EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 1, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Jaime M. Fontes, City Manager
BY: Humza Javed, City Engineer
Michelle Daher, Management Analyst
SUBJECT: EPA Draft Climate Action Plan CAP 2030
Recommendation
Receive and File
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 1: Enhance Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Priority No. 5: Improve Communication and Enhance Community Engagement Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
There is broad scientific agreement that to avoid extreme effects of climate change, communities will need to reduce their greenhouse gases (GHG) by 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050. By contrast, during the development of the first East Palo Alto Climate Action Plan in 2010/2011, it was widely expected that GHG would need to be reduced by 50 percent below 1990 levels to avoid the most serious climate change impacts. It is now widely accepted that in addition to reducing the amount of GHG being emitted, additional drawdown of climate warming GHG emissions from the atmosphere is also needed to secure a safe future.
According to leading climate scientists from around the world, human-caused climate effects that are predictable include increased heat, severe weather, and flooding scenarios generated by the added carbon in the atmosphere, worldwide. A primary example is a recently released scientific study in the journal Nature Climate Change which noted that the southwestern United States is in a 22 year "Megadrought," which is the worst in at least 1,200 years. Humancaused climate change has contributed an increased severity of this ongoing drought, likely to last an additional 8 years.
The City of East Palo Alto is considered to be particularly vulnerable to the inevitable climate change impacts, with above-average risks to the noted effects. Many residents in the City of East Palo Alto lack resources to be resilient to the current and anticipated effects of climate change, and will likely require government support to sustain through extreme heat and flooding, as well as potential new diseases from rising and warming waters. Rection of GHG emissions in East Palo Alto will support collectively reduced impacts of global warming while also reducing the health impacts of local emissions.
Local Progress
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, also known as Assembly Bill-32 (AB-32), required a sharp reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, setting the stage for a transition to a sustainable low-carbon future. The goal of AB-32 required California to reduce its GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. This represents a reduction of about 15% of anticipated emissions under a "business as usual" scenario.
The City Council of East Palo Alto responded to AB-32 with the adoption of the 2011 City of East Palo Alto Climate Action Plan (2011 EPA CAP) with twenty-three actions to address our changing climate. Developed to achieve AB-32 objectives, the City Council directed staff to implement the actions through a variety of efforts.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2016, also referred to as Senate Bill 32 (SB32), was signed into law to build on AB-32 to further reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in California to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) was given the responsibility through AB-197 to ensure the state goals are met. This action increased the legislative oversight of CARB.
In 2017, the City of East Palo Alto joined the County of San Mateo along with all 20 cities within the county, to establish a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and formed a Joint Powers Authority, Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE). Tasked with the procurement of electricity for all businesses and residents in the County from sustainable sources, PCE now has laid a path towards fully renewable power by 2025 for all customers.
In October 2020, the City Council adopted Amendments to the California Building Codes Title 24 Parts 6 and 11 going beyond the State's minimum requirements to increase energy efficiency, reduce GHG emissions, and meet climate action goals. The effort is intended to help expedite implementation of measures to mitigate climate change by lowering carbon emissions in conjunction with the 2011 East Palo Alto Climate Action Plan.
A 2017 Scoping Plan has been provided by CARB to develop a plan for California to achieve the 2030 GHG targets and CARB is currently developing the 2022 Scoping Plan Update to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
The City Council has directed staff to work with the Institute for Local Government (ILG) to leverage resources with various agencies and contractors to update the 2011 EPA CAP to meet the increasing requirements to reduce GHG emissions. City Staff has been working with ILG, San Mateo County Office of Sustainability, Peninsula Clean Energy, and Resource Management and Climate Protection Committee (RICAPS) of San Mateo County to develop a Draft update of the 2011 EPA CAP, to be newly titled East Palo Alto Climate Action Plan 2030 (EPA CAP 2030) with the intention of laying a framework of feasible solutions designed to reduce GHG emissions outlined by California, for the benefit of this community and beyond.
Analysis
From 2011 to 2017, the City of East Palo Alto has made continuous progress towards reducing GHG emissions through discrete and combined initiatives. In 2005, East Palo Alto emitted an estimated 136,027 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from the residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, waste, and municipal sectors. In 2017, East Palo Alto emitted an estimated 108,665 MT. In comparison to the base year of 2005, the city realized a 20 percent decrease in total community emissions.
Major contributors of this decline include a 6 percent reduction in total electricity use and an 18 percent reduction in total natural gas use. Some of the attributed reductions were made with the closing of the Romic Environmental Technologies (at 2020 Bay Road) in 2008 due to significant community pressure. This 20 percent reduction compared to baseline 2005 emissions is a good start, but East Palo Alto will have to significantly increase its emission reduction rate in order to achieve a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.
