EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: September 5, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Melvin E. Gaines, City Manager
BY: Batool Zaro, Associate Engineer
Fatima Khan, Consultant
SUBJECT: Draft Community Climate Action Plan and Adaptation Strategies 2030 Recommendation
Adopt a resolution approving the City of East Palo Alto’s Community Climate Action Plan and Adaptation Strategies 2030.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
• Promote Housing, Economic and Workforce Development
• Implement the Comprehensive Transportation and Mobility Plan • Promote Health & Public Safety
• Ensure Our Financial and Organizational Health
• Improve the City's Water Infrastructure
• Develop and Implement a Comprehensive Facilities Master Plan • Enhance Community Services and Parks for Residents
Background
State and Local Climate Policy
To respond to the threat of climate change, different legislation, regulations, and executive orders have been enacted by the State of California to achieve robust greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions while addressing the impacts of a changing climate. In 2006, with the passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act, Assembly Bill (AB) 32, California became the first state in the U.S. to mandate state-wide reductions in GHG emissions as an effort to combat climate change. AB 32 set a state-wide target to reduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In 2016, the enactment of Senate Bill (SB) 32 extended this commitment by raising the state-wide emissions target to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Overall, California’s statewide target is to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
In September 2018, Governor Brown issued California Executive Order B-55-18, setting the goal of achieving carbon neutrality as soon as possible (by 2045 at the latest), and maintaining net negative emissions from that point forward. The following year, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. The most recent update to the Climate Change Scoping Plan was approved in 2022 and outlines the roadmap to comply with recent state-approved emissions targets which aim to reduce anthropogenic emissions to 85 percent below 1990 levels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. There has been recent widespread interest on topics of electrification both nationally and locally. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), in order to reduce the amount of toxic and irritating pollutants, namely nitrous oxides in the air, voted in March 2023 to begin an official phaseout of some gas appliances. With some exceptions, this rule would favor electric heating in homes and businesses, and ban most new gas water heaters after 2027, new gas furnaces after 2029, and new large gas water heaters after 2031. In March of 2023, the City of East Palo Alto renewed reach codes mandating electrification and electric charging infrastructure East Palo Alto’s Climate Action Plan
East Palo Alto’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a blueprint of the community’s response to challenges posed by climate change. It is a living document reflecting the ongoing efforts and challenges the community faces as climate change impacts grow more frequent, severe, and urgent. The City Council first adopted a CAP in December 2011 with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15%. This CAP matured in 2020, with the 23 actions yielding about 20% reduction in GHG emissions from the City’s baseline year of 2005.
The East Palo Alto Community Climate Action Plan and Adaptation Strategies 2030, hereafter, Draft Plan, is an update to the City’s 2011 CAP. The goal of an updated CAP is to specify strategies the community will utilize to reach the California greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals equitably and sustainably, while developing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the community is prepared to adapt to a changing climate to minimize disruptions due to climate change and maximize resilience. This updated Draft Plan emphasizes three key areas to maximize emissions reductions – Energy and Water, Transportation, and Waste.
Draft Plan Outreach
On April 25, 2022, a special presentation of the Draft Plan was shared with the Planning Commission. Since being presented to the Planning Commission on April 25, 2022, the Draft Plan has undergone further review and update and was presented to the Public Works and Transportation Commission for the first time on April 19, 2023; and the Planning Commission for a second time on July 10, 2023.
In addition, the City Council adopted Reach Codes in March 2023 requiring most new commercial and residential buildings be built to an electric standard will aid in the electrification goals the City has set forth in the Draft Plan. The Draft Plan has been shared with other City partners including ReThink Waste, Peninsula Clean Energy, and RINCON consultants, who are assisting the City with emissions reduction metrics and GHG inventories.
The purpose of this staff report is to present the Draft Plan (attachment 2) to the City Council for adoption consideration.
Analysis
Much progress has already been made under the current CAP. The City of East Palo Alto, for example, has already exceeded the goals in the 2011 Climate Action Plan. Between 2005 and 2017, the City reduced its emissions by 27,362 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) to achieve 20 percent below 2005 levels, while the goal was 15%. The Draft Plan would further reduce emissions 55% per capita, or about 1.5 mtco2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) by the year 2030.
