California King Tides Project, Embarcadero at Pier 14, San Francisco. Photo Taken: Feb 9, 2020.
The California Coastal Commission is working to integrate the principles of environmental justice (EJ) into the agency’s sea level rise (SLR) policy and adaptation work. The work builds upon the Commission’s existing Environmental Justice Policy and intends to provide information on how to address EJ communities, impacts, and benefits when planning and analyzing for sea level rise. The final product of this work will be an environmental justice update to the Commission’s existing sea level rise policy guidance and will support consideration of EJ and SLR in coastal development permits as well as Local Coastal Program (LCP) updates, including in vulnerability assessments, adaptation plans, and draft LCP policies on sea level rise.
We intend to incorporate community input throughout the entirety of this project. We have identified five primary audiences for engagement: project advisors, environmental justice community members, local governments, state agencies, and the general public. During the first phase, the project advisors will provide feedback on the draft update outline and an engagement plan. The second phase will include outreach to environmental justice community members and representatives by hosting a series of informational webinars and community meetings. The third phase of engagement will focus on outreach to our local government and state agency partners. The fourth and final phase of engagement will focus on outreach to members of the general public. We will be inviting members of the general public to engage, comment, and recommend updates to our policy guidance in 2024.
The Commission invited environmental justice and sea level rise subject matter experts throughout California to apply for a position to help advise staff on the development of the environmental justice update to its existing sea level rise policy guidance. Eight individuals were selected to participate as project advisors and will be paid a stipend to provide input over the development of the policy outline, public engagement plan, and final update to the sea level rise policy guidance.
The project advisors will inform the first steps of the project by providing input on the draft policy updates and feedback on the public engagement plan. Staff will then implement the community engagement plan and develop a draft update to the Commission’s existing sea level rise policy guidance. The update will eventually be adopted by the Coastal Commission and shared with local governments and the public. Members of the general public are invited to participate and submit comments during the hearing procedures. Below are the eight project advisors:
Below are the eight project advisors:
This work is being supported by Equilibrium Collaborative who are providing logistical support and facilitation services.
There will be additional opportunities for public participation in the future. We will be updating this project page with more details. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at EnvironmentalJustice@coastal.ca.gov.
Finally, we invite you to stay tuned by signing up for our environmental justice newsletter and our sea level rise newsletter at www.coastal.ca.gov/signup.