Developer agent proposes onshore seawalls built with new projects to speed resiliency work

Ron Flick, agent for the Simmons development, told the Waterfront Advisory Board that embedding a resiliency wall into private development could reduce permitting complexity and cost compared with a seawall built out in the water and backfilled. Flick said developers could construct a 9‑foot cap that would be incorporated into building entry elevations so "you don't see the cap of this wall at 9 feet," and that such an approach would allow successive properties to connect to a standardized, connectable wall.

Flick cautioned that in‑water construction would trigger significant mitigation and a long Army Corps permitting timeline. "Originally, the core was not gonna make you offset and mitigate as long as you didn't backfill. But that turns out not to be the case, which drives up the cost and the permitting time to be excruciating," he said. Board members pressed staff to explore ordinance language or standards that would require consistent design and maintenance if private owners build their portions of the wall, and the board asked that the idea be included in the packet for the Commission workshop.