Treasure Island introduces new terrain modification program to combat sea level rise

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - The City of Treasure Island introduced a new terrain modification program to combat sea level rise called "Elevate T.I." 

Frequent flooding events have become the price to pay to live in paradise for its 6,700 year-round residents. 

"During storms, all the water from the gulf will come up and go onto our driveway, it brings all the sand, and it looks like the beach," said resident Jo-Anna Frustaglio.

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City staff said in the past 20 years, the island has experienced six inches of sea level rise.

Stacy Boyles, the public works director, said, "2040 is only 16 years away, and we’re expecting another seven inches of sea level rise increase just using moderate projections. We really feel that if we don’t start to plan now and start to implement these changes now, we’re going to be behind the 8-ball."

Boyles and her staff got to the drawing board. 

"We’ve developed the terrain modification program, which consists of two components. One is requiring the use of fill material when redeveloping properties and the other is a set of code revisions that allow us to responsibly use fill," she said. 

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Previous to the program, Treasure Island was a "no-fill city." 

"When you constructed a building, you could not add any additional fill material," she said, "So when you’re elevating to go above your FEMA flood elevation, you were only doing that by using piles."

With Elevate T.I, both new and existing private and commercial property owners would be strongly encouraged to use fill materials to elevate properties on a case-by-case basis. Then, the city will raise roads slightly lower to still allow roadway drainage. The goal would be to raise the entire island by the year 2100.

Sunset Beach resident Mary Elizabeth Ball said the program is something she can get behind. 

"They’re trying to manage the best that they can and each time that we get one of these unusual storms which we’ve had two of recently, they see new problems that they haven’t addressed before," Ball said. 

Elevate T.I. is still in its early planning stages. City staff are seeking input from residents through this online survey. For more information on Elevate T.I., click here.