AGENDA ITEM #14
TOWN OF FAIRFAX
STAFF REPORT
August 3, 2022
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Sean Youra, Climate Action Coordinator
SUBJECT: Receive Quarterly Climate Action Status Update __________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Review the Climate Action Update report.
BACKGROUND
The quarterly Climate Action Update report details progress made by staff in implementing the Town’s Climate Action Plan (CAP).
DISCUSSION
This report details progress made in implementing the CAP since the last report provided to Council on April 6, 2022. This past quarter, staff:
• Submitted project proposals in collaboration with the Town’s Building Official and the Climate Action Committee (CAC) for the Transportation Authority of Marin’s (TAM) request for fleet electrification and charging infrastructure projects. Example projects submitted include curbside chargers utilizing existing Town streetlights, installation of several Level 2 chargers for Public Works and Police Department use, and procurement of EV fleet vehicles that can provide bidirectional charging to power Town facilities (Applicable to CAP Measure T-1: Zero Emission Vehicles, and Measure O-5: Funding Strategies).
• Promoted the Ride and Drive Clean Marin Campaign through the Town’s newsletter and social media. The campaign’s goal was to increase the awareness of e-mobility options among Marin residents. Between the EV webinars and in-person EV & E-bike shows, there were 859 event registrants, over 6% of them from Fairfax (13% if weighted by jurisdiction population). Of those who attended the events, 88% pledged to make their next vehicle electric (either EV or E-bike) (Applicable to CAP Measure T-1: Zero Emission Vehicles, Measure T-2: Bicycling, Measure O-1: Community Education, and Measure O-2: Community Outreach).
• Worked with CalRecycle and Marin Sanitary Service (MSS) to ensure all businesses and multi-family dwellings in Fairfax that were subject to AB 1826 (Mandatory Organics Recycling) received green carts to be able to separate their organics waste, and MSS trained staff at each business on how to properly sort organics waste (Applicable to CAP Measure W-1: Residential Organic Waste and Waste Diversion, Measure W-4:
Commercial Organic Waste, Measure W-5: Mandatory Commercial Waste Elimination and Diversion, and Measure W-8: Waste Processing Franchise Agreement and Infrastructure).
2 • Completed FY 2021-22 reporting for Zero Waste Marin grants received by the Town.
Additionally, the Town received a $20,737 grant award from CalRecycle to support implementation of SB 1383 (Short-Lived Climate Pollutants: Organic Waste Reductions), and staff submitted the initial grant budget to CalRecycle, which was approved (Applicable to CAP Measure O-5: Funding Strategies). • Participated in several Green Building Steering Committee meetings led by the County’s Sustainability team to assist with outreach and engagement regarding crossjurisdictional reach code development and implementation, as well as attended Technical Working Group meetings with local building officials to discuss challenges/concerns associated with building electrification and how to overcome them (Applicable to CAP Measure E-1: Ordinances for Construction of Energy-Efficient Buildings, and Measure O-2: Community Outreach).
• Participated in the development of the Marin Countywide EV Acceleration Strategy with other Marin Climate & Energy Partnership (MCEP) members, which will help jurisdictions overcome barriers to EV & E-bike adoption and support implementation of CAP measures related to zero-emission vehicles (Applicable to CAP Measure T-1: Zero Emission Vehicles, and Measure T-2: Bicycling).
• Completed Marin Clean Energy’s (MCE) fleet electrification pilot survey that may help secure additional funding for fleet electrification and related technical support (Applicable to CAP Measure O-5: Funding Strategies).
• Created a Gantt chart to track the Town’s SB 1383 implementation progress; attended a training on how to use the Recyclist platform that will be used for recording all SB 1383- related activities; created content for the Town website to provide more information about SB 1383 for residents and businesses; and sent out letters to all food businesses in the Town informing them of the applicable SB 1383 requirements for organics waste separation and edible food recovery (Applicable to CAP Measure W-1: Residential Organic Waste and Waste Diversion, Measure W-3: Commercial Edible Food Recovery, Measure W-4: Commercial Organic Waste, Measure W-5: Mandatory Commercial Waste Elimination and Diversion, and Measure O-2: Community Outreach). • Started conducting research to develop a fleet electrification policy and fleet conversion strategy for the Town in collaboration with Public Works staff and the CAC. Additionally, staff is working with the Town’s Building Official to get EV chargers installed for Public Works and Police Department use (Applicable to CAP Measure T-1: Zero Emission Vehicles).
• Reviewed the 2021-2022 Marin County Civil Grand Jury Report on building electrification, and prepared a staff report and responses in collaboration with the Town’s Building Official and CAC (Applicable to CAP Measure E-1: Ordinances for Construction of Energy-Efficient Buildings).
• Coordinated with the Town Manager and Public Works staff to replace gas water heaters in the Public Works, police station, Women’s Club, Pavilion, and fire department buildings to more energy efficient electric heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) through Willdan’s electrification program for municipal buildings at zero cost to the Town (Applicable to CAP Measure R-2: Municipal Building and Appliance Electrification, and Measure E-6: Municipal Energy Efficiency Retrofits).
• Developed an ordinance to regulate the use of gas-powered landscape equipment and resolution to adopt a landscape equipment trade-in and rebate program in partnership 3 with Fairfax Lumber & Hardware after conducting extensive research and targeted community outreach with local landscapers. Additionally, Public Works replaced some of their landscape equipment with electric models and are continuing to do so (Applicable to CAP Measure R-6: Electrify All Landscape Equipment). • Created a new Town department, Climate & Environment, including a department message, operating budget, and goals for the FY 2022-23 Town budget. The operating budget includes funding for several programs and pilot projects requested by the CAC (Applicable to CAP Measure O-5: Funding Strategies).
In addition, staff is continuing to:
• Serve as a staff liaison to the CAC, provide updates on CAP implementation during the meetings, and provide feedback on CAC initiatives and workplans. • Update the climate action funding spreadsheet with new funding opportunities and track associated deadlines (Applicable to CAP Measure O-5: Funding Strategies). • Educate community members about climate action-related incentives, programs, events, and regulations through the Town’s newsletter, social media, and website (Applicable to CAP Measure O-1: Community Education, and Measure O-2: Community Outreach).
• Coordinate with MCEP members to discuss and develop plans, policies, programs, and strategies that can assist in CAP implementation across all Marin jurisdictions. • Monitor CAP implementation progress and prioritize projects to meet the CAP goals. • Stay abreast of new climate-related state and federal regulations, technological innovations, policy analysis tools, and opportunities to further the Town’s climate action efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENTS
None