The Corte Madera Climate Change Adaptation Assessment

The Town Council adopted the Climate Adaptation Assessment on May 18th, 2021. The assessment provides an essential step in building resilience by highlighting the real and present challenges facing the Town and identifying potential actions that can be taken to address these challenges and adapt to a changing climate. However, the completion of this plan does not mean the Town has accomplished its resilience goals. Building climate resilience is a process and not the outcome of a single project. It will require ongoing collaborations, partnerships, and investment. By bringing people together, breaking down silos between sectors and departments, thinking creatively and boldly about solutions, and prioritizing near-term collaboration and early investments, the Town can continue to be a regional leader in developing and implementing flexible, robust, and equitable climate adaptation strategies.

The Corte Madera Climate Adaptation Assessment provides analysis, recommendations, and specific, implementable strategies to build resilience. The results of this planning effort can be used to inform the capital project budgeting process and other planning efforts to help ensure that critical climate adaptation projects be funded. Corte Madera’s investment in adaptation is based on a multidisciplinary approach that utilizes state of the art science and guidance to identify actions that could be used to help the Town and the community prepare for the impacts of changing climate and enhance resilience. The project was funded in part by a CalTrans Adaptation Grant.

For more information about the impacts of climate change in Corte Madera, click here.
For more information about the Adaptation Assessment project phases, click here.
For more information about the community engagement process, click here.
For information about the project team, click here.
For more information about the Adaptation Assessment project sections, click here.

What is the Assessment?

The Assessment is the culmination of nearly 2.5 years of work, guided by the Town staff, the Resilience Advisory Committee (RAC), and community members. The 22 members of the RAC included representatives from the Town Council, Town staff, the County, neighboring towns, non-profit organizations, state and regional entities, the shopping center, and the school district. They brought a diverse range of technical and policy expertise to help inform the development of the assessment.

This Climate Adaptation Assessment is a roadmap for action, not an ordinance or policy. It is a toolbox of potential actions, not a commitment to implement individual actions. It provides an initial screening of actions, not a detailed final analysis of alternatives. And, the Assessment reaffirms a commitment to the health, safety, and well-being of all Corte Maderans, not a selective investment in individual sectors or neighborhoods.

It is ultimately up to the Town to discuss these actions with the community and take into consideration many factors in order to determine which actions get implemented.

Guided by extensive input from residents and a Resilience Advisory Committee, the town staff and project planning team developed a library of potentially effective, efficient, and feasible adaptation actions that the community and the Town can choose from and decide to implement to address climate change. The list of adaptation actions is organized by geographic location and then grouped into more specific categories.

The actions highlighted in this assessment represent a subset of a broader suite of adaptation actions that scored highly based on their potential effectiveness, efficiency, and feasibility for the Town. These actions (and the full suite of actions in Appendix B) provides the Town with a list of many of the most appropriate options to consider at this point in time. The actions highlighted in the plan are not an exhaustive list of all potential options, nor are they a prescriptive list of final actions the Town has decided to implement. Additionally, over time, new actions are likely to be added and some are likely to be removed. It is ultimately up to the Town to discuss these actions with the community and take into consideration many factors in order to determine which actions get implemented.

How to Use This Web Summary

This web summary is designed to provide an overview of the Corte Madera Climate Change Adaptation Assessment and planning process. You can download the full assessment and the assessment executive summary using the download buttons. In addition, you can get a glimpse into what is included in each of the sections of the full assessment below, including a variety of high level resources to help better understand what the assessment is, how climate change could impact Corte Madera, and the general planning process and approaches used in this project. You can also learn more about the Assessment development process, watch videos from previous Assessment workshops, and find additional general information here.

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Download the full Assessment Here

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Download the Executive Summary Here

What you can expect to read about in each section of the full Climate Change Adaptation Assessment

Section+1+-+Planning+for+CC.jpg — Section 1. Planning for Climate Change

This section provides details on the Town’s adaptation planning process and how the changing climate impacts the whole of Corte Madera and its residents.

Section 2 - Town-Wide.jpg — Section 2. Town-Wide

This section highlights the climate concerns facing the whole town and discusses some ways in which the Town and community can address these challenges through a diverse array of projects, programs, and policies.

