Musings From the Front Lines August 2024

The Contra Costa County Sustainability Commission meeting opened with roll call and immediately launched into the first agenda item.  The County received a $1.5 Million grant through SB 272 (Laird, 2023) to complete a Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan. The Plan requirements include:
 
• Use of the best available science
• A vulnerability assessment that includes efforts to ensure equity for at-risk communities
• Sea level rise (SLR) adaptation strategies and recommended projects
• Identification of lead planning and implementation agencies
• A timeline for updates, as needed
• Local governments with Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC)-approved SLR plans will be prioritized for implementation funding
 
And note that If the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill contains costs mandated by the state, local agencies will be reimbursed for those costs

On June 4, 2024:The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC)  (https://opc.ca.gov/)
approved funding for the  Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan.  Our award was 1 of 7 projects awarded through the Senate Bill (SB). The plan includes:
Phase 1 – Community Visioning = engagement, workshop and feedback
 
Phase 2 – Data/Information Gathering = vulnerability assessment update
 
Phase 3 – SF Bay Shoreline Adaptation Plans = adaptation pathways and potential projects (funding strategies and metrics)
 
Several overarching concerns include a lengthy timeline and set of milestones out to the year 2034 and the financing of the project plans.  In response to the a question related to early actions related to communities under threat, the county representative had no real answer and responded that the town of Baypoint planners were using an operational land-based approach but no real provisions for immediate concerns have been made, which is very problematic. That will need work…

For more info  on the plan see:

https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/9981/Contra-Costa-Resilient-Shoreline-Plan