Carmel-by-the-Sea holds public workshop on sea-level rise, coastal adaptation

A public workshop in Carmel-by-the-Sea brought city staff, consultants and community members together to review technical findings about shoreline hazards and collect public input on adaptation options for Carmel Beach.

Council member Barron opened the session by recalling the city’s climate planning effort and stressing advance planning: "planning is the key to success," he said, noting earlier work on the Climate Action and Climate Adaptation plans and the city’s recent shoreline study. Anastasia Aziz of EMC Planning Group told attendees the project is funded by a California Coastal Commission grant and that proposed amendments to the city’s local coastal program would follow a technical-to-policy path: Planning Commission for recommendation, City Council for adoption and then Coastal Commission review.

Matt Jamieson, project scientist with Integral Consulting, summarized phase-one technical work on seasonal beach variability, dune and cliff erosion and modeled future coastal change. He cited the nearby Monterey tide gauge and said the local observed rate is "about 1.7 millimeters per year," while noting global averages are larger and uncertainty grows farther into the century. Jamieson described storm-driven sand transport, noting the 1997–98…