Section 3 - Shoreline.jpg — Section 3. The Shoreline

This section discusses the unique challenges facing shoreline neighborhoods and introduces shoreline adaptation strategies and actions that could be applied to address these climate challenges.

Section 3 - Hillsides.jpg — Section 4. The Hillsides

This section discusses the real and present risk of wildfire for the community and highlights actions that the Town, property owners, and regional partners can take to reduce wildfire risk for residents.

Section 4 - Central.jpg — Section 5. Central Corte Madera

This section highlights the stormwater issues facing the community and the need to address them. It highlights preventative efforts, regional collaborations, and partnerships that can be pursued to reduce current and future risk.

Section 6 - Conclusion References and Appendices.jpg — Section 6: Conclusion

This section discusses the next steps Corte Madera can take, further community outreach and engagement needed, and compiles references cited throughout the Assessment.

Town Figure.jpg — The options identified in this assessment are not final and require further analysis and community discussion. This assessment serves as a roadmap of potential investments necessary to address the ever increasing challenges of climate change.

While some actions will need to be taken in specific locations in the Town, many others will need to be implemented with the whole community in mind. The options identified throughout the Assessment are divided into three geographic areas of the town (hillsides, shoreline, and central) due to the specific climate exposures that have particular significance for each geographic region.

Climate adaptation starts with you.

La Adaptación Climática comienza contigo mismo.

The global climate is changing and we are feeling the impacts right here in Corte Madera. The ever present risk of wildfire looms over our community and smoke from regional wildfires makes our air unhealthy to breathe. Meanwhile, king tides and storm events flood our streets and backyards, with scientific studies of sea level rise forecasting much worse flooding in the years ahead. These changes are affecting our community, homes, businesses, infrastructure, and way of life, and demand that we act now. To address this emergency, the Town of Corte Madera embarked on a two year process to develop a Climate Adaptation Assessment, which synthesizes new ideas and concepts with conclusions from prior regional reports and studies.

The Assessment is essentially a roadmap, or a framework, to inform Town decisions relating to how our community adapts to climate change. Critically, it is a “living” document that will continue to be updated in collaboration with the community as we gain new information and as conditions change. Each adaptation action or project identified in the Assessment is essentially an idea that has been analyzed by planners, scientists, and engineers at a “planning level,” to begin to evaluate feasibility, effectiveness, costs, and benefits. It provides initial guidance to questions such as: How would a given action protect the town? How long would that protection last? How much would it likely cost? Is the action flexible and can it be modified or updated over time? This analysis will assist with informing next steps, priorities, and the choices that we make as a community. This Assessment is the first step toward protecting Corte Madera’s future as a vibrant place to live and work.

The strategies discussed in this document are ideas, not shovel-ready projects, and this Climate Adaptation Assessment does not provide any “shortcuts” or “loopholes” on ideas that future Town Councils may wish to pursue. If implemented, actions discussed in this Assessment would still go through the full public process, such as including additional public notices, public hearings, public workshops, community discussions, public review by various boards and commissions, and compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. Future Councils may also decide to not pursue certain ideas outlined in this assessment. Our town is already on the front line of climate change. The issues we face are not new—from the devastating wildfires of the 19th century to the severe flooding of the ’80’s—but as climate change advances, our situation is growing markedly more dire. The scale of the challenge is monumental, but today, we still have the opportunity to take decisive and proactive measures that will help protect our beloved town. Now is the time for Corte Madera to be a leader in the region, through the development and implementation of meaningful, effective, robust, and equitable solutions to the climate emergency. Taking this first step on the road to resilience will not only help guide our efforts to protect the health and safety of our community, but will ultimately enhance everyday quality of life in our community. We look forward to working collaboratively with all residents and relevant partners to further explore, develop, analyze, refine, and implement actions that will ensure a safe and prosperous future for Corte Madera. We all know that Corte Madera is a special place; that’s why we choose to make it our home. The actions we take now, and over the coming years, will help ensure the long-term health, vitality, and resilience of our community.

