King Tides Don’t Wait. Neither Should City Hall.
King Tides and Flooding in Larkspur
This is not a minor inconvenience.
When the water comes up through your floors, seeps into your walls, and ruins everything you've spent a lifetime building, it's not a weather event you shrug off. It's a crisis. A $30,000 repair bill. A $50,000 restoration. Sometimes more. And for too many Larkspur families, it's not a once-in-a-decade disaster. It's every year.
That kind of loss is not sustainable. It is not something neighbors should simply accept as the price of living near Corte Madera Creek. And it is not something a responsive city government should treat as a background problem while the to-do list fills up with other things.
I believe Larkspur can do better. Here's what I'll push for.
Stop waiting for a megaproject to save us.
There are sea level rise mitigation proposals in this region with completion timelines stretching into the 2040s. I understand that large-scale infrastructure takes time to build, but a family whose home floods every November can't wait twenty years.
The city needs a two-track approach: yes, pursue the long-term infrastructure solutions. But simultaneously, identify what can be done now to reduce damage this king tide season. Temporary barriers. Better stormwater management. Pre-pumping water out of Larkspur Marina lagoon. Coordination with county flood control, CalTrans, and other agencies on near-term interventions. Urgency proportionate to the actual destruction these tides cause.
King tides are on the calendar. Our response should be too.
Here's something worth saying plainly: king tides are not surprises. Scientists publish their dates months in advance. We know, within a reasonable window, when the highest tides of the year will arrive, and we know which streets and neighborhoods are most at risk.
That means there is no excuse for residents to be caught off guard, and no excuse for the city to be unprepared. I will push for a clear, widely communicated king tide preparation protocol, including advance notification to vulnerable neighborhoods, coordination of city resources in the days before a high-risk tide, and a consistent point of contact for residents who need help.
If the dates are on the calendar, the city's response plan should be too.
Home elevation: let the city be your partner, not your obstacle.
The hard truth is that for some homes in Larkspur's lowest-lying areas, the most durable solution is raising the structure above flood level. That's a big lift, financially and logistically, and right now homeowners are largely navigating it alone.
It doesn't have to work that way.
The city could commission shared soils and engineering studies covering the most affected neighborhoods, dramatically reducing the cost each individual homeowner pays to get started. It should also streamline the permitting process so that doing the right thing doesn't take two years and three consultants. City Hall should connect residents with state and federal funding programs that exist specifically for this purpose but often go untapped because nobody is actively pointing people toward them.
You've invested in this community. Your home is likely your biggest asset. The city should invest in helping you protect that investment.
My commitment
I'm running for City Council because I believe local government can be competent, responsive, and on your side. On flooding, that means:
A clear preparation protocol communicated before every king tide season
Near-term mitigation measures that don't wait for a 2040 completion date
A city that partners with homeowners who choose to raise their homes, not one that makes it harder
Honest accountability with Marin County and CalTrans when the fix involves them
This is solvable. Not all at once, and not without hard work. But Larkspur has the resources, the expertise in this community, and the urgency of neighbors who deserve better.
Let's get to work.