ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 1
Approach to the Scope of WorkTask 1. Conduct Project ManagementWe will begin by convening an initial kick-off meeting with key City representatives to understand the City’s operations, familiarize ourselves with the City’s climate efforts to date, review relevant documentation, develop the vision for the 2035 Climate Strategy, and begin outlining a detailed project roadmap. During this kick-off meeting, we anticipate discussing: Ultimate project goals and outcomes (e.g., “what will success look like?) Opportunities to align this project with other City initiatives Relevant plans, resources, and policies to review during Task 2 Community and internal stakeholder engagement goals and activities and lessons learned from past engagement Opportunities to incorporate equity into both development and implementation of the plan Client/consulting team roles, responsibilities, and expectations, including logistics and timeline At the conclusion of the kick-off meeting, the City and our project team will have a shared understanding of the project’s goals, process, and milestones. We will capture these key elements from the kick-off meeting in a project workplan, which will include a brief communication plan for internal and external stakeholders. We will use Smartsheet to build out a dynamic, detailed schedule of the entire planning process with tasks assigned by team member. We will provide the project workplan and Smartsheet timeline to the City for review and approval. Once the project is underway, Cascadia will continue to coordinate with City staff, including participation in 30-minute biweekly check-in calls. Using Deltek Vision project management software, we will also provide monthly (or quarterly, depending on the City’s preferences) invoices and progress reports that outline progress on key deliverables alongside spend-to-date and budget remaining. Alicia Fennell (proposed Project Manager) will monitor progress using Deltek Vision’s real-time budget tracking to identify and proactively elevate potential scope or budget risks to the client team. We believe in addressing potential issues early—before they become problems that could threaten the success of the project. DELIVERABLES Project workplan (including communication plan) Smartsheet schedule for outlining key deliverables and tracking progress Biweekly check-in calls Regular invoices and progress reports Task 2. Develop the Project Approach REVIEW EXISTING PLANS AND RESOURCES To develop an effective project approach that reflects Mountain View’s policy context, unique community characteristics, and previous and current climate work, we plan to conduct a document review of existing City plans and policies and other relevant resources. We will work with the City to identify relevant documents to review; these may include:
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 2
City of Mountain View greenhouse gas emissions inventories City of Mountain View Environmental Sustainability Program Assessment City of Mountain View Sustainability Program: Strategic Pathways Through 2030 City of Mountain View Buildings Baseline Study, developed by Silicon Valley Clean Energy City of Mountain View Climate Protection Roadmap City of Mountain View Council Strategic Priorities and FY 23-25 Work Plan City of Mountain View 2023 carbon disclosure project questionnaire ICLEI high impact action analysis summary report Stanford decarbonization report California Strategic Growth Council’s Community Resilience Centers Program 2023 application After reviewing relevant plans, documents, and resources, we will prepare a summary memo that: Identifies potential synergies between relevant City plans and the 2035 Climate Strategy Provides recommendations on structure and content of the plan, including vision, goals, actions, format, and level of detail MEET WITH CITY STAFF Early in the planning process, we will meet with City staff to gather information to inform our document review approach and collect feedback on our findings and recommendations. Because climate actions are often inherently cross-sectoral, convening a cross-departmental working group early in the process can set the City up for collaborative and successful implementation of the Climate Strategy. When formed during the early planning stages, the group can seamlessly transition to implementation, helping ensure sustained planning momentum. Our specific approach for these meetings will be determined at the project kickoff, but we imagine meeting with City staff, both from the cross-departmental group and the Sustainability and Resilience Division, during this task to discuss and vet the following: Opportunities for synergies and alignment across City plans and departments Document review approach, including relevant documents, plans, and resources to review and level of priorityDocument review findings and recommendations High-level engagement approach, including opportunities to build on existing City relationships and partnerships Our proposed budget for this task includes four meetings with City staff. We are open to adjusting this to right-size this effort after discussion with the City. DEVELOP HIGH-LEVEL ENGAGEMENT APPROACH & SUMMARY MEMORANDUM We will draw from the project kick-off meeting discussion, document review, and meetings with City staff to put together a high-level engagement approach to gather community and stakeholder feedback throughout the project. This engagement approach will serve as the foundation for the robust engagement strategy detailed in Task 3. The engagement approach will begin to outline key touchpoints throughout the planning process to engage the public and gather feedback on key elements of the 2035 Climate Strategy. We will also ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 3
