Flagler Drive: WPB Development vs. Sea-Level Rise

        The annual "King Tides" of September and October 2019 once again forewarned the City of West Palm Beach of the future danger of sea-level rise along its highly valued eight-mile shoreline fronting the Lake Worth Lagoon.
         City street crews are very aware of flood hazards along Flagler Drive. They are on the front line of the environmental battle - posting street flooding signs on Oct. 1 to warn motorists of the pending danger at four locations, and clearing the city's overburdened storm water drains that are often unable to keep pace with the combination of rain and high tides.
         However, for a coastal city facing a future of sea-level rise within its tidal estuary, the issue is strangely muted at City Hall, especially when developers present their high-rise condominium and hotel projects for Flagler Drive. The street is within a designated FEMA flood zone and county hurricane evacuation area.
        In April 2012, the city released its comprehensive "Rethink Paradise: The West Palm Beach Sustainability Action Plan" as a 123-page blueprint to use when facing a variety of future environmental issues. The action plan correctly states (on Page 4), "The city is within the front line of climate change impacts such as sea-level rise and increased hurricane intensity."
        "One of Florida's greatest threats associated with a changing climate is sea-level rise," the report continues (on Page 7). "There can be a devastating effect on our built environment, including water and sewer infrastructure, coastal erosion leading to property loss, and salt water intrusion into our drinking water supply."
        A consensus of estimates by NOAA and the 2015 "Unified Sea-Level Rise Projections for Southeast Florida" predict higher water levels of up to one foot by 2030 and three feet by the year 2060.
        In the seven years that have elapsed since the release of "Rethink Paradise,' coastal development has accelerated while solutions to the sea-level rise problem remain elusive.
        The City Commission approved the 25-story "Bristol" condominium built on infill land extending into the Lake Worth Lagoon. It was followed in succession by the high-rise "La Clara"  (2018) and "Forte" (2019) waterfront projects along South Flagler Drive.
        Developers currently have their sights on redevelopment of the Currie Park Corridor along North Flagler Drive. Currie Park also happens to be the city's last best hope of creating a true green space buffer against future storm surge and high tides east of Flagler.

The Galveston and Richmond Models
        Progressive cities facing the threat of climate change have opted for two alternative approaches to negate the impacts of sea-level rise. Like many Florida coastal cities, Galveston, TX, has suffered from the ravages of hurricane storm surge and flooding. This included the devastating Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest storm in U.S. history.
        Galveston is meeting future storm surge threats by "armoring" its coastline with a massive 10-mile seawall capable of holding back tidal flooding. It is a solution also used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent inland flooding along Lake Okeechobee.
        Richmond, the capital of the State of Virginia, is intersected by the James River, one of the state's historic tidewater estuaries. The city's solution to river flooding is limiting development along its banks. Parks and green spaces front nearly 50 percent of the waterway within the city limits.
        The use of development setbacks and green spaces along flood-prone waterways is gaining popularity nationwide as a means of preventing future damages to a city's infrastructure from sea-level rise.
        In West Palm Beach, renovation of the downtown waterfront, with its elevated seawall, benefited the Clematis business district by creating a community green space that also serves as a flood barrier.  Most of the remainder of Flagler Drive lacks this protection.
        City staff is hopeful that improvements to its storm water drainage system in 2020-21 will be enough to meet the short-term challenge of sea-level rise in its coastal neighborhoods.
       In the City of West Palm Beach, "Rethink Paradise" will require additional long-term actions and not just words to protect residents from sea-level rise in the future. For those still doubting the urgency of this issue, just remember two words - Hurricane Dorian.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019. 
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