About the Sea Level Rise Task Force

Like many shoreline communities, Sausalito has begun to appreciate the need to assess our vulnerabilities to sea level rise, identify adaptation options, and prioritize those options. Thus in In March 2021, Mayor Jill Hoffman announced the formation of a Sausalito Sea Level Rise Task Force to start addressing Sausalito's unique concerns and impacts.

In the coming months, the task force will kick-start Sausalito's sea level rise efforts, helping the community plan for rising tides in the decades to come. The task force will also coordinate with our neighbors in Richardson Bay and share knowledge across the entire Bay Area, using best practices and the best available science.

Mission

  • Assess Sausalito's vulnerability to sea level rise with a specific focus on impacts to infrastructure and future land uses.
  • Understand the interplay of additional factors such as subsidence, storm surge, and king tides.
  • Propose a path towards assessing adaptation opportunities and strategies to address potential impacts.

Goals

  • Maintain a Sea Level Rise page on the City website with answers to frequently asked questions and resources for the community.
  • Engage the Sausalito community around our initial assessments of the impact of sea level rise on Sausalito and our options for adapting to sea level rise.
  • Provide a map to help residents and City staff visualize the potential extent of SLR impacts on our city.
  • Document, aggregate, and review a broad set of SLR resources applicable to Sausalito in order to promote science-based knowledge sharing.
  • Support City department heads in identifying and scoping the ways in which the City can incorporate SLR planning into their daily work.
  • Identify key government, academic, and private partners that can help us understand existing conditions and best-in-breed methodologies for assessing and mitigating the impacts of SLR.
  • Synthesize existing research regarding Sausalito-specific sea level rise vulnerabilities based on exposure, sensitivity, and adaptability.

In the end, we plan to deliver recommendations to the City Council for adoption and ratification that could include:

  • Long-term:
    • A business case to support a high-level, prioritized set of Adaptation Plans based on benefits, feasibility and utility.
  • Short-term:
    • Project(s) to close information gaps.
    • Suggested modifications to existing codes and ordinances.
    • A short list of potential Pilot Adaptation Projects for immediate, short-term implementation.