In addition to emissions goals, the Draft Plan proposes adaptation strategies that would support the City and residents in preparing for climate events such as sea level rise and extreme heat.
The following community inventory breakdown offers insight into both the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that occurred from 2005 to 2017 under the current CAP, as well as the opportunities for further reduction in the coming decade.
The following data offers a breakdown of the community greenhouse gas inventory. The percentages show how much of total emissions each given sector makes up. In East Palo Alto, emissions overwhelmingly originate from transportation, followed by energy use in buildings, first residential and then commercial. Ø 74 Percent: Transportation:
· 51% from travel on state highways
· 18% from travel on local roads
· 5% from off-road equipment, such as lawn, garden, and construction equipment Ø 16 Percent: Residential
Ø 8 Percent: Commercial/ Industrial
Ø 3 Percent: Waste and Wastewater
Ø 0.2% Gas Use (Direct Access-Commercial/ Industrial)
Community Feedback on the Draft Plan
The Draft Plan was presented to the Public Works and Transportation Commission (PWTC) on April 19, 2023. The PWTC requested that furthering access to the Bay Trail, specifically on Tulane road, and installing a National Weather Service Station within the City be considered as Adaptation Strategies. Community Services and Public Works are currently working to open and create more access to the Bay Trail in the coming years. The National Weather Station will be considered as an Adaptation Strategy. The CAP was recommended for approval by City Council unanimously by the PWTC. On July 10, 2023 the Draft Plan was presented to the Planning Commission (PC). The PC emphasized the importance of equity in the electrification strategy. In addition, the PC noted the disproportionate effects climate change had on residents in the City and that adaptation is an important part of climate action, as emissions reductions alone cannot improve the livelihoods of residents in the face of climate events.
Staff will work with community partners to establish guidelines in the equity phase of the Existing Building Electrification Strategy, before electrification efforts commence, to ensure residents are supported during this process. All commissioners present approved a resolution recommending the Draft Plan be adopted by the City Council.
Fiscal Impact
We are not requesting additional appropriation at this time. However, Staff has evaluated the resource impacts across City departments and identified resources needed to implement the Draft Plan for the next 7 years. Some of the actions will be absorbed and integrated into existing departmental operating or project budgets, we anticipate coordination of these programs to be at most .25 FTE of staff time in the Public Works and Community and Economic Development departments. Additional resources needed over the next 7 years includes 0.5 additional full time equivalent staff positions and augmenting the City’s ongoing budget for CAP implementation. Resources allocated to implementing the CAP will be refined and finalized as part of the annual process for budget development and approval by the City Council. In order to begin implementing the Draft Plan, the City will need to add one FTE 2- year contract staff position to Environmental Programs who will serve as the Sustainability Coordinator. The City has budgeted for a Fellow through Sustainability Service Corps to fulfill the first year requirement of this position, with the possibility of extension. The staff member will assist in creating an Implementation Plan to further develop and begin implementing the listed measures and Adaptation Strategies as well as identify and secure sources of funding for CAP projects.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice by making the agenda and report available on the City’s website and on a bulletin board located at City Hall: 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The proposed action is covered by an Addendum to the Initial Study and Negative Declaration which was prepared for the original Climate Action Plan (CAP) and approved by the City Council on September 20, 2011 (and subsequently amended in 2014) in compliance with the requirements of Section 15074 of the State CEQA Guidelines. The Plan is a policy-oriented, programmatic document that describes a series of actions and programs that, when conducted by the City and its partners, can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its effects within the City of East Palo Alto. No significant environmental impacts that would require mitigation were identified. Any development occurring after the adoption of the proposed CAP, including development or expansion of recreational facilities, would be considered a separate “project” and would be subject to individual environmental review as well as compliance with all existing City and State standards (General Plan Land Use and Open Space Elements; General Plan EIR; Zoning Ordinance Chapters 24, 25, and 26; PRC 2100 et seq.).
As a separate and alternative basis, the proposed action is statutorily exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3), the general rule that CEQA only applies to actions that have the potential to cause a significant impact, and Section 15308 because it assures the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.
Attachments
1. Resolution - CAP
2. Draft EPA 2030 Community CAP and Adaptation Strategies (3)
3. CAP 2030 Addendum