City of Punta Gorda Adaptation Plan

James W. Beever III, Whitney Gray, Daniel Trescott, Dan Cobb, Jason Utley, David Hutchinson, John Gibbons, Tim Walker, Moji Abimbola, Judy Ott

Posted on: 11/17/2009 - Updated on: 7/13/2021

Posted by

programs

Published

2009-11

Abstract

City of Punta Gorda Adaptation Plan Update Southwest Florida is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to the consequences of climate change, especially sea level rise and increased hurricane activity and severity. Regardless of the underlying causes of climate change, global glacial melting and expansion of warming oceans are causing sea level rise, although its extent or rate cannot as yet be predicted with certainty.

Currently, the City of Punta Gorda is among the most progressive municipalities in the United States with regard to planning for climate change. It has already adopted comprehensive plan language to address the impacts of sea level rise, and seek strategies to combat its effects on the shoreline of the City.

This report identifies the alternative adaptations that could be undertaken to address the identified climate change vulnerabilities for the City of Punta Gorda. These adaptations are presented in the order of prioritized agreement from the public meetings. Only the highest agreement adaptation in each vulnerability area is fully developed for potential implementation. One of the utilities of this approach is that it provides a variety of adaptation options, which the City could select for implementation, adaptive management, and subsequent monitoring.

In 2019, the City of Punta Gorda, alongside Taylor Engineering, Inc., released an addendum to the 2009 plan that included a vulnerability analysis for city-owned infrastructure. This addendum also provides updates for the adaptation strategies implemented from the original plan as well as recommendations for future work needed.

Citation

Beever III, J. W., Gray, W., Trescott, D., Cobb, D., Utley, J., Hutchinson, D., Gibbons, J., Walker, T., Abimbola, M., Beever, L., & Ott, J. (2009). City of Punta Gorda adaptation plan. Retrieved from CAKE: http://www.cakex.org/virtual-library/3110

View Resource

Download Resource Download Resource

Affiliated Organizations

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program

The National Estuary Program (NEP) was established by Section 320 of the Water Quality Act of 1987. Section 320 authorizes the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to convene Management Conferences to develop Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans (CCMPs) for estuaries of national significance that are threatened by pollution, development or overuse. Section 320 also outlines the estuary designation process and the purposes of the Management Conference.