Adaptation to sea level rise (SLR) typically begins with a vulnerability assessment, progresses to policy development, and finally moves into implementation. While many communities in the United States and around the world have begun or completed vulnerability analysis, far fewer have developed SLR policies and even fewer have reached the stage of implementing SLR policies.
Here, Florida Sea Grant provides resources and links for examples of SLR policy development and implementation in Florida.
Sea level rise and Satellite Beach, Florida
While SLR is global, impacts are local and adaptation to SLR is an inherently local process. Different communities have different impacts, different resources, different perspectives, and differing values structures. These and other factors contribute to how a community looks at the future and envisions the community’s adaptation. While many communities currently focus primarily or exclusively on protective strategies involving massive–and expensive–gray infrastructure and more nature-based green infrastructure, some small- and medium-sized communities understand that financial limitations will prevent them from relying exclusively on costly infrastructure when confronted with rising seas. These communities understand that they need creativity and foresight to address the impacts they can, maximize the quality of life for their residents for the longest time possible, and plan for the most graceful exit possible from areas that are not physically or fiscally viable to maintain. Satellite Beach, Florida represents one of the leading small (pop. ~10,000) towns in Florida thinking carefully about its long-term future on a barrier island. Florida Sea Grant worked with Stetson University and with Erin L. Deady, P.A to develop an updated vulnerability assessment for Satellite Beach and policy recommendations based on the results. Satellite Beach adopted the drafted comprehensive plan policy recommendations. The policy recommendations appear here, and you can view ordinances the City has passed relevant to sea level rise at these links: Ord. No. 1113; Ord. No. 1194; Ord. No. 1159; Res. No. 1000; Ord. No. 1160.
Seawalls and Flooding in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The City of Fort Lauderdale, facing high-tide flooding in many areas, wanted to address areas that flooded at high tide due to one or just a few sub-standard seawalls that allowed water into an area. The case study, starting on page 4 of the Seawall Flooding and Fort Lauderdale Florida Bar’s Environmental & Land Use Law Section’s June 2017 Reporter, examines the innovative approach taken by Fort Lauderdale of citing the owners–public and private–of properties that allow sea water to flow off of them and flood other properties. More information and links to Fort Lauderdale’s ordinance appear at the Seawall Maintenance page of the City and you can also read FAQs about the program.
Pinellas County: Incorporating Sea Level Rise into Capital Improvements Programs
As a peninsular county in the larger peninsula of Florida, Pinellas County understands the risks that sea level rise poses to current and future infrastructure. Pinellas County has become a leader through several years of work to create a careful methodology for integrating consideration of sea level rise into planning for large capital projects. As of February 2019, Pinellas County used the custom, multi-sheet spreadsheet “Guidance for Incorporating Sea Level Rise into Capital Planning in Pinellas County” combined with the county’s manual “Guidance for Incorporating Sea Level Rise into Capital Improvement Programs” to assist the county in assuring that large capital outlays appropriately consider sea level rise over the future of the project. In addition, Pinellas County also demonstrated itself as a leader by establishing that new stormwater systems must be designed using a tailwater elevation of at least 3’ above NAVD88 for regular infrastructure or 4’ above for critical infrastructure. You can see this policy on pages 20-21 of Pinellas’ Stormwater Manual.
Sea level rise language in comprehensive plans in Florida
In 2015 Florida passed a law that for the first time requires that sea level rise be part of the comprehensive plan. The bill modified Florida Statute section 163.3178(2)(f). This section has long required that coastal management elements of comprehensive plans include a “redevelopment component which outlines the principles which shall be used to eliminate inappropriate and unsafe development in the coastal areas when opportunities arise. The 2015 change now requires that this also ”include development and redevelopment principles, strategies, and engineering solutions that reduce the flood risk in coastal areas which results from high-tide events, storm surge, flash floods, stormwater runoff, and the related impacts of sea level rise.” (emphasis added)
As Florida local governments begin to address this in updates to their comprehensive plans, Florida Sea Grant presents a resource of existing local government language related to sea level rise in comprehensive plans. The draft work, available here, was funded in part by a grant from the Houston Endowment for inclusion in a larger report by the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi on sea level rise.
Relocation Case Study
Relocation inland and away from coastal storms often comes forward as a suggestion for adapting to sea level rise. How realistic is it to think that relocation will take place in Florida? We present here a short cases study that examines a part of Longboat Key on Florida’s west coast, just south of Tampa Bay. The case study demonstrates how relocation formed part of how property owners on Longboat Key used to address coastal erosion and some of the changes that altered this pattern. The short 2 and a 1/2-page case study is available here: Longboat Key Case Study.
