The City of Pacifica is working to modify its draft Local Coastal Program (LCP) update by incorporating findings of how sea level rise and erosion will impact social, economic, and physical coastal resources including homes, businesses, and critical facilities and infrastructure; and strategies that will prepare the City to deal with these impacts. Support for this effort is provided in part by the California Coastal Commission and the Coastal Conservancy.

In addition, the City of Pacifica is undertaking a number of other planning and infrastructure protection activities along the coastline. Review the Latest Updates on these activities.

Status

November 19, 2018 Planning Commission Meeting: Planning Commission provided comments on the Draft LCP Policies.

December 10, 2018 City Council Meeting: City Council authorized staff to incorporate Draft LCP Policies into the Draft LCP. The Final Draft LCP Policies (December 2018) as authorized by City Council are available under the Deliverables heading below.

2019 Plan Pacifica: The update of the Draft LCP, with the incorporated Final Draft LCP Policies (December 2018), will continue under the Plan Pacifica effort. Plan Pacifica includes updating the City's General Plan and Local Coastal Land Use Plan, as well as creating a Sharp Park Specific Plan. Please visit the Plan Pacifica website for more information and to continue monitoring the progress. Additionally, those on the Sea Level Rise mailing list will automatically be included in the Plan Pacifica mailing list.

Archived City Updates

Deliverables

• Project Schedule (updated 7/31/2018)
• Stakeholder Engagement Plan (updated November 2017)
• Future Conditions Scenarios Memo (12/18/2017)
• Revised Asset Inventory Memo (1/9/2018)
• Draft Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment and Appendices (1/12/2018)
• Introduction to Adaptation Strategies Memorandum
• Economic Analysis Methodology Memorandum
• Alternative Adaptation Strategies Memo (5/30/2018)
• Preliminary Draft Adaptation Plan and Appendices A and B through E
• Final Draft Adaptation Plan and Appendices A and B through G (7/31/18)
• Draft LCP Policies (9/10/2018)
• Final Draft Adaptation Plan with Response to Comments (9/21/2018), Appendix A, Appendices B through J, and Appendix K
• Draft LCP Policies with Response to Comments (11/7/2018)
  • Response to Richard Harris' Comments re: Draft LCP Policies
• Final Draft LCP Policies - As Authorized by City Council on 12/10/2018

Public Outreach

To find more information on the public outreach events that occurred to support the Sea Level Rise effort, please visit the Sea Level Rise Public Participation webpage.

Comments Received Prior to 11/19/2018 Planning Commission Meeting

• Batch 1 (uploaded 11/9/2018)
• Batch 2 (uploaded 11/16/2018)

City Council Progress Updates

• Progress Update No. 1 (8/20/2017-10/31/2017)
• Progress Update No. 2 (11/1/2017-11/30/2017)
• Progress Update No. 3 (12/1/2017-12/31/2017)
• Progress Update No. 4 (1/1/2018 - 1/31/2018)
• Progress Update No. 5 (2/1/2018 - 2/28/2018)

Background

In August 2016, the City of Pacifica was awarded an $188,000 Local Assistance Grant by the California Coastal Commission to conduct a vulnerability and risk assessment and develop an adaptation plan to address the effects that sea level rise could have on coastal resources along the shoreline of Pacifica.

The City of Pacifica's goal is to modify its draft Local Coastal Plan (LCP) update by incorporating findings from vulnerability and risk assessments and a standalone adaptation plan. Specifically, the City will evaluate how sea level rise and erosion will impact social, economic, and physical coastal resources including homes, businesses, and critical facilities and infrastructure, and develop strategies that will prepare the City to deal with these impacts. To achieve these goals, the City has the following objectives:

1. Measure the degree of vulnerability posed to Pacifica's social, economic and physical coastal resources, including beaches, bluffs, roadways, residences, businesses, pump stations, and other critical infrastructure, by examining the risks and sensitivities associated with sea level rise, erosion and coastal flooding.
2. Ensure consistency with larger regional vulnerability assessment efforts, including but not limited to Sea Change San Mateo County (SMC), to strengthen the regional fabric of resilience. The vulnerability and risk assessments will be used to prioritize key areas with sea level rise strategies as part of the adaptation plan.
3. Create an adaptation plan that identifies effective shoreline accommodation, protection, and retreat strategies through rigorous analysis of Our Coast, Our Future (OCOF) (sea level rise and storm surge model/tool) sea level rise scenarios and community/stakeholder input. Once designed, the adaptation plan will be designed to work as a standalone strategic plan, including short-term prioritized actions and will include specific measures and language to be included in the City's LCP and LCP Land Use Plan (LUP)). The adaptation plan will include the following components that the City will draw on to update its LCP: Existing Conditions Report, Key Asset Manager Surveys/Responses, Technical Studies, Adaptation Strategies, and Prioritized Implementation Plan.

Resources

City Documents

• FAQs - Local Coastal Plan Update & Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning (updated 4/26/2018)
• User Guide or view the tutorial video (MP4) prior to accessing the webviewers:
  • Asset Data and Hazard Zone GIS-webviewer
  • Multi-Scenario Hazard GIS-webviewer
• City of Pacifica Draft Local Coastal Land Use Plan
• Coastal Commission Grant Application
• Coastal Commission Executed Grant Agreement
• Coastal Commission Executed Grant Amendment No. 1
• Coastal Commission Executed Grant Amendment No. 2
• Goals for the Draft Local Coastal Land Use Plan Update and Adaptation Planning

Regional Assessments and Adaptation Projects

County of San Mateo Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment Draft Report

Sea Level Rise Hazard Data and Adaptation Guidance

• Our Coast Our Future
• Pacific Institute - The Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on the California Coast (2009)
• Pacific Institute - California Coastal Erosion Response to Sea Level Rise-Analysis and Mapping (2009)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency Final Draft Guidelines for Coastal Flood Hazard Mapping for the Pacific Coast of the United States (2005)
• National Research Council Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future (2013; Brief)
• Ocean Protection Council State of California Sea-Level Rise Guidance Document (2013)
• California Coastal Commission Sea-Level Rise Policy Guidance: Interpretive Guidelines for Addressing Sea-Level Rise in Local Coastal Programs and Coastal Development Permits (2015)
• US Army Corps of Engineers and the Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup San Francisco Littoral Cell Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan, Draft (2016)
• California Ocean Protection Council Science Advisory Team Working Group Rising Seas in California: An Update on Sea-Level Rise Science (2017)
• California Natural Resources Agency and California Ocean Protection Council State of California Sea-Level Rise Guidance: 2018 Update (2017)
• Natural Resources Agency Safeguarding California Plan: 2018 Update (2018)
• Cal-Adapt
• June 12, 2018 Comments from Coastal Commission to Pacifica regarding Administrative Draft Adaptation Plan
• October 19, 2018 Comments from Coastal Commission to Pacifica regarding Draft LCP Policies

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