Title
Review Climate Plan Update Draft Work Scope (Information)
Body
Transportation Commission
Date of Meeting (11/15/2017)
Item # 5C
(INFORMATION)
Review Climate Plan Update Draft Work Scope
Background
On May 2, 2017, the City Council unanimously approved a high-priority referral directing staff to update Alameda’s 2008 Local Action Plan for Climate Protection (Climate Plan). Staff were directed to return to City Council by December 2017 with a proposed scope of work for the Climate Plan’s update, and to ensure involvement of Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA) and other Alameda environmental groups and organizations.
On May 23, 2017, City staff and CASA co-sponsored a community workshop to discuss accomplishments of the Climate Plan and progress on its goal of reducing 2020 emissions below the 2005 baseline by 25 percent. Exhibit 1 is this workshop’s presentation.
On July 23, 2017, a Green Team was re-convened. This project team is comprised of CASA representatives and staff from Alameda Municipal Power, Community Development, Public Works and Transportation Planning. This Green Team drafted a proposed work scope for the Climate Plan Update.
On October 5, a second public workshop was held at the Alameda Main Library. Exhibit 2 is this workshop’s presentation and Exhibit 3 is the workshop summary. Members of the public were encouraged to participate in the workshop or fill out a web survey: (<https://www.peakdemocracy.com/portals/198/Issue_5414>) designed to solicit ideas on how the City’s Climate Plan Update should proceed. Exhibit 4 is a summary of the 140 web survey comments.
Staff solicited input on the scope from the Planning Board on October 23, the Public Utilities Board on November 13, and the Transportation Commission on November 15. Staff also are doing the following activities related to the Climate Plan Update:
• Applied to become a site in the Resilient by Design Challenge <http://www.resilientbayarea.org/>, advanced to the second round, and hosted a citywide site-visit with 80+ experts. In the next few weeks, the City should learn whether it is a finalist in the competition.
• Hired a Climate Action Fellow and secured support for the Fellow through a grant from East Bay Energy Watch.
• Secured a grant from Stopwaste to perform neighborhood-level vulnerability assessments for climate change and rising seas.
• Completed the City’s emissions inventory (Exhibit 5).
• Applied for a Caltrans grant to potentially fund an adaptation component of the Climate Plan Update.
Discussion
Staff is recommending City Council approval of the draft work scope as shown in Exhibit 6. This work scope will be part of a request for proposal (RFP) to hire consultant experts for the Climate Plan Update. The work scope includes development of a new roadmap to reduce greenhouse (GHG) emissions, and establishment of a new climate action goal beyond 2020. In addition to GHG emission reduction strategies, the draft work scope includes a climate awareness campaign, a public opinion survey and adaptation. Adapting to rising seas is an area that Alameda has devoted attention for Alameda Point and new development along the Northern Waterfront, but needs greater attention for the remainder of the City. For more information, see Exhibit 7, What is Alameda Doing About Sea Level Rise? For adaptation, staff is recommending that the Climate Plan Update identify climate risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities, and then assess options for the City to adapt to rising seas.
The Climate Plan Update will be completed by a team composed of City staff, CASA representatives and technical consultants. The consultants will provide technical expertise, best practices, high-end graphics and specialized engineering. City staff’s role will be to provide institutional knowledge, and staff will take responsibility for draft work products, public outreach and process, staff reports and implementation, which includes applying for grant applications. The planning process should not exceed an 18-month period, and should include community, CASA and staff outreach, draft plan development and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance. For more information on the Climate Plan Update, please refer to the project web page: <https://alamedaca.gov/go-green-public-works/local-action-plan-climate-protection>
The discussions at the October 23 Planning Board focused on the following themes:
• Adaptation as an important element of the Climate Plan Update.
• Desire to broaden the discussion to sustainability beyond climate change and to take a longer view approach.
• Concern about funding and implementing Climate Plan Update strategies, especially if broadening the focus to include sustainability beyond climate change, and the need to prioritize strategies.
• City staff to be part of regional- and state-level discussions.
• Ensure that equity and environmental justice are considered as objectives.
