California Coastal Adaptation Planning Inventory

This California Coastal Adaptation Planning Inventory houses information about the status and trends of sea-level rise adaptation planning along California's coast. This initial version addresses planning activities in California's 76 coastal jurisdictions along the outer coast (15 counties and 61 cities), including community vulnerability assessment, adaptation strategy development, and local coastal planning under the California Coastal Act of 1976.

The inventory has been developed by the research team at UCSB's  Ocean and Coastal Policy Center , with major funding from the  California Ocean Protection Council  (OPC) under Proposition 68. The goal of this inventory project is to support coastal adaptation planning, decisions, and actions, including to meet the coastal resilience goal of having actionable adaptation plans for future sea level rise for all of California's coast.

PLEASE NOTE : this inventory is a work in progress, and will be periodically updated as new information is available. If you have questions about the inventory, suggested corrections, or updated information to include, please contact Caitlin Manley at cmmanley@ucsb.edu or Charles Lester (charleslester@ucsb.edu).

Coastal management on California's outer coast is founded on two  Coastal Act  requirements: (1) most development in the coastal zone is subject to a coastal permit requirement; and (2) local governments in the coastal zone must prepare a Local Coastal Program (LCP) for approval by the  California Coastal Commission .

An LCP includes a land use plan and specific rules to assure that new development meets the statewide policies of the Coastal Act, such as providing public beach access or protecting coastal wetlands. Once an LCP is approved, a local government assumes responsibility for permitting new development above the mean high tide. The Coastal Commission retains permitting jurisdiction below the mean high tide and may take jurisdiction over certain development if a local permit decision is appealed to the Commission.

The California coastal zone runs about 1,100 miles from Oregon to Mexico. This iconic geography includes the state's ocean waters (out to three miles) and more than 1.5 million acres of land. The inland coastal zone boundary ebbs and flows, from as wide as five miles in some rural watersheds to as narrow as a few hundred feet in certain urban areas. About 83% of the coastal zone geography above the mean high tide line is governed by the Coastal Act's LCP requirement. The other approximate 17% consists of federal or tribal lands, which by law are not part of the California coastal zone.

Sea level rise adaptation planning happens in unique social and environmental contexts that shape community values, perceptions, decisions, and actions. Over the last decade, the Coastal Commission, State Coastal Conservancy, and the Ocean Protection Council have invested millions of dollars in local coastal adaptation planning to support dozens of communities confronting projected sea level rise.

Community adaptation planning and action involve different decision processes, from understanding the science of sea level rise and the potential effects on community resources, to identifying specific adaptation strategies that will protect these resources and support community resilience over the long run. Many communities are realizing that coastal adaptation is an ongoing process that will continue to unfold over generations. Because of this, it is important to monitor environmental and social change and identify triggers for actions that will keep the community on a resilient adaptation pathway.

Many communities are realizing that coastal adaptation is an on-going process that will continue to unfold over generations.

Sea level rise adaptation planning, decision, and action can be viewed as a combination of different, often sequential, functional steps. The process often involves:

• Problem Identification and Community Goal-setting
• Planning and Decision
• Implementation of Actions
• Monitoring and Adaptive Action
• Outcome Evaluation
• Revision or Termination

In California, the coastal adaptation planning process has included the key decision processes of vulnerability assessment, adaptation planning, and the updating of local coastal programs.

Nearly four dozen communities on California's outer coast have completed sea level rise vulnerability assessments (VA). These assessments typical consider multiple greenhouse gas emission scenarios with associated ranges of future sea level rise. Based on these potential outcomes, the VA assesses the variety of coastal assets and infrastructure that are at risk of being lost or damaged from current and future coastal hazards (e.g., sea-level rise, storm surges, coastal erosion, and flooding).

Many jurisdictions in California have followed their vulnerability assessments with the development of a sea level rise adaptation plan or strategy. As summarized by the OPC, adaptation plans are integral to preparing for SLR. Based on identified vulnerabilities of natural and human resources to sea level rise, plans should identify short-, medium-, and long-term responses, and consider the priority and phasing of actions and strategies to address vulnerabilities. As described by the Coastal Commission's  Interpretive Guidance , these strategies and actions can range from land use programs and new development rules to information disclosures and economic incentives to better protect community assets.

Adaptation plans are integral to preparing for SLR

Community adaptation strategies are essential, but to be effective in the coastal zone they should be integrated into the individual LCPs that govern what types of development can occur near and along the shoreline. As summarized above, the Coastal Commission has awarded grant funding to dozens of local governments to update their LCPs. So far, only a handful of communities have actually completed the LCP update process. The Coastal Commission and local governments have been working together in recent years to identify ways to facilitate more collaborative  LCP adaptation planning  to address future sea level rise.

Effective adaptation to sea level rise requires funding for and implementation of a wide variety of programs, plans, projects and other community actions. Ideally, implementation actions would occur in the context of an adopted adaptation plan that is integrated with other community, regional and statewide programs or plans. Following are a few examples of coastal adaptation projects being implemented in California.

PLEASE NOTE : this inventory is a work in progress, and will be periodically updated as new information is available. If you have questions about the inventory, suggested corrections, or updated information to include, please contact Caitlin Manley at cmmanley@ucsb.edu or Charles Lester (charleslester@ucsb.edu).