Allocates grants for SLR and coastal adaptation projects and research. For example, a comprehensive scientific study of the SF Bay, The Baylands and Climate Change, suggests tidal marshes that are established by 2030 are more likely to flourish and provide wavebuffering benefits. None of us is in denial of climate change and that it is happening, said Prian, who is the broker/owner of RE/ MAX Pines by the Sea.
In order to sustain the regional groups on an ongoing basis, we recommend providing them with an annual appropriation. We recommend the Legislature direct CNRA to explore and implement options for a more coordinated and efficient regulatory review process for coastal adaptation projects, and to report back to the Legislature on suggestions for improvement. Monitors sovereign state lands the Legislature has delegated to local municipalities to manage in trust for the people of California. In general, project proponents must submit separate permit applications (and associated fees) to each of the applicable agencies, each of which then undertakes its own independent review on its own time line. 
(The state should not prohibit regional collaborative groups from widening the scope of their adaptation plans should they wish to do so, but should only provide funding for a targeted coastal focus.)
The degree of SLR that is predicted over the next century clearly will affect land use decisions and create additional challenges for local governmentsand the stateas they seek to expand housing options for Californians in coastal regions. While the amount needed for these followup activities will vary by project, a rough guideline might be about 10percent of the amount provided for construction. Putting certain adaptation projects and strategies in place now can help postpone and extend the period before which subsequent, more difficulttoimplement actions are needed. Because existing regulatory review policies were not developed to evaluate these new types of projects, they can face increased scrutiny, requirements, and delays compared to more traditional and familiar projects (such as adding piles of rocks to the shore to armor the coast ahead of a storm). . We have three recommendations for how the Legislature can foster adaptation efforts at the regional scale. For example, BCDC has developed the Adapting to Rising Tides Program which provides adaptation planning support, guidance, tools, and information to SF Bay Area agencies and organizations.
Since most LCPs were developed around 30 years agobefore the need to account for the potential effects of climate changesome coastal communities are beginning to work on updates to address SLR. Only members of NAR can call themselves a REALTOR. We heard this frustration expressed repeatedly in our interviews, with local government staff indicating they need to address adaptation planning activities in addition to their primary job responsibilities. She said scores of roads on the Maine coast will need to be raised. OPC has undertaken several initiatives, including a recently enacted contract to conduct a relatively smallscale public awareness campaign about the risks associated with SLR. We believe implementing our recommended steps would help build partnerships and capacity at the local level that will both extend adaptation activities to more coastal communities and assist those that are already engaged in planning efforts to transition into implementing policies and projects.
These groups can help build on some of the nascent collaborative efforts on climate adaptation that are already underway in some regions but help make them more consistent, sustainable, and available across all areas of the state. But they, too, plan to move, Carl said. Reviews and approves Local Coastal Programs (LCPs)plans that guide development in the coastal zone. Growing Effort, Growing Challenge: Findings from the 2016 CA Coastal Adaptation Needs Assessment Survey. Californias Fourth Climate Change Assessment. Figure5 summarizes the funding appropriated by the Legislature for coastal adaptation activities over the past five years (201415 through 201920), totaling $67million. The top end reflects the upper bound of a higher risk and more impactful scenario (with a projected 1in200 chance of occurring). As shown, under this scenarioand given existing shoreline protections and conditionsmany portions of the SF Bay shoreline would become inundated. Specifically, about 75percent rated information on the tradeoffs of adaptation as very useful, and a similar percentage said the same about information on the costs of adaptation (representing the top two responses to the question). Resources to foster and harness the grassroots strength of the REALTOR Party. We note, however, the coming decade is a key period for escalating the pace and scale of adaptation progress. Moreover, greater awareness could build encouragement forand pressure onlocal officials to take action. Some other funding has been provided through subgrants from other state departments. As shown, the first step for local governments typically is to conduct an assessment to ascertain how their residents, infrastructure, and services might be affected under different SLR scenarios. The states Safeguarding California Plan cites that for every foot of SLR, 50 to 100 feet of beach width could be lost. She said Bath has been keeping an eye on this issue for nearly a decade and worked with a Design and Resilience Team (DART) from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to help it deal with rising seas. Require development of standard methodology for economic analyses of SLR risks and responses. Some of the costs associated with our recommendations could be significant, such as if the state opts to play a large role in supporting and expanding implementation of coastal adaptation projects. However, the widespread impacts of SLR make coordinated regional planning fundamental to effective preparationand