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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-SLRC-Presentationtor Jubmitted into the publj recordfor itqm(s) b� , L on 1 1,6 I 1 7 . City Clerk Outline for City of Miami Commission Presentation by CRO and Sea Level Rise Committee Jane: In October, 2016, The Commission voted to strengthen this board, empowering them to serve as your advisors, to make policy and Code related recommendations to strengthen our City's resilience to increased flooding risk related to sea level rise. As you know, I joined the City in November, having served briefly on this board To date, the Committee has gathered a lot of information, served as a vehicle for engaging the community, made recommendations to the administration for a new stormwater management plan and crafting the Virginia Key Marina RFP so that they take resilience to sea level rise into account, and recommendations for the Commission for partnering with area universities to support our efforts. This is a diverse board of highly qualified professionals in design and construction, land use and environmental law, emergency management, we have Jim Murley, CRO for Miami Dade County, advocates focused on protection of our water supply and marine ecosystem and those focused on making sure our most vulnerable in the community have a voice and needs are heard. You will hear their own sense of commitment and urgency for action, but action that builds on best practices and creates a clear vision for how Miami will strengthen its resilience to increasing flood risks will take staff and outside expertise support.. This is a board of volunteer professionals. They have day to day businesses and organizations to run. Therefore we, staff and the Committee, have put together a plan for working together with an interdepartmental team within staff to develop recommendations. First we will work with the Committee and building and zoning to look into opportunities for strengthening building and zoning codes for new construction and significant renovation within the flood zones. Second, per the committee's recommendation, staff have begun to explore what outside expertise we need to secure more accurate mapping of our flood vulnerability both to city assets and to private property throughout the city. A new stormwater management plan that would also bring all the city's assets and infrastructure onto a robust GIS system and enable engineers to model various flooding scenarios and solutions with great accuracy. However, between the RFP design, procurement and study itself, we are 2 years away from getting these results. The SLR Committee can't wait this long to begin working with staff on building and zoning codes and prioritizing capital improvement projects. Led by Dr. Ihekwaba, we have an interdepartmental team looking at the scope of needs planning current and future 152iL- sA,A, _ kylf\\0\\v, Ito ubmitt ed into the publiclivqq record fpr ite (s) 1. L on 1 VIA i ri . City Clerk vulnerabilities to flooding from rain, high tides, and storm surge with various sea level rise projections and changes to the water table. This will also serve as precursor data collection for our stormwater management plan. Finally, we plan to create an interdepartmental Resilient Miami task force to develop a vision for a holistic approach to living with and managing water. This will include participation from building, Planning and Zoning, Capital Improvement, Public Works, Parks and Rec., Innovation, and strategic planning. We will take a neighborhood by neighborhood and integrated approach to not only looking at resilience to sea level rise, but also addressing the most significant shocks and stresses facing our city and those particular neighborhoods whether it be access to attainable housing, public safety and health, access to affordable reliable public transit, gentrification and increasing flood risks. We've begun this work by working with University of Miami and the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact on a resilient redesign of the Shorecrest neighborhood in the NE section of the City, which has been severely and increasingly impacted by tidal flooding events, amplified by rising sea levels . The City is also beginning to work with the County and UM on a recommendations for a new master plan for the health district. Finally, with 100RC and the Van Alen Institute, the City hasthe opportunity to do an international design challenge in an area yet to be determined within the City of Miami. Gentleman, the urgency of sea level rise gives us the opportunity to reimagine our city and build the resilient Miami that we and our children will get to enjoy for years to come. This internal task force will report progress and gain input from the SLR Committee every other month and work with the SLR Committee to bring in outside expertise to speak at their meetings in between that. The Committee will share their urgency for action. I share that sense of urgency. The Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact revised their unified SLR projections in 2015 to be up to 12 inches in 2030 and 34 inches in 2060. They were higher than the previous projections from just 2 years prior. Based on our local experiences with the King Tides and with international scientist projections we are seeing these projections may also be conservative. Inaction is not a choice. This can seem like an insurmountable task with an unattainable price tag, but the price of inaction is far greater. Also there are things we can do, creative approaches we can take to both design and financing but we won't get there without a clear and dedicated focus on it. But as you know, our building, planning and zoning, capital improvements and public works departments are with significant building volume in this city right now and in order for us to realize this vision, it will take a commitment of focus and resources. I'd like to now introduce Chair Wayne Pathman, land use attorney and chair of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce to begin the presentation from the SLR Committee. Siiitted into the public\ record for it m s) on I 1 City Clerk Wayne: • Miami real estate growth without thinking about necessary