City of Punta Gorda Adaptation Plan Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Technical Report 09-4 11/18/2009 James W. Beever III, Whitney Gray, Daniel Trescott, Dan Cobb, Jason Utley, David Hutchinson, John Gibbons, Tim Walker, Moji Abimbola: SWFRPC And Lisa B. Beever, Judy Ott: CHNEP 1926 Victoria Avenue Fort Myers FL 33901 (239) 338-2550 www.SWFRPC.org and www.CHNEP.org Adaptation Plan Page 1 The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program is a partnership of citizens, elected officials, resource managers and commercial and recreational resource users working to improve the water quality and ecological integrity of the greater Charlotte Harbor watershed. A cooperative decision-making process is used within the program to address diverse resource management concerns in the 4,400 square mile study area. Many of these partners also financially support the Program, which, in turn, affords the Program opportunities to fund projects such as this. The entities that have financially supported the program include the following: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Southwest Florida Water Management District South Florida Water Management District Florida Department of Environmental Protection Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority Polk, Sarasota, Manatee, Lee, Charlotte, DeSoto, and Hardee Counties Cities of Sanibel, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, North Port, Venice, Fort Myers Beach, and Winter Haven and the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. Adaptation Plan Page 2 Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Policy Committee Mr. Tom Welborn, Co-Chair Mr. Jon Iglehart, Co-Chair Branch Chief, Wetlands, Coastal, & Water Quality South District Director U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 Florida Department of Environmental Protection CITIES COUNTIES AGENCIES Hon. Tom Jones Vacant Hon. Don McCormick City of North Port Hardee County Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council Hon. Yvonne Brookes Hon. Adam Cummings Dr. Philip Stevens City of Winter Haven Charlotte County Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Mr. Martin Black Hon. Carol Whitmore Brig. Gen. Rufus C. Lazzell (U.S. Army, ret.) City of Venice Manatee County Southwest Florida Water Management District Hon. Richard Ferreira Hon. Ray Judah Ms. Patricia M. Steed City of Bonita Springs Lee County Central Florida Regional Planning Council Ms. Connie Jarvis Mr. Jeffrey Spence Mr. Charles Dauray City of Cape Coral Polk County South Florida Water Management District Hon. Adrian Jackson Hon. Jon Thaxton City of Bartow Sarasota County Hon. Herb Acken Vacant Town of Fort Myers Beach Desoto County Ms. Melanie Grisby City of Fort Myers Hon. Charles Wallace City of Punta Gorda Hon. Mick Denham City of Sanibel Management Committee Co-Chairs Mr. Bob Howard, Co-Chair Mr. Ken Heatherington, Co-Chair U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council Technical Advisory Committee Co-Chairs Citizens Advisory Committee Officers Mr. Greg Blanchard, Co-Chair Ms. Wilma Katz, Co-Chair Mr. John Ryan, Co-Chair Mr. Kayton Nedza, Co-Chair Ms. Elizabeth Staugler, Co-Chair Ms. Bobbi Rogers, Co-Chair Staff Dr. Lisa B. Beever, Director Ms. Elizabeth S. Donley, Esq., Deputy Director Ms. Judy Ott, Program Scientist Ms. Maran Brainard Hilgendorf, Communications Manager Adaptation Plan Page 3 Disclaimer: The material and descriptions compiled for this document (and appendices) are not U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, or Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program guidance, policy, nor a rulemaking effort, but are provided for informational and discussion purposes only. This document is not intended, nor can it be relied upon, to create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, non-profit organization, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, Environmental Protection Agency, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council or the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. The documents on this website contain links, for example ((Embedded image moved to file: pic01212.gif)), to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. Please be aware that the authors do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of links to a particular item(s) is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any view expressed or products or services offered by the author of the reference or the organization operating the service on which the reference is maintained. If you have any questions or comments on the content, navigation, maintenance, etc., of these pages, please contact: James W. Beever III Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council 1926 Victoria Avenue Fort Myers, FL 33901 Contact Name and Telephone Number: Jim Beever (239- 338-2550, ext 224) [email protected] Adaptation Plan Page 4 Acknowledgements This project has benefited from the contributions of numerous agencies and individuals that have contributed information, time, and opinion to the contents and recommendations. FUNDING FOR THIS REPORT WAS PROVIDED BY U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ASSISTANCE GRANT NUMBER CE- 96457406-4 WITH FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 4. Special assistance was received from Mr. John Wilson, USEPA, Region 4. The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program and the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council have provided the venue and support for the entire project and regular input in the structure and function of the plan. The authors of this report are: James W. Beever III, Whitney Gray, Daniel Trescott, Dan Cobb, Jason Utley, David Hutchinson, John Gibbons, Tim Walker, Moji Abimbola: SWFRPC And Lisa B. Beever, Maran Hilgendorf, Judy Ott: CHNEP Significant portions of this document‘s analysis of vulnerability depends in whole or in part on the Local Mitigation Strategy for Charlotte County/ City of Punta Gorda 2005, approved by FEMA on April 28. 2005 with the data analyzed and report produced by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council and authored by Marisa Barmby, Dan Trescott, and Tim Walker the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council 2009 special report to the Florida Energy and Climate Commission and the people of Florida entitled The effects of climate change on Florida’s ocean and coastal resources; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (IPCC) 2007 Climate change 2007: Synthesis report ,the 2007 report entitled Florida and climate change: The costs of inaction. By E. A. Stanton and F. Ackerman with the Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute and Stockholm Environment Institute–US Center The concepts of adaptation response to sea level rise explored in this report depend in large part on the work and contributions of Jim Titus, EPA; Michael Volk, University of Florida; and Dan Trescott, SWFRPC. Information and technical assistance from Mrs. Nichole L. Gwinnett, Administrative Services Specialist/IC&R Coordinator, SWFRPC; Ms. Rebekah Harp, Information Specialist/Webmaster, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council; Ms. Jennifer Pellechio, Senior Planner/Network Administrator, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council; Mr. Daniel L. Trescott, Project Service Manager, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, Mr. David Hutchinson, Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council and Ms. Liz Donley, Deputy Director, CHNEP. Adaptation Plan Page 5 Table of Contents Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. 5 Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 6 Executive Summary .................................................................................................16 Introduction ..............................................................................................................18 Elements of an Adaptation Plan ................................................................................................ 20 The Current Climate of Southwest Florida and the City of Punta Gorda ................................. 21 Geography, Topography and General Land Use ...................................................................... 24 Figure 1: The City of Punta Gorda in Relation to the State of Florida ............................. 24 Figure 2: The City of Punta Gorda in Relation to the CHNEP Boundary ........................ 25 Figure 3: USGS TOPO Map of the City of Punta Gorda ................................................. 27 Figure 4: Aerial Photograph of the City of Punta Gorda .................................................. 28 Figure 5: Existing Land Use of the City of Punta Gorda .................................................. 29 Table 1 - Generalized Existing Land Uses in the City of Punta Gorda ...........................