Resolution 2021-31902RESOLUTION NO. 2021-31902
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
LAND USE AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AT ITS SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
MEETING, AND THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE AT
ITS SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 MEETING, TO PROCEED WITH A TEN-YEAR
PUBLIC SEAWALL RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach (the "City") is investing in infrastructure to reduce flood
risk and adapt to climate change. As part of its resilience efforts, the City has updated its land
development regulations to address stormwater retention, setbacks, and to increase base flood and
freeboard requirements. Most recently, the City adopted an Ordinance titled "Resiliency Standards
for Tidal and Flood Protection," requiring all new seawalls, and seawalls proposed to be
reconstructed, to have a minimum elevation of 5.7 ft. NAVD; and
WHEREAS, the City has approximately 55 miles of seawalls of which approximately 50
miles are privately owned, and 5 miles are City -owned; and
WHEREAS, the City has reconstructed approximately 1 mile of seawalls, 0.2 miles of
seawalls are currently in the design phase, and an additional 1 mile of seawalls are either under
construction or under procurement to be constructed. The remaining 2.8 miles of City -owned
seawalls require reconstruction; and
WHEREAS, the Public Works Department has developed a ten-year prioritization listforthe
reconstruction of the remaining 2.8 miles of City -owned seawalls. Factors such as elevation,
location, and condition of,each seawall were used to develop the initial ranking of each seawall; and
WHEREAS, the initial rankings were then adjusted to capture the benefits derived from
contiguous private seawall segments. By optimizing the elevation of public seawalls adjacent to
extended private seawall segments, the City can mitigate additional flooding and encourage
residents to reconstruct their own seawalls; and
WHEREAS, prioritization of public seawalls is the first step to establish a continuous storm
surge and overland flooding barrier throughout the City. Utilizing the elevation data that was
collected for all public and private seawalls, staff will work with private property owners to
communicate future flood risk and vulnerability. Staff will also be revisiting discussions with financial
institutions that could potentially assist private property owners with financing; and
WHEREAS, additional details on each of the ranking factors are as follows:
Elevation:
Public Works performed a topographical "survey of all seawalls within the
City. The survey was performed using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS),
colloquially known as a drone, equipped with state-of-the-art Light Detection
and Ranging (LiDaR) technology to determine the ground elevations. This
data was analyzed to distill the mean seawall elevations and lengths for all
public and private seawalls.
Location:
Adjustments were made to the initial rankings to consider the location of
each seawall. Seawalls located parallel to emergency evacuation routes,
such as Indian Creek or Dade Boulevard, were ranked higher than those
located at street ends or residential neighborhoods.
Condition:
In 2011, a comprehensive seawall assessment was completed which
evaluated all public seawalls for structural integrity, likelihood of failure, and
its criticality. This assessment was validated in 2015 by a visual structural
inspection. Based on these findings, the City reconstructed about 1 mile of
seawalls that were considered critical and in poor structural condition.
The initial rankings for the seawall prioritization were also adjusted to
account for critical seawalls determined to be in poor structural condition.
The seawall prioritization should be adjusted accordingly following periodic
future structural assessments.
