TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Officials on Treasure Island are working on a plan to help protect the area against sea level rise. City staff estimates the island has already seen a six-inch increase in sea level over the past two decades and expects that number to only get higher. 

What You Need To Know

  • Treasure Island has introduced a program to help combat the effects of sea level rise

  • City staff estimates by the year 2100, the sea level will rise 3.5 feet from where it is today

  • Elevate T.I. will focus on changing the way homes, businesses, seawalls and roads are built

  • The project is in its early stages, and the city is looking for feedback from residents

The Terrain Modification Program, called Elevate T.I., will focus on changing the way homes, businesses, seawalls and roads are built. 

People who live on Treasure Island are quite familiar with the flooding that comes during storms and said it’s important to take action to help preserve the island for future generations.

“This is a wonderful community,” Katie Hay said. “As we’ve gone through storms and some other trials and tribulations, this neighborhood really pulls together. It’s been amazing.”

Hay has been coming to the island for the past two years to care for her two aunts. They recently passed, so their waterfront property near Sunset Beach is now in Hay’s hands. Hay stayed on the island with her aunts during Hurricane Idalia, which she said was one of the more difficult storms in recent memory because of the flooding.

Elevate T.I. proposes using fill material, which previously has not been permitted in the city, to elevate the ground beneath homes, businesses and other structures. Only new homes and ones undergoing significant renovation would be required to comply. The program also calls for raising roads and revising city code, including stormwater regulations. 

City staff estimates by the year 2100, the sea level will be almost three and a half feet higher than it is today. The goal is to raise the entire island before then.

Hay feels it’s important to take action and preserve the place she loves as much as possible.

“This is a community that’s worth saving,” she said. “It’s really worth investing in trying to figure out the right short-term and long-term solutions between the rise of the sea level and just the types of storms we’re getting.”

The project is still in its early stages, and the city is looking for feedback from residents.

The city commission is aiming to adopt the program by April or May of this year. The official timeline and program would still have to be approved by the state.