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Goal 3: Protect and enhance our waterfront

City of Miami has 88 miles of waterfront -- bayside, and riverside combined. The waterfront is Miami’s first line of defense against flooding and, while it is the most vulnerable, it is also ripe for investment and enhancement. 29 of those miles are City-owned and the remaining 59 miles are privately-owned, underscoring the necessity for government and property owners to work together to develop and install uniform solutions. Through a combination of nature-based and structural means, we can reduce Miami’s risk of coastal and riverine flooding, and make these areas more resilient. We must develop and implement city-wide waterfront standards that will reduce flood impacts from tidal events and storm surge, provide standards for aesthetic cohesion, help us adapt to sea level rise over time, and enhance waterfront access.

OBJECTIVES

Objective 3.1: Reduce the severity, duration, and impact of coastal and riverine flooding on shorelines and surrounding communities.
Objective 3.2: Update and implement waterfront design standards.
Objective 3.3: Accelerate investment in features along the waterfront.

Types of Actions

	PLAN development of a document or gathering of information intended to inform future initiatives
	POLICY update or addition to a City policy or standard
	PROGRAM creation or refinement of an on-going initiative that typically serves external stakeholders
	PROJECT a one-time initiative to develop a specific deliverable
	PROTOCOL revision or addition to the standard operating procedure, practices, or operations of a City department

Phase 1 Actions (Years 0-1)

Type	Action	Lead(s)	Partners
Policy	Update city policy to ensure design scopes for city-owned waterfront and drainage projects prioritize and integrate green infrastructure solutions such as living shorelines and bioswales to improve coastal protection, drainage, and water quality, and enhance natural systems.	OCI	DREAM, ORS, Planning, RPW
	Complete Bayside and Riverside waterfront design standards and guidelines to ensure that standards consider sea level rise, increasing heat, changing precipitation and storm patterns, and evolving land-use.	Planning	ORS, RPW
	Implement changes to City seawall standards considering sea level rise projections through 2060 and designing for adaptability over time. Inform and engage key stakeholders prior to introducing the new standards.	RPW	City Attorney,ORS, Planning
Project	Continue installation of tidal valves at City outfalls to reduce high-tide flooding through storm drains.	RPW	OCI, ORS
Project	Select and begin design work on 1-2 sites for a living shoreline demonstration project. Use these demonstrations to build partnerships and shared learning across agencies for new approaches to building resilience and supporting the health of Biscayne Bay.	ORS	OCI, Parks, RPW
Protocol	Conduct annual review of King Tide standard operating procedures and consider adjustments that will improve mapping, real-time flood sensing, communications, and short-term response.	RPW	OCI, ORS

Phase 2 Actions (Years 2-3)

Type	Action	Lead(s)	Partners
Plan	Develop long-term financing and implementation strategy to upgrade and maintain City-owned, public seawalls.	CFO	Grants,OCI,ORS, RPW
Policy	Engage and address relevant regulatory agencies to advance a more expansive waterfront design framework that allows for softer edges that extend into Biscayne Bay.	ORS	DERM,RPW, OCI, Planning
Policy	Develop and build upon landscaping and vegetation standards that require native plantings for city swales and along waterfront areas that are more resilient to salt water, hurricanes, and extreme weather events.	Planning	ORS, Parks,RPW
Program	Explore the creation of a nonprofit place-based organization or conservancy to facilitate private investment or management of urban waterfronts.	DDA	OCI, ORS, Planning,RPW
Project	Track and actively engage in the USACE Back Bay Study, search for ways to enhance functional design for aesthetics and quality of life, and support the implementation of an iconic storm surge barrier in the Miami River.	RPW	ORS
Project	Update existing stormwater pump station infrastructure to account for sea level rise and provide greater dependability during hurricanes and extreme weather events.	RPW	OCI

Phase 3 Actions (Years 4-6)

Type	Action	Lead(s)	Partners
Policy	Develop and implement public-private financing strategies, such as special taxing districts and tax increment financing, to facilitate and incentivize construction of seawalls and Bay and Riverwalk waterfronts.	OMB,Finance	City Attorney, ORS, Planning, RPW

Phase 4 Actions (Years 7+)

Type	Action	Lead(s)	Partners
Project	Construct storm surge and tidal gateway barriers and other waterfront features to reduce risk from storm surge up Miami River, Little River, and other canals as needed.	USACE	MDC, RPW
Protocol	Add language to the Miami's Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan (MCNP) to establish a process to review and update seawall elevation standards, seawall design standards, and Bay and Riverwalk design standards every 10 years.	Planning, RPW