PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Portland city planners are proposing new zoning rules that would encourage developers to consider sea-level rise when building in flood-prone areas.
The proposal would let developers build taller buildings if they can prove the additional height is being used to prepare for water-level changes associated with climate change.
The Portland Press Herald reports the city’s Planning Board is expected to review the proposed Coastal Resiliency Overlay Zone on Tuesday night. The City Council’s Sustainability and Transportation Committee will review the proposal Sept. 18.
The overlay zone’s exact boundaries have not yet been determined, but city planners plan to work off the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s estimates of a 10-foot sea level rise.
According to the department, those numbers could become a reality as soon as 2100.
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