City Council 2024 Priorities Community Update Series Part 2

Climate Change & Natural Environment — Protection & Adaptation

Published in

PaloAltoConnect

6 min readApr 30, 2024

This community update continues our series focused on sharing details about the City Council’s 2024 Priorities and related objectives. The first update in our series focused on Climate Change & Natural Environment- Protection & Adaptation and this second update provides more details about the same Council Priority.

At the start of each year, the City Council selects priorities to focus on, and as of 2023, also approve objectives that advance the priorities.

The 2024 City Council Priorities are:

Climate Change and Natural Environment: Protection and Adaptation
Housing for Social and Economic Balance
Economic Development & Transition
Community Health, Safety, Wellness, and Belonging

In March, the Council approved 78 objectives, related Council committee workplans, and community and stakeholder engagement necessary to advance the objectives. The community can expect to track progress through quarterly progress reports that will be released sharing updates on each objective.

Continuing the theme of Earth Month, this second blog in the series highlights more of the Climate Change & Natural Environment, Protection & Adaptation priority objectives. This update summarizes adopted objectives that support climate action with a goal towards creating a greener community.

These include the following:

Advocate for flood protection improvements through the San Francisquito Creek Reach 2 projects
Newell Road Bridge Replacement Project
Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning including the Horizontal Levee Pilot Project
Palo Alto Airport Long-Range Facilities and Sustainability Plan

For the full list of objectives, go here. For more on the City Council Priorities go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/councilpriorities.

Flood Protection, Storm Readiness, and Palo Alto Airport Long-Range Facilities and Sustainability Plan

The City’s climate adaptation efforts are actions that help improve the community’s resilience to climate change impacts. Effective adaptation planning deals with long term uncertainty while allowing for immediate action when necessary and adjusting to changing conditions and data. Some of the most urgent climate impacts affecting Palo Alto are related to sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay, storm impacts, and wildfires.

Continuing Flood Protection Progress

San Francisquito Creek Flood Protection Capital Projects

The City continues to advocate with the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFC JPA), for improvements planned for the San Francisquito Creek Flood Protection capital project. The SFC JPA is funded by the cities of East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto, and the San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Resiliency District, and the Valley Water. They are charged with leading “projects that mitigate the risk of flooding along the San Francisquito Creek and the Bay.” Due to the unprecedented storm impacts in winter 2022–23, the SFC JPA has been conducting analyses of what’s needed, including likely changing the Reach 2 project, which is comprised of four components including replacing the Newell Road Bridge. The New Year’s Eve 2022 event provided information about the creek that was previously not available and has helped the JPA adjust its model and project planning. An independent review was recently completed that replicated the SFC JPA’s hydraulic model to show the creek’s water flow behavior during large events. In April, the JPA awarded a design contract to do an alternatives evaluation on Reach 2 project elements.

Upcoming Board of Director meetings are May 23 at the City of Menlo Park Council Chambers and June 27 in the Palo Alto City Hall Council Chambers, both hybrid at 3:30 p.m.

Newell Road Bridge Replacement Project

Constructed in 1911, Newell Road Bridge is a 76-foot long, reinforced concrete girder structure spanning 22 feet in width and measuring 18 feet curb to curb. The Newell Road Bridge over the San Francisquito Creek will be removed and replaced to increase water flow capacity and improve vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. The project is being coordinated with the City of East Palo Alto, Valley Water, and the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFC JPA). In February 2023, the design set was 100% complete, with specifications and a cost estimate submitted in March 2023. A request was submitted to Caltrans for additional construction funding for right-of-way support and engineering design. Work continues to secure easements and regulatory permits which is anticipated to be complete in May. After approval from Caltrans, the project will be put out to bid with an anticipated construction start in fall 2024.

Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning

In 2022, the City completed a Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment that documents potential sea level rise hazards to Palo Alto and community assets from increments of sea level rise between 12 to 84 inches. This Assessment will inform the development of a Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan, which include strategies and a timeline to preserve and expand habitat and protect and adapt the City and community. Work on the Plan was paused because of new upcoming regional requirements for sea level rise planning efforts as outlined in Senate Bill 272 (Laird). This legislation requires subregions of the San Francisco Bay area to conduct vulnerability assessments and create sea level rise adaptation plans that align with requirements set forth by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. The new requirements and the definition of subregions will be announced in December 2024. City of Palo Alto staff are participating in these regional conversations to understand Palo Alto’s planning needs.

Horizontal Levee Pilot Project

Adapting to sea level rise includes innovative projects such as the Horizontal Levee Pilot Project. This system would use treated wastewater from the Regional Water Quality Control Plant to create a transitional brackish habitat on the Bay side of a future flood control levee in the Baylands. This project could support broader implementation of horizontal levees as green infrastructure components in larger flood control projects in Palo Alto and beyond. The project completed 90% design, and among other requirements, received a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation commission. In its final design phase, the City will engage with the community in fun, family-friendly activities like a BioBlitz and King Tide Walks.

Share Input on the Palo Alto Airport’s Future Planning Effort

The Palo Alto Airport Long Range Facilities and Sustainability Plan (LRFSP) will guide the Palo Alto Airport with their 20+ year development plan, focused on improving facilities and the Airport’s sustainability and resiliency. The goal of the Plan is to determine the extent, type, and schedule of improvements needed. Over the past year, the City hosted community meetings to share progress on the Plan’s development and gain feedback ahead of a City Council study session, tentatively planned for after the Council’s summer recess. Another community meeting is being organized and an online survey will be launched in advance for community feedback.