the lack of such efforts is therefore particularly concerning. Nevertheless, these findings highlight the important role that state resources have played in encouraging the coastal adaptation activities that have occurred to date. Implementing this recommendation would necessitate the state determining how to define which areasand encompassed propertiesshould be designated as vulnerable and require disclosures. To ensure local buyin and accountability that the groups work remains helpful and relevant to them, collaborative participants should also be expected to contribute to the groups costs and operations. Such steps were spurred by Governor Schwarzeneggers Executive Order S1308 (which in 2008 directed state agencies to begin planning for SLR and climate impacts), and several iterations of the Safeguarding California Plan (which was compiled by the California Natural Resources Agency [CNRA] and serves as the roadmap for steps that state agencies and departments should take to respond to the changing climate). Providing such a tool for local governments across the state to use would achieve three important goals. First, coastal communities face a pressing need to make progress on preparing for SLR before its impacts become more widespread, and this need will become increasingly urgent in the coming years as sea levels continue to rise. Taking Action Earlier May Make Overall Adaptation Efforts More Affordable. Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2018 Interim Report. National Institute of Building Sciences, Washington, D.C. Moser, S, J.A. This legislation creates a program to assist underresourced communities in developing the capacity to access grant funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. K Porter; Scawthorn, C.; Huyck, C.; Investigators: Eguchi, R., Hu, Z.; Reeder, A; Schneider, P. Multihazard Mitigation Council (2018). As with all its budgetary decisions, the Legislature will have to balance its multiple priorities. Benefits of Taking Action Early to Prepare for Sea-Level Rise (SLR). Specifically, about 30percent of the cities and counties that responded to OPRs 2018 survey reported that they have addressed climate adaptation in their adopted General Plan policies. Additionally, we view these plans as an opportunity to incentivize the region to work together to help address the needs of underresourced communities that might not be able to adequately prepare if left to plan their own, as well as public trust resources which benefit all local constituents. For example, if a local government already has plans to upgrade an aged water treatment plant using ratepayer funding, it could incorporate features that would make the project more resilient to future SLR, such as by elevating or moving key components of the facility. Local Governments Can Undertake Multiple Steps to Prepare for SLR.
Complaints that the environmental permitting system is complicated and protracted are not unique to coastal adaptation projects. As shown, the magnitude of SLR is projected to be about half of 1 foot in 2030 and as much as 7 feet by 2100. Rising seas will also erode coastal cliffs, dunes, and beachesaffecting shorefront infrastructure, houses, businesses, and recreation. Theyre trying to give a new interpretation of what an existing structure is instead of adhering to the Coastal Act and letting existing structures develop shoreline protections devices when threatened by wave action. Moreover, if local governments take the opportunity to test out SLR response approaches, they and other coastal communities can learn best practices from those pilot projects and likely will be able to replicate similar approaches in more efficient, costeffective ways in the future. Each of these options comes with tradeoffs, as discussed in the figure, and not all strategies will work in every situation. Small and Disadvantaged Communities Particularly Challenged by Capacity Limitations. As such, only the regional collaborative groups containing coastal counties would be eligible for this proposed planning grant. While these effortsif combined with similar global initiativesultimately may constrain the total amount of warming the planet experiences, scientists are conclusive that some degree of climate change already is inevitable. As noted earlier, the need for funding to undertake projects is a primary barrier for coastal communities seeking to prepare for SLR. Additionally, OPC reports that it recently entered a contract for roughly $200,000 to initiate a public awareness campaign about SLR, which is a positive step in this effort.
This authority, combined with a motivation to minimize costly and traumatic damage for residents and their property, creates a strong rationale and incentive for the state to help ensure that local jurisdictions plan for and take action to adapt to SLR. Moreover, given that delaying adaptation work can result in missed opportunities and higher costs, a strong case exists for the state to help remove barriers at the local level in order to expedite such work. Because of its crossjurisdictional impacts and imminence, we think SLR is a fitting issue for the state to select for a pilot regional adaptation planning initiative. Moreover, the data displayed in the figure do not include significantly higher estimates associated with extreme scenarios that incorporate the effects of potential ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. For example, the Legislature has also set important goals for addressing housing and homelessness, paying down unfunded pension obligations, and expanding access to child care and health careall of which could create pressures for additional state funding. This would endanger two-thirds of the roadways on Oahu and displace up to $19 billion in critical infrastructure. As discussed earlier, we recommend the state require that local governments also acquire funding contributions from other sources for these projects. 
