Kauai Mayor Signs Proactive Law that Regulates Development in Areas Prone to Sea Level Rise
An Anonymous Coward writes:
Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami signed into law a proactive bill that amends construction design standards to incorporate expected sea level rise impacts - making Kaua'i one of the first counties in the nation to enact development regulations based on scientific modeling projections.
[...] Kaua'i is no stranger to the impacts of climate change, as we've seen in the floods of 2018 and the recent historic south swell and king tides in July which resulted in significant infrastructure damage," Maor Kawakami said. "This new ordinance ensures that the inevitable effects of coastal erosion and flooding are determining factors in the future growth and development of our island."
[...] The ordinance requires the lowest floor of all new residential construction, and substantial residential construction improvements, to be elevated two feet above the highest sea level rise flood elevation. It also requires all new non-residential construction, and substantial non-residential improvements, to be elevated at least one foot above the highest sea level rise flood elevation.
[...] Fletcher said the United Nations' latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports say with high confidence that sea level rise will persist for "centuries to millennia" due to ongoing warming of the oceans and melting of the ice sheets.
"There is nothing we can do to stop sea level rise," Fletcher said "This measure will minimize the threat to public health and safety, promote resilient planning and design and minimize the expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects necessitated by accelerating sea level rise. Kaua'i is providing an example for coastal communities around the nation of the next right step in building community resiliency to climate change impacts."
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