City of Sunny Isles Beach Official Website
By Dana Goldman, Commissioner
(Friday, December 28, 2018) – If a single storyline dominates the media today regarding coastal cities, it is climate change and sea level rise. The media’s fever-pitched and urgent call to action should affect policymakers at every level. Indeed, our City’s Comprehensive Plan, a blueprint for existing and future development, was amended in 2016 to include our responsibility to address sea level rise and provide mitigation strategies.
Our City has made important strides in addressing flooding and storm surge events. We’ve implemented stormwater capital improvements, acquired lands for green space and planted hundreds of additional trees. Our beach renourishment is complete, and we joined the American Flood Coalition where I currently serve on the Interim Advisory Board.
Yet, we must continually ask ourselves, how can our city be more sustainable and more resilient Over the years, residents have offered numerous suggestions, including banning single-use plastics and adapting to alternative energy sources. We’ve had numerous discussions with neighboring municipalities about resiliency and workable adaptation strategies. But we must do more to increase our sustainability education and awareness platform. We can and should decrease our energy, water and fuel consumption and continue to encourage and enhance options for recycling and alternative modes of transportation.
I will continue to work with my colleagues on the City Commission to address this profoundly important issue. Climate change, sea level rise and resiliency cuts across the global, national, statewide, and local spectrum. I welcome your input and can be reached at dgoldman@sibfl.net.