PARCEL TAX FOR FLOOD PROTECTION AND WETLAND RESTORATION MAY FLOAT TO 2016 BALLOT

The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority took a major step last week (June 29) toward placing a regional parcel tax measure on the June 2016 ballot. The $12 tax would raise $500 million over 20 years to fund flood protection infrastructure and wetland restoration projects across the San Francisco Bay.

According to an April 2015 study by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute – Surviving the Storm – the Bay Area today is at risk for more than $10 billion in economic damages in an extreme weather event, about the same as the Loma Prieta earthquake. If approved by voters, the Bay Area could gain up to 20 miles of new levees and 15,000 acres of restored wetlands. For more information or to engage with the Council on extreme weather and sea level rise, please contact Policy Associate Rachele Trigueros.