St. Pete Beach flags $30.1 million Don CeSar resiliency adaptation in stormwater plan

City staff presented stormwater projects in the capital improvement plan and flagged a $30,100,000 resiliency-adaptation project for the Don CeSar/Boca Ciega area as a number-one priority in the stormwater fund.

Why it matters: The Don CeSar resiliency adaptation is a multi-decade, multi-million-dollar proposal to reduce flooding and improve long-term resilience for a neighborhood repeatedly affected by storm surge and recurring flooding events. The scale of the project exceeds the stormwater fund’s current capacity and will depend on outside grant and mitigation funding.

Devin Schmidt and staff reviewed ranked stormwater projects and emphasized that the Don CeSar adaptation would be financially challenging for the city to undertake alone. The committee heard the project is linked to a broader watershed-management master plan and that the city has prioritized pump/lift station and cleaning/inspection work in nearer-term budgets.

Staff told the committee the city is coordinating with county mitigation planning and other grant sources and that the $30.1 million figure is an early project estimate in the capital forecast. The committee did not approve funding; members asked for further analysis and noted matching, maintenance and permitting needs would be part of any grant application.

Next steps: Staff will continue watershed master planning and coordination with county and federal mitigation programs and will return with more detailed scope and funding options for committee and commission consideration.