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The City Council unanimously approved a plan to lift and link the Redwood Shores levee system on Monday, a sizeable step in the city’s long-term effort to secure the area from sea-level rise through 2100.
Over 100 years ago, Redwood City was constructed on a constellation of marshes. Today, it has the highest risk of severe coastal flooding among California cities, according to 2025 data from Climate Central. A major storm could inundate all of Redwood Shores and U.S. Highway 101, and slosh parts of Woodside Road and Downtown, too, according to San Mateo County’s Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment.
The City Council opted for the staff-recommended option: connect the levee system, raise it 3.5 feet, and reinforce roughly 7 miles of shoreline, rather than the alternative of lifting the levee to 6 feet.
Preserving the natural landscape of Redwood Shores and enhancing its recreational amenities will be premium priorities, as will be keeping over $8 billion in property safe, Tanisha Werner, the city’s transportation and engineering director, said at the Monday meeting. These stakeholders include residences, Redwood Shores Elementary School, Design Tech High School, childcare facilities, Sandpiper Community Center, Redwood Shores Library, San Carlos Airport, Silicon Valley Clean Water, SamTrans bus depot, a fire station, Oracle’s campus and Redwood LIFE campus.
“You’re both paying a price… from an aesthetic standpoint, but also from a maintenance standpoint,” Paige Saber, a Redwood City senior civil engineer, said in her Monday presentation, regarding the unpopular option. “You’re paying for an asset that’s going to be depreciating in value and deteriorating a useful levy when you don’t need it yet.”
Council member Isabella Chu agreed.
“I would hate to let perfect be the enemy of good if we aren’t able to do this quickly,” Chu said, noting the staff report that showed every five years this project is delayed, over $100 million is lost.
About five years ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency notified the city that the Redwood Shores levee system no longer met its accreditation standards. FEMA accreditation can affect flood insurance rates and funding for disaster recovery and mitigation projects.
Council member Jeff Gee said that FEMA has “changed the rules” in the past, and so the council should “think from FEMA’s viewpoint” and work to protect the “seclusion designation” that has historically relieved Redwood Shores occupants from paying for flood insurance.
In an effort to maintain accreditation, the city applied for a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program grant, which was awarded in 2024. The $2 million grant requires submission of 60% of the design before July 2026, a rapidly approaching deadline that prompted the council to advance the project, despite public requests to slow it down.
Gita Dev, a spokesperson for the Sierra Club, said at Monday’s meeting that she’s frustrated that city staff failed to publish the results of the community survey before recommending a major design update.
Nonetheless, the city’s senior civil engineer insisted that the project team conducted “robust” community outreach from October 2025 through February. This included launching a project website, posting signage, holding community meetings, and distributing a project survey. Nearly 500 folks responded to the survey, with around 90% using the trail system at least weekly.
Council member Chris Sturken addressed Dev’s concern, noting that the design will not be completed until 2030 and that there will be “many opportunities to give input.”
Other secured funding includes a $715,000 capital outlay grant match, with the city intending to pursue an additional $1 million from capital outlay funds, cost-sharing agreements with benefiting agencies, and other grants. The city aims to complete the project by 2034.
