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SIERRA CLUB <br />LOMA PRIETA CHAPTER <br />SAN MATEO, SANTA CLARA & SAN BENITO COUNTIES <br />October 12, 2020 <br />Mayor Howard and City Council Members <br />Redwood City City Council <br />City of Redwood City, CA <br />Re: Ownership Housing East of 101: 505 East Bayshore <br />Dear Mayor Howard and City Council members, <br />We strongly believe that it would be prudent for the Redwood City City Council to deny <br />initiation of General Plan changes to proceed with 505 East Bayshore housing proposal east <br />of Highway 101 as it is in an area of the city that is projected to flood well within the life of these <br />homes. <br />We also point out that the City does not have any plan in place for providing needed <br />infrastructure upgrades of public access roads and critical utilities to deal with rising water <br />levels, occasional or frequent flooding, or rising ground water levels, needed to support the <br />homes for the life of this development. <br />Redwood City urgently needs a Sea Level Rise and Flooding Vulnerability Assessment and <br />Adaptation Plan before adding to the homes and businesses that are very likely to become <br />liabilities for the City in this era of rapid climate change. Redwood City has been identified as <br />one of the cities most at risk for property and infrastructure loss in the coming decades. <br />This area of the City was up zoned in the last General Plan Update in an era when Sea Level <br />Rise was not a concern on the horizon. Today, given that this low-lying area is now known to be <br />in the path of flooding due to sea level rise, and possible groundwater rise as well, the standard <br />of care needed for public safety and to avoid further loss of property is very different. <br />Sea levels are projected to be rising faster than earlier anticipated. The California Ocean <br />Protection Council Strategic Plan in February 2020 is projecting possible 3.5 feet of sea <br />level rise as early as 2050', instead of by 2100, as earlier anticipated. This is within the <br />1 OPC-2020-2025-Strategic-PlanTarget 1.1.1: Ensure California's coast is resilient to at least 3.5 feet of <br />sea -level rise by 2050, as consistent with the State's Sea -Level Rise Guidance Document as appropriate <br />sierraclub.org/loma-prieta — 3921 East Bayshore Road, Suite 204, Palo Alto, CA 94303 <br />