Good afternoon - A member of this group has an inquiry about addressing sea level rise. I have provided the inquiry below. If you have faced this issue and have any ordinances or experiences you can share, please send them to me (akarras@imla.org<mailto:akarras@imla.org>) and I will connect you with the inquiring member. Here is the inquiry: Our Planning Department is poised to introduce to our County Council a sea level rise ordinance, establishing building elevation standards for new construction within the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area ("SLRXA"). The elevation standards are established pursuant to SLRXA scientific study and modeling performed by a consortium of experts. Our current legal research is focused upon withstanding challenge to establishing elevation standards based upon projections and prospective data, as opposed to historical data, as is the case with FEMA elevation and flood insurance requirements. One County is already faced with a legal challenge to its sea level rise ordinance, which is based upon the projected SLRXA erosion line. The challengers in that case allege that this regulation cannot be based upon a projected, as opposed to an historical, erosion line. Our County's proposed ordinance does not prohibit construction based upon the projected erosion line, but will require building foundation elevation based upon projected SLRXA hazards. Have other members have faced a similar issue? If you have any experience in drafting and passing a sea level rise ordinance, either a building prohibition, elevation standard, or other restriction, it would be very helpful to hear from you. Amanda Kellar Karras Executive Director / General Counsel P: (202) 466-5424 x7116 Email: akarras@imla.org [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> [logo]<https://imla.org/> 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org/> Plan Ahead! IMLA's Mid-Year Seminar, April 8-11, 2022 in Washington DC! IMLA's 87th Annual Conference<https://imla.org/annual-conference/>, Oct. 19-23, 2022 in Portland, OR!