Implementation of the 2011 EPA CAP, focused community involvement and participation in economically beneficial programs and has reduced emissions, while the City partnered with local non-profits such as Canopy, Acterra, and Grassroots Ecology to expand the urban forest, educate future generations about the importance of native plants, energy and water conservation in the home, and current preparation of the first City of East Palo Alto Urban Forest Management Plan. Many other local benefits have been achieved and noted in the Draft EPA CAP 2030.
Presently, the City of East Palo Alto faces costly and time intensive barriers to reducing GHG emissions. Transportation emissions accounted for 74 percent of total 2017 GHG emissions in East Palo Alto. Travel on local roads accounted for 18 percent of total emissions; travel on state highways within city limits accounted for 51 percent; and emissions from off-road equipment, such as lawn, garden, and construction equipment, accounted for 5 percent.
It is anticipated that the primary goals for the EPA CAP 2030 will rely on electrification of these transportation sector elements, which will have the added benefit of improved outdoor air quality for the community. It is further expected that conversion of existing gas appliances to electric appliances will also support emissions reductions, which aligns with improved indoor air quality for residents. All of these improvements will require increased staff time and funding opportunities to implement.
Building Local Resilience Capacity
In preparation of the Draft EPA CAP 2030, Acterra, a local non-profit focused on sustainability initiatives, through the Climate Resilient Communities program, has hosted the East Palo Alto Citizens' Climate Change Team (CCCT). Supported by local participation, the Climate Resilient Communities began in 2016 as a volunteer-driven commitment to helping residents reduce their energy costs, improve home health, and gain access to local resources such as subsidized solar panels and home energy audits along with weatherization upgrades.
In 2018, the CCCT was launched by Acterra in partnership with San Mateo County Office of Sustainability and is composed of city residents, city officials, youth, and leaders from business, developers, and faith-based communities. Meetings have been held regularly with a goal of building resilience and capacity in the community to adapt to climate change threats including sea-level rise. The CCCT is agendized by the group and topics of interest selected.
Acterra staff bring together experts that support areas of focus to broaden and deepen the CCCT collective deepened understanding of climate change.
In 2019, with the help from many local residents and community-based groups, the CCCT conducted a survey of households in East Palo Alto, focusing on residents' attitudes about climate change and its impacts. Stanford University researchers supported a statistically relevant design and helped analyze the data. The final report provided vulnerability data to inform adaptation planning in East Palo Alto. The recommendations of this effort included the following primary needs: 1) advocate for community-driven strategies and priorities; 2) increase collaboration with the City and its leaders; 3) engage the community in planning for climate change; 4) secure financial support to implement community-based solutions that provide opportunities for the residents; 5) mainstream the topic of climate change in the school curriculum.
Due to the specific interest and broad base of the CCCT, the City worked to engage this group in early development of the EPA CAP 2030 to ensure the initial framing of the draft document includes the issues of highest concern to the members. In 2019, the CCCT was asked for input as the team drafts the EPA CAP 2030. Issues of highest regard included developing a community outreach program to engage the community and ensure the future plan includes significant educational, health and equity components. With this direction, an online survey was launched to obtain input from community members with access to the online survey. The survey was posted on the City's web page from 2020 through 2021. Information gathered through this survey was incorporated into the Draft EPA CAP 2030.
Public Engagement Schedule
In March 2022, due to the high level of interest and broad reach of the CCCT, the Draft EPA CAP 2030 is expected to be previewed in its entirety in early March, 2022.
For information on the schedule, the public can contact Cade Cannedy with Climate Resilient Communities at 575-776-7667 or [email protected] .
March 16, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. the Public Works and Transportation Committee will review items in the Draft EPA CAP 2030 related to the public right of way.
On April 25, 2022 at 7:00 p.m., the Planning Commission will review items in the Draft EPA CAP 2030 related to private property.
On May 17, 2022, the City Council will receive the revised Draft EPA CAP 2030 for full public review and comment, opening a 30-day public comment period.
On June 21, 2022, a Public Hearing is expected to be held to receive the Final EPA CAP 2030 for public comment.
Fiscal Impact
There are no anticipated fiscal impacts for the review of the Draft EPA CAP 2030. There will be noted fiscal impacts for implementation of the final document. These fiscal impacts will be noted in the May 27, 2022 City Council public review.
Public Notice
Public notice will be provided for the City Council meetings noted above.
Environmental
The action being considered by the City Council is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a “project” pursuant to 15378(b)(4) because it is a fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant impact on the environment.