Explore resources and examples, including local ordinances, that can help local governments adapt to, mitigate, or prepare for impacts of flooding and sea-level rise.
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June 2019
In June 2019, the New York Department of State completed a set of model local resiliency laws as part of its required actions under the State’s Community Risk and Resiliency Act (CCRA). The model laws are meant to inform municipalities who want to adapt their own resiliency measures. Five categories of model laws are included in the model, which is divided into five corresponding chapters. The categories are 1) basic land use models including zoning practices; 2) model legal protections for watercourses and wetlands; 3) model protection measures for shorelines; 4) model floodplain management practices, and; 5) model stormwater management practices.
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June 2019
In June 2019, the New York Department of State published model local laws to increase resilience as part of its required actions under the State’s Community Risk and Resiliency Act (CCRA). The model laws are divided into chapters addressing land use and zoning, wetlands and watercourses, coastline protection, floodplain management, and stormwater control. The fourth chapter addresses floodplain development management, including overlay districts and critical facilities protection, and includes model language local governments can adapt to that purpose.
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May 29, 2019
Maine Governor Janet Mills signed into law LD 563, “An Act to Help Municipalities Prepare for Sea Level Rise” in May 2019. The law amends the State’s growth management and local land-use planning requirements (at Title 30-A, Chapter 187 of the Maine Code) to address the effects of sea-level rise. It allows coastal municipalities and “multimunicipal” regions including coastal municipalities to consider sea level rise projections and potential effects on buildings, transportation infrastructure, sewage treatment facilities, and other municipal or private facilities.
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February 5, 2019
Mexico Beach is on the Gulf of Mexico in Bay County, Florida and faces climate enhanced hurricanes, coastal storm surge, sea level rise and flooding impacts. In October 2018, Hurricane Michael, a Category 4 storm, made landfall in Mexico Beach demolishing 70% of the town’s homes. The coastal community has amended the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood zones maps to reflect storm surge flood levels and high risk floodplain areas as implicated by Hurricane Michael flooding. An ordinance has been adopted in which new construction in Mexico Beach must be elevated at least a foot and a half higher than FEMA's base-level flood predictions in both the region’s 100-year and 500-year floodplains.
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January 2019
Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) prepared this report to help the Eastern Shore Climate Adaptation Partnership (ESCAP) identify strategies for adapting to increasing sea-level rise and flood risk in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland. This publication is a part of a series of reports assessing the sea-level rise vulnerability of communities in Maryland's Eastern Shore, as well as potential adaptation responses. ESCAP worked with the Eastern Shore Regional GIS cooperative to assess sea-level rise vulnerabilities in the six counties and two municipalities that participate in ESCAP.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Jessica Grannis , Katie Spidalieri , Jennifer Li
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October 17, 2018
In 2018, the City of Boston’s Public Works Department issued standards and guidelines for climate-resilient infrastructure to protect public rights-of-way from an expected 40-inch increase in sea level by 2070. In particular, the guidelines are intended to inform height adjustments for structures to account for sea-level rise, and establish a climate-resilient design process for shoreline barriers. City engineers and designers will be able to use these guidelines to inform designs for flood barriers protecting public rights-of-way to ensure they are prepared for the acute and chronic flooding conditions expected in coming years.
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September 2018
The Sustainable Solutions Lab at the University of Massachusetts Boston examines the impacts of flooding from sea level rise and increased precipitation on the City of Boston’s built environment in this report. Along with discussing the governance challenges as related to to these climate change impacts, the report offers policy recommendations and governance strategies to improve resilience to increased flooding. The report is built upon the Climate Ready Boston (CRB) project, and offers recommendations on the implementation of its initiatives as well as policy reform to further flooding adaptation.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Stephanie Kruel , Rebecca Herst
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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July 18, 2018
On July 18, 2018, the city of Satellite Beach, FL, adopted Ordinance No. 1159, which updated building setback standards for structures in areas vulnerable to coastal erosion, requiring that new and existing structures be located at least 15 feet from the Coastal Construction Control Line.
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June 5, 2018
Measure P is a $90 million bond measure approved by Foster City, San Francisco Bay area of California in June 2018, that will fund structural projects to reduce flood risks from sea level rise. Residential, office and commercial property owners will see an annual tax rate increase of approximately $40 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
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April 5, 2018
Effective July 1, 2018, Maryland will expand and strengthen its "Coast Smart" siting and design criteria to better manage sea level rise and improve coastal adaptation efforts. The legislation also requires the state to establish a plan to adapt to saltwater intrusion, and to build criteria for hazard mitigation funding for sea level rise and coastal flooding. Additionally, by July 1, 2019, local jurisdictions that experience nuisance flooding must submit a plan to address this climate impact.
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