HomeMy WebLinkAboutClimate Action Feb 6 2024Whatcom County
Council Climate Action and Natural Resources Committec
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360) 778-5010
Committee Minutes - Final
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
11:10 AM
Hybrid Meeting
HYBRID MEETING - ADJOURNS BY 12: 10 P.M. (PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE
REMOTE JOIN INSTRUCTIONS AT www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil, OR
CALL 360.778.5010)
COUNCILMEMBERS
Todd Donovan
Kaylee Galloway
Mark Stremler
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C.
Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final February 6, 2024
Resources Committee
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Committee Chair Kaylee Galloway called the meeting to order at 11: I I
a.m. in a hybrid meeting.
Present: 3 - Todd Donovan, Kaylee Galloway, and Mark Stremler
Also Present: Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Ben Elenbaas, and Jon Scanlon
Announcements
Committee Discussion
1. A.1:32024 _.105 Discussion of Phase 2 of the Whatcom Climate Vulnerability Assessment and
Shoreline Management Solutions Project
Chris Elder, Public Works Department, read from a presentation (on file)
about the science and projections of the study, the completion of Phase I of
the vulnerability assessment, the tasks of Phase I1 beginning in March,
examples of adaptation strategies and climate -related tasks as part of Phase
II for the Comprehensive Plan Update, and development regulation code
updates after the Comprehensive Plan is adopted. He answered questions
about the hundred -year flood predictions and how adaptation strategies,
such as shoreline protection devices, would need to be permitted.
Royce Buckingham, Prosecuting Attorney's Office, answered what the
status is on negotiations between property management and the Tribes
regarding dredging in Sandy Point, and stated the dredging project has been
mired in legal concerns for a while. The Lummi Nation is working with the
homeowners out there to come to a compromise.
Elder answered whether there is a way they can look at an overlay of the
vulnerability assessment story maps to see what the underlying zoning is in
those areas and whether those maps are available for download. He
answered how often king tide events occur and whether the coastal hazard
mapping summary on page 12 of the presentation is saying that a
hundred year flood will happen every year. He stated that the study showed
a ten percent likelihood that we would hit that three-foot seal level rise
mark annually (roughly) by year 2100, which would essentially equate to
today's hundred -year flood.
He answered what the public's take on this study has been and stated in the
three public meetings since the start of Phase I, there has been some
Whatcont County page l
Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final February G, 2024
Resources Committee
frustration with the current code or County response to recent floods so it
is hard for people to wrap their heads around long-term issues.
He answered whether the Birch Bay Berm project will be able to handle
what is potentially coming, and stated it has helped some but is not designed
to handle the magnitude of what they are talking about today.
He answered what they would need to be able to do more of this type of
thing so that Council can incorporate potential changes into the
Comprehensive Plan, whether Phase II will include the three branches of the
Nooksack River upstream of Deming, and whether we should look at any
other waterfront areas in the future. He stated the areas upstream of Deming
are not currently on their to-do list, but for Phase II they are going to cover
a hundred percent of the county's coastal shoreline. He answered whether
actually getting something physically done to address the issues after Phase
II will require another study, and stated they are planning on developing an
adaptation plan for one pilot community and are trying to identify broad
strategies that could apply coast -wide. They will also draft some
recommended actions for the shoreline, zoning, or other land -use codes.
He answered whether he needs anything from Council to get those code
amendments docketed, how the County could work with the cities to
develop their own hazard mitigation or adaptation plans, what the cities'
involvement has been, and whether we could leverage any funding to help
the cities in their planning efforts.
He answered who he sees as the models (domestically or internationally)
for doing a really good job of thinking ahead and putting together policies
and programs on this front, and stated Whatcom County is one of the most
cutting -edge counties in the state trying to incorporate sea level rise
vulnerability, but California is a few years ahead of us in trying to model out
what sea level rise and storm surge impacts are. He answered whether we
could ask the State then for reimbursement.
He answered questions about the historical accuracy of similar sea level
prediction models and whether our models have ranges in their predictions
to account for the uncertainty around some of the contributing factors.
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Items Added by Revision
There were no agenda items added by revision.
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Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final
Resources Committee
Adjournment
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 11:59 a.m.
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Dana Brown-bav4s3Council Clerk
Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcription
February 6, 2024
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA
Kaylee Galloway -via email 2/8/2024
Kaylee Galloway, Committee Chair
W tatcont County page 3