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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClimate Action Jul 22 2025Whatcom County Council Climate Action and Natural Resources Committee COUNTY COURTHOUSE 311 Grand Avenue, Ste 9105 Bellingham, WA 98225-4038 (360) 778-5010 Committee Minutes - Final Tuesday, July 22, 2025 9:55 AM Hybrid Meeting - Council Chambers HYBRID MEETING - MAY BEGIN EARLY - ADJOURNS BY 11:10 A.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 Cathy Halka, AICP, CMC Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final July 22, 2025 Resources Committee Call To Order Roll Call Committee Chair Kaylee Galloway called the meeting to order at 9:50 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 Galloway stated the second agenda item (AB2025-517) was removed from the agenda and will be rescheduled at a later date. Special Presentation AB2025452 Presentation from Public Works staff to review and discuss the vulnerability assessment, adaptation strategies, and land use policy options for projected future sea level rise, coastal flooding and erosion, and riverine flooding impacts developed by the Whatcom Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Shoreline Management Solutions project, also referred to as the Future Shorelines Project Chris Elder, Public Works Department, introduced the presentation. Rachel Johnson, Herrera Environmental Consultants, read from a presentation (on file) on the marine and riverine vulnerability assessments they conducted based on projected future climate scenarios, how it specifically applies to Birch Bay (their pilot area for the project), and potential policy and land use strategies to address projected future climate impacts. She answered questions about the map in the presentation showing infrastructure that should be protected, and that parcels in Birch Bay subject to near -term exposure to flooding hazards do not necessarily represent development capacity but are simply parcels that have a residential use, The following people also answered questions: • Aly Pennucci, Executive's Office • Mark Personius, Planning and Development Services Department Director They answered whether Planning and Development us using the same climate overlay maps and data as shown in the presentation in its discussion "alcom County Page Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final July 22, 2025 Resources Committee relating to preliminary preferred alternatives for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Elder stated they shared all the data from this report with the primary consultants for the Comprehensive Plan, Pennucci stated the sea level rise data is incorporated in the proposals, and Personius confirmed that those maps (preferred alternatives) are based on this study and the model. The speakers discussed with councilmembers if the project they piloted with Birch Bay will be applied to other areas of the county and that the Department of Ecology will be offering more funding as the County identifies priorities for the next steps, how far up the Nooksack River the compound flooding goes, at what point the Council should start to do cost projections to take measures to make vulnerable areas safe to live in, whether the Birch Bay berm was built high enough to mitigate the projected 3.3 feet of sea level rise and how those projections should be used in future planning, a concern about making sweeping changes based these models and what their confidence level is in the projections, that wave action from storm surge and high tides was included in the modeling, that they expect sea level rise to accelerate over the next 100 years, that data could possibly be updated going forward if the County identifies a need to do so and that they could engage USGS directly to see about updating it but do not currently have plans to do that, that they are planning on incorporating this data into the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan, and what the Department of Emergency Management is doing with this information. Galloway thanked them for the work and stated she hopes they can move forward with some of the policy recommendations that have come out of this body of work. This agenda item was PRESENTED. 2. AB2025-517 Presentation from Kaia Hayes, RE Sources, regarding the 2025 Washington legislative proviso opportunity allotting $10 million in funding for county conservation of forests with high conservation and climate resilience value This agenda item was WITHDRAWN. Items Added by Revision Other Business There were no agenda items added by revision. There was no other business. whafcom County Page 2 Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final Resources Committee Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:49 a.m. ATrg&:.� C O U J�• ;�; CO . .C1 OathyN'il[er'k July 22, 2025 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WA Kaylee Galloway -via email 7/31/2025 Kaylee Galloway, Committee Chair Meeting Minutes prepared by Kristi Felbinger Whalcom County Page 3