ABSTRACT
This chapter explores both the allowances and limitations created in legal frameworks, and how these limitations impact policy directions related to sea level rise adaptation strategies. It discusses government options related to sea level rise adaptation based on the role government takes in planning and implementing policy directions. The chapter provides a conceptual framework of what kinds of government actions fit clearly within the extent of legal powers, while developing a sense of the kinds of strategies that help ensure that a government action does not go beyond its legal power. To mitigate risks associated with sea level rise, governments are looking to policies that place restrictions on coastal property rights, including the right to armor. The idea of government acting solely as a property owner to engage in policy for adapting to sea level rise has limitations. Government's role as trustee has similar advantages over its role as a "regulator" when considering takings implications.