infrastructure to support • Increased risks and impacts of flooding events, making it harder to insure properties, and/or collect on losses. • Florida has the largest number of policies under our National Flood Insurance Program of any other state (37% of total). NFIP is the primary flood insurer of homes and small businesses and it is deeply in debt due to flooding incidents outside of Florida. • Risk of rising cost of insurance will put real estate market at risk making it more difficult to attract and retain a highly qualified workforce and have significant negative impacts to City tax revenues. • My colleague Reinaldo will provide more specifics on the building and zoning codes we will be looking at with the administration in the next six months. But I would like the opportunity to articulate the support we need to provide clear and actionable recommendations to strengthen our city's resilience to sea level rise Address staff capacity and need for outside resources: Hire a dedicated professional within the Office of Resilience & Sustainability dedicated to sea lever rise response and 5 graduate interns (1 each for following departments: Planning & Zoning, Building, Capital Improvements, Public Works and Office of Resilience and Sustainability) to each work assembling best practices, developing draft recommendations, and assisting with stakeholder/resident engagement. As part of our recommendations related to the UM Climate Change report, we recommended that a paid graduate intern be contracted by each of the relevant departments to help gather best practices and coordinate with other departments. We'd like to reiterate this recommendation today as a cost effective means for building staff capacity and keep the interdepartmental planning and coordination with the Sea Level Rise Committee on track. As Jane mentioned, the hiring of outside expertise is critical to provide the Committee and staff with accurate data, mapping and exploring various solutions. That is why in August last year, the SLR Committee unanimously passed "A RESOLUTION OF THE SEA LEVEL RISE COMMITTEE ("SLRC") TO: RECOMMEND TO THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION THAT A BUDGET OF $500,000 BE ESTABLISHED FOR FUNDING SLRC ACTIVITIES RELATING TO ADDRESSING SLR ISSUES FACING THE CITY, INCLUDING - COMMISSIONING A COMPREHENSIVE SLR VULNERABILITY/GAP ANALYSIS FOR THE CITY AND RETAINING A QUALIFIED CONSULTING FIRM TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES; AND, RECOMMEND THAT THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCE & SUSTAINABILITY, ESTABLISH A POSITION FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON SLR ISSUES THAT WILL ALSO SERVE AS A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT LIAISON (NOT ADMINISTRATIVE) TO THE SLRC." omitted into the public rdfe r(f s) �•Z on l PU . City Clerk Since this recommendation, we learned the City Administration is looking into contracting for a new and comprehensive stormwater management plan that will take sea level rise into account. We fully support that effort. However, we cannot wait 2 years for decision making tools we can use to work with staff, stakeholders and residents on building and zoning codes and prioritizing capital improvement projects. A budget of $300,000 for outside expertise to first assist the City with mapping and analyzing the vulnerability of waterfront areas in the City and its most critical infrastructure. Second, part of those funds would be used to bring in outside experts and engage stakeholders and neighborhoods in capital improvement planning. We will follow up with a memo to the Commission containing our recommendations to the Commission. Reinaldo: Great growth and reinvention of Miami, but can we build it to be able to withstand and adapt to the shocks and stresses we will face over time. We plan to work together with the City of Miami Building and Planning and Zoning Departments - to identify how we can strengthen all future new construction and significant renovations through building and zoning codes such as: • Raising building elevation requirements for properties within a flood zone. FEMA now recommends that buildings located within a 100 year flood zone where the BFE (Base Flood Elevation) is suspect (which City of Miami's is due to sea level rise) be constructed at least 3 feet above BFE. Current building code requires 1 foot above BFE for V and A zones. • Raising flood sensitive electrical/mechanical equipment • Raise sea wall and/or recommend other approaches to shoreline protection along waterfront properties. • Given high water table, consider eliminating allowance for basements in certain areas; • Miami 21 is a very progressive code for smart growth and sustainability. Explore other changes to Miami 21 to make individual properties and neighborhood planning more resilient such as: • Further increasing permeability requirements • Requiring stormwater catchment and reuse for landscaping and other non - potable uses • Increasing and/or enforcing set back requirements from all waterfronts • Revisiting where City focuses future increases in density S b ittcd into the public red f on l (1� 0 [ 1 1 City Clerk • Provide incentives and flexibility yes, but ensure that all new development and significant renovations have current and future flood risks into account build adaptability into the design. • Create a check list for Special Area Plans (SAPs), new City Construction and RFPs from Real estate and Asset Management David Martin: Speak to your own personal perspective as a developer. What do you need to see from the City in order to continue to maintain and build on your investments in Miami? That many, particularly locally -based developers like yourself, take pride in helping to shape this City and aim to do so in a positive, enduring way. You need strong leadership and collaboration from the City to create the right environment to do so. Developers need to become more partners with the City and vice versa to ensure the adequate infrastructure and quality of life features are built into plans. Need an open dialogue, facing the risks and concerns openly so that we can jointly come up with solutions that maximize value and minimize risk for our residents and business.