Residents ask who benefits if city builds floodwall and creates new land

Residents at the Waterfront Advisory Board meeting pressed staff on whether Army Corps of Engineers guidance would permit an in‑water floodwall and whether the city would be seen as giving private owners new land if backfill accompanies a seawall. Derek Martel asked whether the Corps would allow a floodwall built in the water and backfilled to create new land for owners such as Goodsell and Kavanaugh; Jacob Platt replied that permitting would be a significant challenge and that the plan's shown locations may be revised when costs and timing are developed in Phase 2.

Warren Mattiello said many local residents remain unclear about the stage of the project and urged transparency, asking "at this point, is the idea of Amelia Wharf a done deal?" Platt said the Wharf had gotten conceptual approval from HDC and would now move into technical site review, but that the Harbor Master Plan itself remains in concept and that the board's input will be included in the Commission packet.