DATE: July 11, 2022
TO: Council Sustainability Committee
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Climate Action Plan – Considerations for New General Plan Policies and Programs
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council Sustainability Committee (CSC) reviews and comments on this report and provides direction to staff.
SUMMARY
The City is in the process of updating its Climate Action Plan (CAP) to establish policies and programs needed to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets adopted by Council. The CAP, part of the Hayward 2040 General Plan, is being updated along with revisions to the Housing and Safety Elements and a new Environmental Justice Element of the General Plan. This report provides an update on the project, draft measures, and next steps. Staff is working with Rincon Consultants to develop a list of draft measures that will help reduce community-wide emissions and seeking community feedback. The measures, to be included in the updated CAP, are intended to enable the Hayward community to meet its 2030 goal of reducing emissions by 55% below 2005 levels. This goal will not be easy to achieve. To be successful, the entire community will need to participate by making investments and reducing emissions in all sectors of the local economy.
Staff will continue engaging with community stakeholders to ensure that all policies in the CAP are equitable and align with community needs. Staff is seeking direction and ideas from the CSC regarding the draft measures and any additional potential GHG-reducing measures to be considered for the draft CAP.
BACKGROUND
In July 2009, Hayward adopted its first CAP, which included aggressive goals for reducing GHG emissions. The CAP was amended and incorporated into the General Plan in 2014 and includes actions necessary to meet Hayward’s 2020 GHG reduction target (20% below 2005 levels by 2020). This target was achieved two years early, with Hayward’s 2018 emissions inventory showing that community-wide emissions were reduced by 21.6% from 2005 to 2018. In January 2021, staff presented to the CSC Hayward’s 2019 GHG inventory showing that emissions had been reduced by 25.7% since 2005.
On June 16, 2020, Council introduced and on June 23, 2020, Council adopted an ordinance amending Hayward’s Climate Action Plan and General Plan to include the following goals:
reduce emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2025
reduce emissions by 55% below 2005 levels by 2030
work with the community to develop a plan that may result in the reduction of community based GHG emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
On July 20, 2021, Council adopted a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with Rincon Consultants to prepare General Plan amendments related to the Housing Element, Climate Action Plan, Environmental Justice Element, and the Safety Element.
On May 24, 2022, Council held a work session to review the GHG emission gap analysis, which identified the total GHG emissions needed to meet the 2030 and 2045 goals, and to review initial feedback from staff’s public outreach efforts.
DISCUSSION
The CAP update is needed to identify the policies and programs necessary to achieve the Council-adopted 2030 GHG reduction target (aligned with the State’s 2030 goal, per SB 32) and put Hayward on a path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Once the City has identified the measures with which to move forward, the consultant will conduct an analysis of GHG emission reduction quantification of such strategies and policies. This will be used to prepare a “qualified CAP,” meaning that it can be used for future GHG emissions analysis streamlining related to the California Environmental Quality Act. To be a qualified CAP, the measures identified must be aligned with SB32 and meet a 55% reduction.
Draft Measures
The draft measures cover five sectors:
Building Energy
Transportation
Waste
Water and Wastewater
Carbon Sequestration
The measures focus on sectors that have quantifiable GHG reductions associated with them. Therefore, measures related to embodied carbon or consumption have been excluded. Additionally, the CAP focuses on mitigation measures, not adaptation and resiliency. Adaptation and resiliency measures will be incorporated into the Safety Element update. Many measures will be challenging to accomplish and will require expanding current regional collaborations as well as outside funding from state and federal sources.
Each sector has percent reduction targets and includes various policies, programs, and partnerships that will be needed to achieve the City’s 2030 and 2045 targets. The overarching measures and reduction targets needed to meet the 2030 target are outlined in Table 1 below. To meet the 55% reduction goal, the City will need to reduce emissions by 437,960 MT CO2e. Within Table 1, two scenarios are outlined. Scenario 1 is an ambitious plan that was created after discussions with multiple City staff members and public outreach. Scenario 2 is an aggressive plan that would require even more challenging measures that may not be realistic or feasible at this time. However, if the City were to achieve all of its target reductions listed in Scenario 1, Hayward would not meet the 2030 GHG emission reduction goal of 55%. The draft measures of Scenario 1 would put the City on a pathway to reduce emissions by 46.5% by 2030. The target reductions listed in Scenario 2 would meet the City’s 2030 GHG emission reduction goal and would require significant funding from both the City and the community.
Table 1: Percent Implementation Targets
Sector
Measure
(all to occur by 2030 unless otherwise noted)
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
% Implementation by 2030
Estimated MT CO2e reduction
% Implementation by 2030
Estimated MT CO2e reduction
Building Energy
By 2026, require all new buildings to be all-electric.
