THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE DIVISION (EPCRD) RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the County Commission’s Value: Encouraging investments in renewable energy, sustainable practices and environmental protection; and Goals to: 1) Seek funding for, implement policies and pursue projects promoting, the use of alternative energy, resource conservation, sustainable practices and environmental protection; 2) Proactively lead in the planning, design, and construction of projects to support community resilience and climate adaptation, including coordination with other entities to foster resilient design as part of all local and regional projects.
Currently,Broward County Land Use Plan (BCLUP) Policy 2.21.1 requires proposed land use amendments be reviewed with consideration for areas at increased risk of flooding due to sea level rise and strongly discourages amendments which would place additional development at risk of flooding with sea level rise. Policy 2.21.1 also provides that the County shall consider sea level rise/flood protection mitigation strategies and requirements included within local comprehensive plans and/or development regulations, as well as flood protection improvements committed to by amendment applicants, which would mitigate or enhance flood protection and adaptation from rising sea levels.
While this policy provides a vital foundation for evaluating climate resilience as part of land use planning, there remains an absence of regional guidance and regulations establishing elevations necessary for coastal flood barriers to provide resilience under conditions of future sea level rise. This is problematic as sea level rise is already increasing the frequency, depth, and spatial extent of tidal flooding across Broward communities.
This flooding has prompted both public and private investment in seawall improvements that are unable to deliver necessary flood protection benefits as adjacent and nearby seawall and top-of-bank elevations continue to allow the trespass of water. In the absence of regulatory requirements and a timeline for uniformly implementing minimum elevations, we can expect a continuation of these flood disruptions and community impacts. More importantly, absent adequate direction, public and private investments in these coastal flood protection measures will likely require premature reinvestment at a significant expense to the property owner and the community at large.
The proposed amendment would amend the BCLUP to include a standard minimum seawall and top-of-bank elevation for new construction and seawall improvements to address observed tidal flooding. Furthermore, the amendment would require local governments to adopt a local ordinance implementing this regional standard, within a suggested 2 year timeframe. The proposed regional standard will be informed by the technical work undertaken with the support and expertise of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as part of the joint Broward County/USACE Flood Risk Management Study for Tidally Influenced Costal Areas authorized under the Planning Assistance for States Program.
Based on the results of this recently completed hydrodynamic study and risk assessment, and associated USACE recommendations, the recommendation is for a uniform standard of five feet NAVD (North American Vertical Datum) by 2050, but allowing for four feet NAVD up to the year 2035. The standard of five feet NAVD will provide a coastal barrier to high tide flooding under conditions of two feet of sea level rise (predicted by 2060), and in the interim will deliver both high tide and additional storm surge flood protection under conditions of lesser sea level rise. This phased approach to implementation will allow coastal improvements to be constructed to four feet NAVD up to the year 2035 so long as the underlying structure can be upgraded to the five feet NAVD standard in accordance with the 2050 timeline. It supports a process of adaptive improvements and incremental investment while establishing a consistent standard that will deliver uniformity in flood protection at targeted time intervals. In addition to application to new construction projects and seawall improvements, or permitting of fixed infrastructure, conditions will also be proposed to establish a process for compliance when a property is identified as the site of trespass of high tide flood waters onto adjacent properties. The amendment will also apply to the design of resilient living shoreline projects, which might include banks and berms, as resiliency improvements for currently unarmored shorelines.
If this proposed amendment is initiated, the Environmental Planning and Community Resilience Division (EPCRD) will prepare the draft amendment to the County’s land use plan. The EPCRD will provide outreach through municipal workshops and roundtable discussions with industry stakeholders, similar to the process undertaken with update of the County’s wet season groundwater table map to account for sea level rise (implemented in July 2017). It is anticipated that stakeholder outreach will occur through early spring 2019, allowing for feedback and refinement of proposed amendments through early summer 2019. At that time, it may be forwarded to the Broward County Planning Council for preparation, analysis, and recommendation. |