shoreline habitats are invaluable public assets. Beyond mitigating flood and storm surges, these ecosystems sequester carbon, filter pollution, and moderate temperatures - services that are vital for our region’s health, safety, and ecological balance. As climate change worsens, they will become even more indispensable as our first, and arguably most cost-effective, defense against sea level rise. As you finalize the RSAP, I urge you to champion the following strategies. 1. Make the most of nature’s resiliency tools. Prioritize restoration efforts and preservation of critical lands for habitat migration, aligned with the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture’s habitat goals. Deploy nature-based strategies wherever feasible to maintain biodiversity and leverage natural resilience, providing sustainable and cost-effective solutions that naturally adapt with changing conditions over time. 2. Level the playing field. Address the disproportionate impacts of sea level rise on disadvantaged and under-resourced communities. Advance environmental justice by ensuring robust community representation in decision making and prioritizing the identification, cleanup and maintenance of toxic sites vulnerable to sea and groundwater rise. Foster region-wide collaboration to empower vulnerable communities and promote equitable outcomes. 3. Create phased, adaptive resiliency pathways. Require sub-regional RSAP plans to adopt phased approaches to sea level rise adaptation. These pathways should facilitate smooth transitions between strategies as conditions evolve, employing nature-based measures first, wherever feasible. A successful RSAP must safeguard both community wellbeing and the ecological health of Bay. By integrating the above strategies into the RSAP, we can ensure a resilient future for all.

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