100%
5,392
100%
5,392
Building Energy
By 2026, replace-on-burnout is mandatory in existing residential buildings. 100%
20,631
100%
20,631
Building Energy
By 2026, burnout is mandatory in existing non-residential buildings. 100%
13,846
100%
13,846
Building Energy
100% of customers receive carbon free electricity.
100%
7,165
100%
7,165
Building Energy
City facilities generate carbon-neutral electricity to meet 80% of the City’s needs. 80%
80%
Transportation
Increase active transportation mode share.
15%
6,485
15%
6,485
Transportation
Increase public and shared transit mode share.
15%
7,585
20%
13,702
Transportation
Transition percentage of passenger vehicles to zero-emission vehicles. 15%
16,013
43%
83,541
Transportation
Transition 50% of municipal vehicles to zero-emission vehicles. 50%
50%
Transportation
Transition percentage of commercial vehicles to zero-emission vehicles. 10%
3,161
20%
12,569
Transportation
Transition 15% of off-road equipment to zero-emission.
15%
4,363
15%
4,363
Waste
Reduce community-wide landfilled organics by 75%.
75%
35,924
75%
35,924
The full list of draft measures can be found in Attachment II. Key measures from Attachment II include:
Adopt a Reach Code, effective January 1, 2026, that will ban natural gas in all new construction.
Develop an existing building electrification strategy to electrify 20% of residential and 10% of non-residential buildings by 2030. The strategy would include a detailed existing building analysis and electrification cost analysis to understand cost implications, identify potential equity concerns/impacts, and develop strategies.
Work with community stakeholders including realtors, contractors, and others to develop a suite of electrification readiness requirements to be completed within 60 days of completion of a home sale.
Adopt a time of retrofit ordinance that requires all buildings with retrofit work that meets a certain threshold, such as, valued over $100,000, to complete energy efficiency/electrification actions.
In collaboration with East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), implement a pilot program to provide Hayward’s low-income customers with EBCE’s Renewable 100 service. Identify funding options with EBCE, such as, subsidy from the non-discounted customers or grant funding.
Amend the Off-Street Parking Regulation of the Municipal Code to incorporate smart growth principles and to incentivize walking, biking, and public transit.
Identify areas of the City to remove parking and/or traffic lanes to prioritize outdoor seating and make permanent outdoor dining established during COVID-19.
Work with e-scooter and e-bikes companies to bring a e-bike share and/or e-scooter share to Hayward with focus on placing hubs in downtown and commercial areas that would meet the Downtown Specific Plan goals and design. Adopt an ordinance to allow and manage the mobility share.
Eliminate parking minimums citywide and develop parking maximums and price all public parking spaces for all areas of the City based on available transportation options, travel demand, and land use.
Implement a Transportation Network Company user tax that would put a small fee on services such as Uber and Lyft to generate funds to pay for transit and mobility infrastructure.
Explore opportunities with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), or other agencies to start a purchase rebate program and provide higher trade-in value for combustion vehicles to assist lower-income households with purchase of EVs.
Develop and implement a plan to replace all City owned off-road equipment at end-of-life with zero-emission equipment. Plan should include evaluation of current City-owned equipment, alternative low or zero-emission options, prioritize equipment to replace first (e.g., largest GHG emission reduction potential), and a timeline for replacements that align with goals and feasibility of replacement. .
Implement a fee at point of use for single-use foodware by food service providers.
Conduct an urban canopy study to identify areas in Hayward that have below average canopy coverage and implement a tree planting program focusing on the least covered portions of the City. Establish a goal of having no significant difference in canopy coverage between high- and low-income areas citywide by 2030.
The measures identified in the list above and within Attachment II will be necessary to reach the City’s 2030 goal. Staff recognizes that reaching the 2030 goal will be difficult, which is why many measure include feasibility studies as the first step of implementation. With feasibility studies, staff will be better equipped to minimize unintended consequences, especially to our most vulnerable communities, and create policies, programs, and ordinances that are best suited for Hayward.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Climate change is expected to negatively impact national and local economies. The updated CAP will seek to help make Hayward’s economy more resilient to climate change. Many of the programs identified above would create increased costs for Hayward community members and businesses, but also have the potential co-benefits such as better health outcomes and job creation. As the measures are refined, staff will review each for potential economic impacts such as job creation/job retention and Hayward’s desirability for developers and businesses to locate in Hayward. Once the measures list is revised per CSC and community input, the consultant team will provide high-level costing information for strategies during the measurement development phase. Additionally, the consultant team will create a funding and financing strategy to implement four measures.