• Focus on renewable energy solutions such as solar.
• Importance of behavior change.
The input from the Public Utilities Board and the Transportation Commission will be provided verbally by staff. The main themes from the community input received to date from participants at the two town hall meetings, the web survey, the Green Team meetings and the Planning Board are summarized below along with the staff response for each topic.
Adaptation: Community members are supportive of including adaptation in the Climate Plan Update with 96 percent of the 140 web survey respondents stating that they would want the Climate Plan Update to include adaptation. Some community members expressed the need to speed up progress on developing strategies for adaptation due to vulnerabilities from sea level rise. Adaptation is seen by some community members as reactive and the treatment of a problem whereas reducing greenhouse gas emissions provides a cure and is proactive. Staff Response: As mentioned above and shown in the consultant draft work scope, staff recommends that the Climate Plan Update include a focus on both GHG emission reductions and adaptation.
Sustainability: Several community members want to broaden the discussion beyond climate change to ensure healthy natural systems in the future. Staff Response: Staff added a healthy natural environments section to the consultant draft work scope under Task 3 - Reducing Carbon Footprint. This task will enable discussions of the more expansive vision of sustainability without losing focus on the high priorities of reducing GHG emissions and adapting to rising seas.
Education/Awareness: Community members have identified the importance of communications and outreach in building public awareness and shifting behaviors to ensure that Alameda stays on track to meet its goals. Staff Response: Staff added a “Climate Awareness Campaign” as part of the consultant draft work scope under Task 6 - Public Engagement.
Electricity: Community members expressed the desire for the Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) to increase solar power and other renewable energy usage. Staff Response: AMP will be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2020 as it will come from geothermal, hydroelectric, landfills, wind and other renewables. AMP is updating its strategic plan, which will in part guide the purchase of electricity sources beyond 2022.
Costs/Funding: Community members are concerned about the cost of adaptation, and would be more willing to pay for it once more details are known. Staff Response: Staff included in the adaptation section of the consultant draft work scope the need to identify cost effective projects and to communicate expected project outcomes to stakeholders.
Financial Impact
Staff estimates that the cost of preparing the Climate Plan Update to range from $250,000 to $300,000 depending on the approved consultant work scope. Staff is recommending that the City Council appropriate $100,000 each from Measure B/BB (Fund 215) and the General Fund (Fund 001). The remaining $100,000 in budget for the Climate Plan Update will come from contributions of $25,000 each from the Integrated Waste Fund (Fund 274), Stormwater Fund (Fund 351), Sewer Fund (Fund 601), and Community Development Fund (Fund 209).
Municipal Code/Policy Document Cross Reference
Undertaking the Climate Plan Update is consistent with the General Plan, which states:
• Transportation Element Livability Goal (4.2): “Balance the mobility needs of the community with the overall community objective of creating a livable human and natural environment…”
• Land Use Element Policy (2.5.zz): “Establish Green Building and/or Sustainable Design standards to be applied to all new retail developments and major retail additions and remodels.”
• Open Space and Conservation Element (5.1): “Protection of water resources and fragile habitat recognizes the interdependent relationship between human and other living communities.”
• Safety and Noise Element Objective (8.3): “Minimize risks of loss of life, personal injury, property damage and environmental degradation posed by sea level rise, flooding and storm water runoff.”
Environmental Review
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15306 because it consists of data collection and planning studies. Individual projects identified within the Climate Plan Update will be reviewed in accordance with CEQA requirements prior to their approval or implementation.
Recommendation
Review Climate Plan Update Draft Work Scope.
Respectfully submitted by,
Liam Garland, Public Works Director
Gail Payne, Transportation Coordinator
Exhibits:
1. May 23, 2017 Workshop Presentation
2. October 5, 2017 Workshop Presentation
3. October 5, 2017 Workshop Summary
4. Web Survey Summary
5. 2015 Community-Wide Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Projection to 2020 Goal
6. Draft Work Scope for the Climate Plan Update
7. Excerpt from 2017-2019 Capital Budget, What is Alameda doing about Sea Level Rise?