Contiguous Seawalls:
The benefit of elevating public seawalls must account for contiguous private
seawall segments adjacent to the public seawall being elevated. This is
especially true for those areas where the public seawall is at a relatively low
elevation compared to the private seawalls. Thus, the prioritization exhibited
included higher rankings for those seawalls where additional benefits can be
realized from extended private seawall segments; and
WHEREAS, based on planning level estimates, the proposed ten-year Public Seawall
Reconstruction Program requires a total budget in the amount of $48.5M, $21 M of which has been
fully funded. An additional $5M is expected in FY 22 from the budget cycle and another $5M in FY
23 from G.O. Bond. This results in a funding gap of $17.5M. Below is the anticipated expenditure
schedule for the total $48.5M:
FY21 $1.5M
FY22 $16.3M
FY24 $7.1 M
FY26 $9.9M
FY28 $6.8M
FY30 $6.9M; and
WHEREAS, the $48.5M includes $38.5M for the 2.8 miles of seawalls as depicted on the
seawall priority map. It also includes the following: $1.5M for the 0.2 miles of seawalls in design,
$5M for the remainder Indian Creek Drive seawall and $3.5M for two seawall projects currently in
the procurement phase; and
WHEREAS, these estimates remain planning level estimates (AACE 56R-08 Class 5) until
verified by the engineer of record during the design process; and
WHEREAS, the proposed ten-year Public Seawall Reconstruction Program was presented
to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee and Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee on
September 14, 2021, and September 24, 2021, respectively; and
2
WHEREAS, both Committees endorsed the Public Seawall Reconstruction Program and
transmitted a favorable recommendation to the City Commission.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission hereby accept
the recommendations of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee at its September 14, 2021
meeting and the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee at its September 24, 2021 meeting,
and approve and direct the City Administration to proceed with a ten-year Public Seawall
Reconstruction Program, subject to future budgetary appropriations and required approvals by the
City Commission.
PASSED and ADOPTED THIS
ATTEST:
OCT 1 5 2021
Rafael E. Granado
City Clerk
13 day of 0(h 6"1 2021
3
Dan Gelber
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND
LANGUAGE AND FOR EXECUTION
City Attorney Qk
t6 -1(-w
Date
Resolutions - R7 J
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
DATE: October 13, 2021
SUBJECT.A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE LAND USE AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AT ITS SEPTEMBER
14, 2021 MEETING, AND THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY
COMMITTEE AT ITS SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 MEETING, TO PROCEED
WITHATEN-YEAR PUBLIC SEAWALL RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM.
RECOMMENDATION
The prioritization of public seawalls was primarily based on elevation and location, with some
adjustment for seawalls known to be in poor structural condition. A total of 66 City -owned
seawalls were identified as needing reconstruction. The prioritization list was subdivided into
5 groups, with 2 -year cycles for each group, thereby accommodating the entire reconstruction
program within a period of 10 years. The prioritization list should be flexible and subject to minor
revisions to reflect new City acquisitions, updated condition assessments, and other unforeseen
conditions.
The Administration recommends accepting the recommendation of the Land Use and
Sustainability Committee at its September 14, 2021 meeting and the Finance and Citywide
Projects Committee at its September 24, 2021 meeting, to proceed with a ten-year seawall
reconstruction program.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
The City of Miami Beach is investing in infrastructure to reduce flood risk and adapt to climate
change. As part of its resilience efforts, the City has updated its land development regulations to
address stormwater retention, setbacks, and to increase base flood and freeboard
requirements. Most recently, the City adopted an Ordinance titled "Resiliency Standards for
Tidal and Flood Protection", requiring all new seawalls, and those being reconstructed, to have a
minimum elevation of 5.7 ft. NAVD.
ANALYSIS
The City of Miami Beach has approximately 55 miles of seawalls of which approximately 50
miles are privately owned, and 5 miles are City -owned.
The City of Miami Beach has reconstructed approximately 1 mile of seawalls, 0.2 miles of
Page 722 of 1095
seawalls are currently in the design phase, and an additional 1 mile of seawalls are either under
construction or under procurement to be constructed. The remaining 2.8 miles of City -owned
seawalls require reconstruction.
The Public Works Department has developed a 10 year prioritization list for the reconstruction
of the remaining 2.8 miles of City -owned seawalls. Factors such as elevation, location, condition
of each seawall were used to develop the initial ranking of each seawall.
The initial rankings were then adjusted to capture the benefits derived from contiguous private
seawalls segments. By optimizing the elevation of public seawalls adjacent to extended private
seawall segments, the City can mitigate additional flooding and encourage residents to
reconstruct their own seawalls. The public seawall prioritization is the first step to establish a
continuous storm surge and overland flooding barrier throughout the City. Utilizing the elevation
data that was collected for all public and private seawalls, staff will work with private property
owners to communicate future flood risk and vulnerability. Staff will also be revisiting discussions
with financial institutions that could potentially assist private property owners with financing.
