Belmont is officially dipping a toe into the big regional levee game, taking its first formal step to explore stronger flood protection for the low-lying Island Park neighborhood. The City Council on Tuesday signed off on early engineering and outreach work that could eventually plug Island Park into a much larger levee system, but for now it is all about planning, not piling up dirt. Residents and property owners can expect community meetings and technical reports before the city gets anywhere near a final funding decision.
Council OKs preliminary planning contract
At Tuesday's meeting, the council authorized the city manager to negotiate an architectural and engineering agreement with Schaaf & Wheeler for "Task 1" work, which covers preliminary planning, community outreach and an evaluation of alternatives, in an amount not to exceed $208,787, according to the City of Belmont. The agenda labels the item as the "Redwood Shores Sea Level Rise Protection Project Contract - Island Park Evaluation" and includes a staff report spelling out the scope.
What the study will examine
The agreement is designed to let Belmont independently test whether it makes financial and technical sense to fold Belmont Creek and the Island Park neighborhood into a broader levee network. Senior Civil Engineer Elizabeth Wada told the council that the primary objective is to move Island Park out of FEMA's Zone AE and into Zone X, which would reduce long-term flood risk for the neighborhood, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.
How this ties to Redwood City's plan
Belmont's move is linked to a larger, separate push led by Redwood City to raise and connect levee segments around Redwood Shores. That project is designed to meet FEMA levee reaccreditation standards while also working in habitat-friendly features and public access. Redwood City describes the effort as focused on protecting homes, schools and critical infrastructure, while also syncing with countywide resilience planning.
Price tag and schedule
Local coverage pegs the full construction cost for the Redwood Shores upgrades at about $200 million, with the council having already approved a design elevation that staff say would provide protection through the year 2100. Construction is projected to begin around 2030 and could take several years if the money comes together, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal. The project also carries a $2 million FEMA grant that is tied to hitting design milestones, and staff have cautioned that delays will only drive costs higher.
Regional stakes and FEMA risk
FEMA told Redwood City in 2020 that its existing levee system no longer met current accreditation standards. If upgrades do not happen, map changes could kick thousands of homes into Special Flood Hazard Areas, with all the insurance and financial headaches that come with that designation. OneShoreline, the county's flood and sea level rise district, is coordinating with partner cities on technical work and grant pursuits to avoid that outcome and to spread costs across multiple jurisdictions, according to OneShoreline.
What's next for Belmont
For Belmont, Schaaf & Wheeler's Task 1 assignment includes survey and modeling work, community outreach and an alternatives analysis that will give the city the technical backbone for a go or no-go decision. The meeting agenda makes clear that this step is limited to preliminary planning and does not commit Belmont to any construction, as laid out in the city's materials. If the study shows clear benefits to joining the regional levee effort, city officials say they will look at cost-sharing options, potential grants and the next round of design work with neighboring jurisdictions.
