BACC Editor on Friday, 21 October 2011 17:38

Bay Area Becomes First Region to Plan for Sea-Level Rise in Long-Term Development

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) has unanimously voted to amend its guiding Bay Plan document, making the Bay Area the first region in California to codify the long-term threat of sea level rise as a factor in development in low-lying areas surrounding the bay.

The new plan requires shoreline development projects to submit a flood risk assessment and include a plan to cope with other climate change eventualities. These amendments had been proposed in response to a scientific report released by the BCDC in April 2009 that predicted the Bay would rise 10 to 17 inches by 2050, 17 to 32 inches by 2070 and 31 to 69 inches at the end of the century, and included detailed maps showing areas vulnerable to flooding.

The final plan was approved after more than two years of contentious debate between developers, trades unions and environmentalists. During that time, the BCDC was forced to step back and educate opposition groups about how climate change would affect the Bay Area’s transportation map, energy infrastructure and housing supply. After several rounds of discussions, key groups finally reached a compromise in late August.

Paul Campos, Bay Area Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Building Industry Association, highlights the significance of the Bay Plan amendment’s approval, saying:

“The Bay Plan amendment adopted today is the balanced product of goodwill and compromise. It’s testament to the fact that the Bay Area’s economic and environmental interests are linked. One cannot be sustainably advanced at the expense of the other.”