El clima global está cambiando y nosotros estamos sintiendo su impacto aquí mismo en Corte Madera. El riesgo permanente de incendios forestales sin control amenaza nuestras comunidades y el humo de incendios regionales hace que el aire que respiramos sea dañino. Asimismo, nuestras calles y jardines son inundados por tormentas y mareas de gran tamaño; estudios científicos sobre el aumento del nivel del mar indican que tendremos inundaciones más graves en los próximos años. Estos cambios afectan a nuestra comunidad, nuestros hogares, nuestros negocios, así como la infraestructura y nuestra forma de vida, lo que demanda que actuemos ya. Para atender esta emergencia, la Ciudad de Corte Madera se ha embarcado en un proceso de dos años para desarrollar un Evaluación de Adaptación Climática, que combina ideas y conceptos nuevos con reportes y estudios regionales anteriores.

El evaluación es básicamente una hoja de ruta o un marco, para informar acerca de las decisiones de la Ciudad sobre cómo se adapta nuestra comunidad al cambio climático. Analizándolo, es un documento “vivo” que seguirá siendo actualizado en colaboración con la comunidad conforme vayamos obteniendo nueva información y conforme vayan cambiando las condiciones. Cada acción o proyecto de adaptación identificado en el Evaluación es esencialmente una idea que ha sido analizada en su “etapa de planeación” por científicos, ingenieros y organizadores para empezar a evaluar su viabilidad, su eficacia, su costo y sus ventajas. Proporciona una guía inicial para preguntas como: ¿En qué forma protegería a la ciudad una determinada acción? ¿Cuánto duraría esa protección? ¿Cuál sería el costo aproximado? ¿Es flexible la acción y puede ser modificada o actualizada más adelante? Este análisis ayudará a informar sobre los siguientes pasos a seguir, las prioridades y las decisiones que tomamos como comunidad. Este evaluación es el primer paso para proteger el futuro de Corte Madera como un lugar dinámico en donde vivir y trabajar.

Las estrategias analizadas en este documento son ideas, no proyectos inmediatos y este Evaluación de Adaptación Climática no ofrece ningún “atajo” o “vacío” sobre las ideas que próximos ayuntamientos quisieran seguir. De ser implementadas, las acciones incluidas en este Evaluación tendrían que seguir todo el proceso público, por ejemplo incluyendo avisos públicos adicionales, audiencias públicas, talleres públicos, debates comunitarios, revisión pública por diferentes juntas directivas y comisiones, y cumplir con la Ley de Calidad Ambiental de California (California Environmental Quality Act). Asimismo, futuros ayuntamientos podrían decidir no seguir algunas de las ideas esbozadas en este evaluación. Nuestra ciudad se encuentra ya en la primera línea del cambio climático. Los retos que enfrentamos no son nuevos -desde los devastadores incendios forestales del siglo 19 hasta las graves inundaciones de la década de los años 80- pero conforme avanza el cambio climático, nuestra situación se está volviendo notoriamente más alarmante cada vez. La magnitud del reto es enorme, pero al día de hoy, todavía tenemos la oportunidad de tomar medidas decisivas, preventivas, que ayudarán a proteger a nuestra querida ciudad. Este es el momento de que Corte Madera se convierta en un líder en la región, mediante el desarrollo y la implementación de soluciones significativas, efectivas, sólidas y equitativas a la emergencia climática. Dar el primer paso en el camino a la resiliencia no sólo nos ayudará a guiar nuestros esfuerzos para proteger la salud de nuestra comunidad y su seguridad, sino que en última instancia ampliará la calidad de la vida diaria en nuestra comunidad. Estamos ansiosos por trabajar en colaboración con todos los residentes y socios relevantes para explorar, desarrollar, analizar, mejorar e implementar más a fondo acciones que aseguren un futuro seguro y próspero para Corte Madera. Todos sabemos que Corte Madera es un lugar especial: por eso lo escogimos como nuestro hogar. Las acciones que tomemos ahora y en los siguientes años nos ayudarán a asegurar a largo plazo la fortaleza, vitalidad y resiliencia de nuestra comunidad.

Eli Beckman
Mayor
Town of Corte Madera