SFO previews 16-reach shoreline protection program; draft EIR scheduled for Aug. 31
August 25, 2022 | San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California
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San Francisco International Airport officials gave the Planning Commission a program-level preview of a multireach shoreline protection program designed to protect airport operations from flooding and sea-level rise.
David Kim, senior environmental planner at SFO, described the project as an infrastructure system divided into 16 reaches around about 8 miles of airport shoreline, with wall heights ranging roughly from 4 to 14 feet depending on location and primarily driven by metal sheet-pile construction. Concrete walls are proposed at the northern and southern terminal reaches. Kim said the programmatic draft environmental impact report will be published Aug. 31, beginning a public comment period from Sept. 1 to Oct. 17 and that a draft EIR hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6.
SFO staff listed project objectives: protect travelers and workers, remove airport lands from the 100-year floodplain, design for adaptability to future sea-level scenarios, preserve runway capacity while meeting FAA design standards, minimize hazardous wildlife attractants (to lower bird-strike risk), and expedite construction sequencing to limit operational impacts. Kim noted one alignment element (Reach 7 at Runway 19 end) would require bay fill and double sheet-pile construction to avoid airspace conflicts.
The presentation included anticipated environmental footprint estimates: about 26 acres of open-water fill and 3 acres of wetland fill associated with the protection system, and an estimated seven-year construction period for the program. Staff also described related work such as elevating nine stormwater outfalls, relocating service roads, building an internal roadway near the fuel tank farm for fire access, and reconstructing approach-light trestles so lighting remains above future protection elevations.
Staff did not request action; the item is informational ahead of the draft EIR release and public review period.
David Kim, senior environmental planner at SFO, described the project as an infrastructure system divided into 16 reaches around about 8 miles of airport shoreline, with wall heights ranging roughly from 4 to 14 feet depending on location and primarily driven by metal sheet-pile construction. Concrete walls are proposed at the northern and southern terminal reaches. Kim said the programmatic draft environmental impact report will be published Aug. 31, beginning a public comment period from Sept. 1 to Oct. 17 and that a draft EIR hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6.
SFO staff listed project objectives: protect travelers and workers, remove airport lands from the 100-year floodplain, design for adaptability to future sea-level scenarios, preserve runway capacity while meeting FAA design standards, minimize hazardous wildlife attractants (to lower bird-strike risk), and expedite construction sequencing to limit operational impacts. Kim noted one alignment element (Reach 7 at Runway 19 end) would require bay fill and double sheet-pile construction to avoid airspace conflicts.
The presentation included anticipated environmental footprint estimates: about 26 acres of open-water fill and 3 acres of wetland fill associated with the protection system, and an estimated seven-year construction period for the program. Staff also described related work such as elevating nine stormwater outfalls, relocating service roads, building an internal roadway near the fuel tank farm for fire access, and reconstructing approach-light trestles so lighting remains above future protection elevations.
Staff did not request action; the item is informational ahead of the draft EIR release and public review period.
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