Protecting Virginia Waterfront Properties from Rising Sea Level

Recently, Skip Stiles of Wetlands Watch wrote an opinion piece in the Virginian-Pilot which detailed some of the billions in costs that the Hampton Roads, Virginia needs to properly plan for expected sea-level rise. Stiles noted that despite the ongoing municipal planning and the dire nature of the problem, the General Assembly was not allocating any funding to assist and was abdicating leadership on this vital issue. On Sunday, Norfolk City Councilwoman Andrea McClelland and Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck responded to Stiles in their own op-ed. As the chair and vice chair of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission Coastal Resiliency Subcommittee, respectively, they described the work being done on resiliency at the municipal and regional level in the area. While collaborative efforts are certainly important, Stiles never claimed that local planning was the problem. He noted that planning is of little use without the funding to execute those plans. As Stiles explained, the region has fallen behind other areas of the country in this regard, and time is not on our side.