NARs operating values, and long-term goals. In other areas of the state where fewer planning efforts have yet been undertaken, more initial research and planning will be needed. Because the effects of SLR do not stop at the city border or county line, local jurisdictions would benefit from working together with their neighbors on a regional basis to collaborate on plans for addressing the interrelated impacts. Because of its experience administering climate mitigation programs and its current work establishing a regional program pursuant to SB1072, we recommend the Legislature direct SGC to administer this program, including developing criteria for selecting regions and regional leads, soliciting applications, and choosing the collaborative leads for each region. Because of Maines strong home rule ordinance powers afforded to our cities and towns, this emerging issue will require the cooperative efforts of local, county and state governments for study, interventions and solutions.. Founded as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges in 1908. We envision such a regional plan as distinct from planning efforts occurring at the individual city and county levels in that it would focus on more broad, interconnected, crossjurisdictional issues that would be outside the scope of singlejurisdiction plans and projects. These funding challenges were identified in nearly all of the interviews we conducted in researching this report, and also are reflected as the first and third most cited hurdles, respectively, in the survey data displayed in Figure9. These include Marin and San Mateo. This is consistent with the role the state has played as a contributing funder for many other types of local infrastructure projects. Participates in the SF Bay Areas multiagency regional effort to address the impacts of SLR on shoreline communities and assets. Moreover, few coastal communities have yet begun implementing projects to respond to the threat of rising seas. Direct state departments to conduct a public awareness campaign about the threats posed by SLR to develop public engagement in and urgency for taking action. For each applicable jurisdiction, these assessments must include: (1)an inventory of public trust assets that are vulnerable to SLR; (2)how SLR may impact those assets in the short, medium, and long term; (3)an evaluation of the financial costs associated with those SLR impactsincluding for nonmarket asset values such as recreation and ecosystem services; and (4)a description of how potential SLR adaptation strategies could address the identified vulnerabilities and a proposed time frame for implementing such measures. Similarly, to protect coastal resources the Coastal Commission has a rigorous process for evaluating and permitting coastal developmentsuch as hotels, houses, parking lots, or water treatment plantsthat has historically posed a risk to such resources. From its building located steps away from the U.S. Capitol, NAR advocates for you. Certain adaptation strategies described in Figure3 could help to safeguard some existing properties and land parcels from the effects of SLRincluding protecting them through armoring, or building or retrofitting structures such that they can accommodate flooding. In Louisiana, Camille Manning-Broome is president of the Baton Rouge-based Center for Planning Excellence. Report Responds to Increasing Legislative Interest in Climate Adaptation. NAR and its affiliated Institutes, Societies, and Councils offer a wide selection of real estate training options. As discussed earlier, local governments are struggling with how to determine next steps in preparing for SLR and seeking tools to help make such decisions. Managed retreat is a coastal management strategy that allows the shoreline to move inland, instead of attempting to hold the line with nature-based solutions and possible structural engineering. We recommend the Legislature adopt legislation requiring that the sale of coastal properties in areas at risk of flooding from SRL be accompanied by a Vulnerable Coastal Property Statement. This would help to ensure that buyers are aware of the risks posed by SRL and other coastal hazards. Fortunately, we have an influx of federal money coming in for planning to take care of some of the real obvious problems before a superstorm hits and causes a lot of damage., According to Madeleine Hill, 2022 president of the Maine Association of REALTORS and designated broker at Roxanne York Real Estate on Bailey Island, Maine, The Maine Association of REALTORS supports decision-making efforts and solutions that employ sound science, smart growth and balance when analyzing climate change and sea level rise and its impact on private property rights. Yet without an understanding of the economic implications associated with SLR or the costs and benefits of the steps they could take to address those impacts, local governments are constrained in determining the best path forward. Additionally, most land use policies and decisions are made at the local level, and local governments are most familiar with the specific circumstances facing their communities. Taking action ahead of when sea levels are projected to significantly encroach on the coast would enable local governments to benefit in several important ways, as summarized in Figure8 and discussed below.
