The Town is hosting a community workshop on Adapting to Sea Level Rise on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at 6 - 8 p.m. This is the first of a series of workshops for the General Plan update process known as Create TIburon 2040. The workshop will be held on Zoom. To sign up for the workshop, please register here. 

In California, climate change impacts include the loss of Sierra snowpack, increasing and increasingly intense wildfires, extreme heat events, and sea level rise. These impacts affect our health, economic well-being, ecological resilience, and the places we call home. Addressing climate change is a defining challenge of our time. We address climate change in two primary ways: taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and taking action to adapt to the changing environment. We need to do both. When it comes to adaptation, Marin County has analyzed vulnerability to sea level rise and has published guides for local governments and others to identify tools for adapting to it. With our General Plan update, Tiburon needs to choose the set of tools that will work here. 

While sea level rise will be an issue all along our shoreline, the areas of greatest vulnerability within the Town limits are Downtown, the Blackie's Pasture area, and the Greenwood Cove area. Buildings and businesses along Main Street may be the most vulnerable to direct sea level inundation in the near term. Tiburon Boulevard downtown is likely to become more vulnerable to flooding as well. 

How do we choose the right adaptation strategies for the right place? We need to think clearly about our values and priorities. Do we want to protect existing development in its current form, accommodate more frequent flooding, or shift away from vulnerable areas entirely? How long should our strategy last? Who is mostly responsible - the general public, individual property owners, or a combination? How much are we willing to invest? 

Join us for an interesting discussion and collaborative effort to understand how sea level rise will impact Tiburon and explore options for adapting to rising seas. 

For more information, visit CreateTiburon2040.org.