Additional details on each of the ranking factors are provided below.
Elevation:
Public Works performed a topographical survey of all seawalls within the City. The survey was
performed using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), colloquially known as a drone,- equipped
with state-of-the-art Light Detection and Ranging (LiDaR) technology to determine the ground
elevations. This data was analyzed to distill the mean seawall elevations and lengths for all
public and private seawalls.
Location:
Adjustments were made to the initial rankings to consider the location of each seawall. Seawalls
located parallel to emergency evacuation routes, such as Indian Creek or Dade Boulevard,
were ranked higher than those located at street ends or residential neighborhoods.
Condition:
In 2011, a comprehensive seawall assessment was completed which evaluated all public
seawalls for structural integrity, likelihood of failure, and its criticality. This assessment was
validated in 2015 by a visual structural inspection. Based on these findings, the City
reconstructed about 1 mile of seawalls that were considered critical and in poor structural
condition.
The initial rankings for the seawall prioritization were also adjusted to account for critical seawalls
determined to be in poor structural condition. The seawall prioritization should be adjusted
accordingly following periodic future structural assessments.
Contiguous Seawalls:
The benefit of elevating public seawalls must account for contiguous private seawall segments
adjacent to the public seawall being elevated. This is especially true for those areas where the
public seawall is at a relatively low elevation compared to the private seawalls. Thus, the
prioritization exhibited included higher rankings for those seawalls where additional benefits can
be realized from extended private seawall segments.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Page 723 of 1095
Based on planning level estimates, the ten-year public seawall reconstruction program requires
a total budget in the amount of $48.5M, $21 M of which has been fully funded. An additional $5M
is expected in FY 22 from the budget cycle and another $5M in FY 23 from G.O. Bond. This
results in a funding gap of $17.5M. Below is the anticipated expenditure schedule for the total
$48.5M:
FY21 $1.5M
FY22 $16.3M
FY24 $7.1 M
FY26 $9.9M
FY28 $6.8M
FY30 $6.9M
The $48.5M includes $38.5M for the 2.8 miles of seawalls as depicted on the seawall priority
map. It also includes the following: $1.5M for the 0.2 miles of seawalls in design, $5M for the
remainder Indian Creek Drive seawall and $3.5M for two seawall projects currently under the
process of procurement.
These estimates remain planning level estimates (AACE 56R-08 Class 5) until verified by the
engineer of record during the design process.
The ten-year public seawall reconstruction program was presented to the Land Use and
Sustainability Committee and Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee members at their
September 14, 2021 and September 24, 2021 meetings respectively. Both received favorable
recommendations to proceed to the next City Commission for approval.
SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA
Results from the 2019 Resident Survey regarding Satisfaction with Perceptions of the City
show that 46% of residents rated City efforts to reduce risk from rainfall and sea level rise as
very satisfied/satisfied. To improve public satisfaction in this area, the proposed ten-year public
seawall prioritization will be utilized to develop a comprehensive action plan that includes grant
funding opportunities, living shoreline options, and private property options.
•N •.a
The prioritization of public seawalls was primarily based on elevation and location, with some
adjustment for seawalls known to be in poor structural condition. A total of 66 City -owned
seawalls were identified as needing reconstruction. The prioritization list was subdivided into
5 groups, with 2 -year cycles for each group, thereby accommodating the entire reconstruction
program within a period of 10 years. The prioritization list should be flexible and subject to minor
revisions to reflect new City acquisitions, updated condition assessments, and other unforeseen
conditions.
The Administration recommends accepting the recommendation of the Land Use and
Sustainability Committee at its September 14, 2021 meeting and the Finance and Citywide
Projects Committee at its September 24, 2021 meeting, to proceed with a ten-year seawall
reconstruction program.
Applicable Area
Citywide
Page 724 of 1095
Is this a "Residents Right
to Know" item pursuant to
City Code Section 2-147
Yes
Legislative Tracking
Public Works
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
D Resolution
Does this item utilize G.O.
Bond Funds?
Yes
Page 725 of 1095