The City of Santa Barbara is currently developing a Waterfront Adaptation Plan to address coastal hazards and sea level rise over the next 30 years. This effort builds on the 2021 Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan, where adapting the Waterfront was identified as one of the highest-priority implementation actions. The City is gathering feedback on a set of preliminary adaptation options that may be studied further and incorporated into the draft Waterfront Adaptation Plan, which is anticipated for release in 2027.
Click here for more details and a survey that's open until May 18th. The area under review is from Leadbetter through to East Beach, and some difficult decisions will need to be made during the process. Surfrider is advocating for nature-based solutions that prioritize sandy beaches and resilient solutions instead of increased armoring and hard solutions. Community voices are very important in the process, so please speak up by completing their survey!