Prioritize Action to Mitigate the Impacts of Sea-level Rise in Suisun City

Mayor Hernandez & Suisun City Council

Suisun City is facing extreme risk as a result of sea-level rise and flood threats. With just 24” of sea-level rise, much of the City south of Highway 12 will face severe flood impacts. In the past year, the Climate and Environment Committee, led by Mayor Alma Hernandez, has taken strong initial steps to heighten awareness around the risk of sea level rise.

Local nonprofit Sustainable Solano brought together members of the public, Suisun City staff, elected officials and nonprofit partners for a Community Resilience Building (CRB) Workshop facilitated by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to identify priorities for addressing the threat of sea-level rise in Suisun City.

As a result of the CRB process, TNC compiled a Summary of Findings outlining key flood-related challenges, strengths and assets of the community, and priority actions for mitigating and adapting to flood-related hazards. This report was discussed as part of a climate resilience community forum, and hopefully will be incorporated into the City’s upcoming Strategic Planning process.

This letter intends to communicate our dedication and support for advancing the priorities identified in the CRB process through action led by the Climate and Environment Committee and Suisun City staff.

Suisun’s low-income populations and communities of color will be impacted first and worst by the impacts of flooding and climate change—taking action now to adapt and build resilience is not only in the best interest of protecting the city’s residents, but also its economic and infrastructure assets that similarly face extreme risk as a result of sea-level rise and flooding.

Showing support for prioritizing climate action is key to advancing equitable, ecological, solutions—read the letter and sign below to show your support for realizing climate resilience in Suisun City!

Sponsored by
Finallogos_10-10-2014-green-01
Greenbelt Alliance
San Francisco, CA

To: Mayor Hernandez & Suisun City Council
From: [Your Name]

Suisun City’s location on the marsh is a vital part of its character and history, but as sea-levels rise and storms become more severe as a result of climate change, Suisun City will face extreme flooding risks that threaten to displace thousands of residents, damage critical infrastructure, and cause massive disruptions to the local and regional economy.

This letter seeks to acknowledge the past and ongoing work of the City, Mayor Hernandez, and the Climate and Environment Committee in addressing the threats of flooding and sea-level rise to the City. Small cities like Suisun are up against numerous challenges when it comes to preparing for the future, but we are confident that with science-backed and community-informed strategies, Suisun City can emerge as a leader in ecological and equitable flood resilience.

We write this letter to applaud the emergent leadership of the City in climate resilience thus far, while also showing support for the City’s ongoing leadership and action in preparing for future impacts. Given the time scale and severity of flooding hazards, there is no time to waste.

We urge the City to advance adaptation and resilience by taking action on the priorities identified through the Community Resilience Building workshop conducted in June 2022. Some of these actions include, but are not limited to:

-Conduct a comprehensive assessment of current zoning regulations…[to] reduce future risk from hazards…
-Advance the development of a flood mitigation implementation and operations plan that identifies, prioritizes, and designs projects along with an implementation plan over the next 10 years.
-Review, coordinate, and prioritize with neighboring communities and partners innovative solutions for living alongside Suisun Marsh such as “living levees” or horizontal levees and the beneficial reuse of dredged material.
-Learn from other communities about successful options to increase engagement and capacity building among residents such as resilience hubs and climate education academies.

Greenbelt Alliance’s Resilience Playbook offers helpful guidance and grab-and-go policies that have helped other cities update plans and policies to build resilience. Adopting local policies and passing ordinances are key to preventing further damage by providing guidance for all types of city operations that will be impacted by flooding—from building heights, to road maintenance, to effective emergency communications and response.

Over the past year, Greenbelt Alliance and Sustainable Solano have been partnering as part of the Resilience Hotspots initiative —where we have identified Suisun as a Hotspot for near-term nature-based climate action. Explore the Suisun Hotspots Community Profile at greenbelt.org/suisun-city.

We invite the City to join this effort to expand awareness of the climate risks Suisun is facing, and more importantly, explore community-centered strategies for building resilience.

As a signatory of this letter, I support the City in taking action to (1) formalize climate adaptation and climate resilience as a citywide priority, (2) take steps to implement the Priority Actions identified in the CRB workshop, and (3) expand the reach of the Climate and Environment Committee. There is no “do-nothing” option with sea-level rise—the only way that future generations will be able to enjoy the beauty and benefits of Suisun City is through transformational and inclusive action, now.

Thank you for your service and dedication and we look forward to working together to achieve a more sustainable and equitable future for all.