FISCAL IMPACT
Council approved a total budget of $720,000 for the General Plan updates. Preparing the updates will not impact the City’s General Fund. The project is funded by a Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) Grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the Development Services Department’s Planning Policy Fund, and the Public Works and Utilities Department’s Recycling, Water, and Sewer Funds. The fiscal impacts associated with implementing the new CAP will be determined and will be presented to the CSC in a future report.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the Strategic Priority to Confront Climate Crisis & Champion Environmental Justice. Specifically, this item is related to implementation of the following project:
Project C5: Adopt & Implement 2030 GHG Goal and Roadmap along with other General Plan Elements
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
Meeting GHG reduction goals is the primary objective of the City’s CAP. Meeting the goals will require reducing emissions in every sector of Hayward’s economy and will entail improving energy efficiency in buildings, decarbonizing existing buildings, increasing the use of renewable energy, and reducing vehicle-related emissions. All these actions will result in cleaner air for Hayward residents and for the region.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Equitable Outreach Plan
There is considerable overlap between the issues addressed in the Climate Action Plan, Housing Element, and Environmental Justice Element. As a result, staff is conducting public outreach for all three projects simultaneously, with an emphasis on equity and extensive community involvement.
Prior to the Environmental Justice and CAP community workshops, staff reached out to over 100 community-based organizations and groups in Hayward to gauge interest in collaborating on the General Plan updates. Staff members have also visited various locations around Hayward (grocery stores, laundromats, farmers market, BART stations, etc.) to pass out flyers with information on the General Plan Updates and how residents can be involved. Collectively, Environmental Services and Planning staff visited 19 different locations across the City. Housing outreach has included standard surveys and interviews and an interactive housing simulation that allows people to identify sites and areas for future development.
Additionally, staff organized a Gallery Walk Event, featuring large poster boards with information on the Climate Action Plan, Housing Element, Environmental Justice Element, Safety Element, and the History of Hayward. The posters were printed in both English and Spanish and were displayed in City Hall, the Downtown Hayward Library, BART, the Farmers Market and at Chabot and Hayward NAACP Branch offices in conjunction with outreach events. Additionally, staff offered the posters to various organizations and Alameda County Transit Authority requested the posters to display in their Hayward facility where approximately 400 Hayward residents are employed. Community members were invited to learn about the General Plan updates by walking through the gallery and engage with the posters through QR codes.
Another avenue of community engagement has been through surveys and interviews conducted by college students in Hayward. Chabot College students have helped the City by surveying residents about parks and housing. In Spring 2021, Chabot College students interviewed 252 residents about their experience, concerns, and ideas for parks in Hayward. Chabot students also interviewed approximately 550 residents online in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 about housing, discrimination, pollution, and community amenities. Additionally, students in a public health capstone class at California State University East Bay (CSUEB) are conducted surveys, receiving over 250 responses, around park access, pollution, access to healthy food, and safe and sanitary housing.
Staff has been hosting various focus group and meetings with stakeholders since the May CSC meeting. The City hosted a focus group with members from Tennyson High School’s Green Team – eight students and two teachers participated. Staff also met with Eden Housing staff, Save the Bay staff, the Sierra Club, and the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church. Staff also tabled at the Hayward Community Family Fair on June 17 and the Juneteenth Wellness Festival on June 18. Staff is also in the process of coordinating four focus groups with Eden Housing tenants, which will all take place in July.
The City has sought out community input via an online survey and have received over 100 responses. The full results of the survey can be found in Attachment III.
NEXT STEPS
Staff will host a second CAP Workshop on Tuesday, July 19th to hear from the public about the draft measures. Based on community input, Council direction, and analysis by the consultant team, staff will finalize a list of measures. The consultant team will then quantify the costs associated with each measure for both the community and the City. Staff will continue to engage with the Hayward community to ensure that the CAP responds to community needs and does so in an equitable way. A revised list of measures, with cost estimates, will be presented to the CSC in the Fall.
Prepared by: Nicole Grucky, Sustainability Specialist Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works
Approved by:
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
https://www.hayward-ca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/General_Plan_FINAL.pdf https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4747797&GUID=2B1F0C6F-B961-4AA3-9553-240ACE74B4B1&Options=&Search= Amending the 2040 General Plan and Adoption of Ordinance to Comply with State Law Changes to Establish Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Thresholds & Updates Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) Reduction Targets. June 16, 2020 City Council Meeting. https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4568609&GUID=46FF5863-9294-4217-9119-9631D7A2BB6F&Options=&Search= Second Reading of VMT Thresholds and GHG Emission Reduction Targets Ordinance. June 23, 2020 City Council Meeting. https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4576651&GUID=4E2F5527-D216-4472-BB79-5D9A37A41AE8&Options=&Search= https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5034289&GUID=A1DD2D35-7B4A-42C8-9284-7DEB78AAD470&Options=&Search= https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5659884&GUID=5AF582D6-E7A0-4DB1-95EB-2F51C8FE0B50&Options=&Search=