A San Mateo County community built on 1960s landfill is finally getting federal money to plan how to protect itself from rising seas, four years after winter storms unlocked the funding.

California awarded Redwood Shores $2 million in September for engineering studies and project design under FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The money comes from disaster recovery funds triggered by the state's devastating 2020-2021 winter storms, which caused widespread flooding and landslides.

Redwood Shores sits 5 to 10 feet above sea level on filled tidelands in San Francisco Bay. King tides already flood parts of the peninsula community of 10,000 residents, and NOAA projects seas could rise one to two feet by 2050. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission lists it as high-risk for both regular tidal flooding and storm surge.

The community is also one of California's wealthiest, with median home prices above $2 million and Oracle's global headquarters among the bayfront properties. That's raising questions locally about whether taxpayer dollars should pay to armor expensive coastal real estate or fund relocation instead.

A 2023 federal audit found that wealthier, predominantly white communities secure a disproportionate share of FEMA mitigation grants compared to lower-income areas facing greater climate threats. San Mateo County's median household income is around $130,000.

The grant funds planning and design work, not construction. Any actual levees or shoreline barriers would require separate funding and face community debate over whether to build traditional seawalls, which some residents worry would block bay views, or nature-based alternatives like marsh restoration.

San Mateo County approved a $50 million bond in 2022 for countywide shoreline protection, but Redwood Shores projects are still in early stages. The area also sits in an earthquake zone, meaning any flood barrier must account for liquefaction risk during seismic events.