Please place on the January 16, 2019 City Commission Agenda a dual referral to the Land Use and Development Committee (LUDC) and to the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee (SRC) to discuss the addition of water management and climate adaptation experts to city land use boards.

Pursuant to the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) assessment to include members with expertise and background on water management and climate adaptation to each of the four City regulatory boards, I would like the LUDC and SRC members to simultaneously discuss strategies to implement the ULI recommendation as follows:

Add members to the Historic Preservation Board and the Design Review Board, either in the existing seats or by creating additional seats, who have expertise and background on water management and climate adaptation. To effectively consider and advance water management goals, members with appropriate technical backgrounds are needed. Given that Miami Beach is a leader in resilience, locating individuals with the appropriate water management and resilience expertise to sit on these boards should not be difficult. Having this perspective and knowledge base consistently represented and part of board deliberations and decisions will ensure that the topic remains a priority. In addition, existing board members should receive training on these topics to give them clear guidance on the strategies they should be using and applying. There is precedent elsewhere in the United States for requiring training on this topic. In 2017, Rhode Island approved legislation that required all members of local planning commissions or boards to receive training on floodplain development and sea-level rise, including modules on climate change, flooding, mapping tools, and stormwater.

For additional Information, please contact my office at extension 6437.