outline the audiences we plan to engageand the specific approacheswe will take to gather feedback and incorporate findings into the planning process. As part of this process, we will work with the City to understand what types of approaches have been particularly successful and identify new opportunities for engagement. Cascadia devotes particular attention to creating customized community participation programs that reflect the unique community characteristics and needs of the jurisdiction, integrate equity and inclusion principles, and draw from previous and current City engagement. We will bring together the high-level engagement approach, document review findings and recommendations, and takeaways from City staff meetings in a summary memorandum. DELIVERABLESMeetings with City staff(4)Summary memorandumthat summarizes recommendations from the document review, discussions with City staff, and high-level engagement approach(note: if desired, these summaries can be presented as separate memos)Task 3. Lead Outreach and Engagement with an Equity FocusOur approach to engagement with an equity focus is rooted in a commitment to equity, inclusivity, and strategic partnershipwith the City of Mountain View. We aim to reach the heart of the community, especially those whose voices are often unheard, and to embrace the vibrant tapestry of languages and cultures within it to inform the 2035 Climate Strategy in ways that work for them. We bring three overarching principles—defined below—to our approach to engagement: Equity, Collaboration, and Human-Centered Decision Making. Equity:We will design and implement an outreach and engagement plan that center on the needs and perspectives of a diverse array of community members, such as renters, non-English speakers, seniors, individuals facing health challenges, low-income residents, and communities of color. Our engagement initiatives will be accessible in multiple languages and overcome barriers to participation. We will coordinate with City staff to provide translation and interpretation services in Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian to ensure that all community members have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully. InterEthnica also has in-house staff to support the work in those languages. Collaboration:Through collaboration with City staff and stakeholders, we will craft a comprehensive engagement plan that outlines specific engagement methods for various audiences, timelines, and metrics for success. This plan will propose where and when engagement should take place to reach specific audiences and delineate consultant and City involvement in the engagement implementation. The Engagement Plan will integrate feedback at every stage, building on the City staff's expertise and insights and form advisory councils and bodies. We understand
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 4
that our methods and strategies must evolve through regular input, and we are prepared to adapt our approach based on ongoing community and stakeholder feedback. Human-centered Decision Making:Leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data, we will guide the development and implementation of the outreach and engagement to ensure the 2035 Climate Strategy anchors human-centered insights and real-world implications, aligning with the community's needs and aspirations. The community engagement scope of work would be phased to build on previous phases to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive engagement strategy, fostering a participatory and inclusive process reflective of community needs and aspirations. Our team is open to working with the City to explore various ways to incentivize and enhance public engagement with the community. We acknowledge that compensation can be a way of eliminating participation barriers and valuing diverse stakeholder expertise and time. PHASE 1: ENGAGEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT Our engagement planning begins in Task 1 with the project kickoff meeting and recurring check-ins with City staff, deepens in Task 2 with the development of the high-level engagement approach, and gains definition in Task 3 with the development of a robust engagement plan. During this phase, we will develop and refine high level engagement approach (Task 2) into a detailed foundational engagement plan that outlines the methods and strategies for reaching and involving the community in the Climate Strategy discussions. We will discuss and refine the engagement plan with City staff (Task 2) and provide one presentation of the plan for City advisory bodies, as part of this phase. The consultant team will prepare agendas, lead meetings, and distribute notes. PHASE 2: COMMUNITY SURVEY This phase is dedicated to creating and executing a broad community survey. The survey will be brief, culturally sensitive, and designed to maximize participation. The survey will be prepared for multilingual distribution, and results will be managed, analyzed, and presented for feedback. Our proposed budget includes the development and analysis of one broad community survey; we will typeset and program the survey for print and online distribution in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian, assuming that the City will perform the translations. Our budget assumes that the consultant team will handle survey fielding, incentives, and data entry for intercept surveys (assuming survey fielding, incentives, and data entry for up to 500 paper surveys). This task also includes development of flyers, social media posts, and email blast templates for survey promotion and distribution. These templates can be used during other engagement touchpoints or phases in the project as well, if desired. This phase concludes with up to two presentations to City advisory bodies—City Council, Council Sustainability Committee, other advisory groups, or meetings that invite members from multiple groups—to present survey results.
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 5
PHASE 3: COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS/WEBINARS/FOCUS GROUPSAs the core of our engagement, we will use interactive community workshops, webinars, and focus groups to engage the public and solicit broad input. Workshops will provide a forum for sharing information and facilitating community input activities to garner insights for the development of the 2035 Climate Strategy. The consultant team will plan and facilitate these sessions with City staff managing event logistics and marketing. While the specific details will be discussed at project kickoff and in the engagement plan, we anticipate hosting one in-person workshop, one online webinar, and up to one other workshop or webinar. We plan to discuss specific translation and interpretation needs and options at project kickoff, but we anticipate working with the City to offer engagement opportunities in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. As part of this task, we will prepare workshop and webinar summary reports after the events that summarize participation, key themes, and feedback received. We will also plan and facilitate up to 5 targeted focus groups as a component of our engagement strategy. These sessions allow for rich, nuanced discussions, making them perfect for diving deep into complex issues and supplementing and furthering quantitative data from the survey and workshops. They also offer a crucial platform for reviewing detailed proposals, evaluating trade-offs, and gathering community feedback to refine proposed climate actions. Focus groups are particularly effective in engaging historically underserved communities. By providing stipends and using targeted recruitment, we ensure diverse, inclusive participation. We propose to hold focus groups fully in-language and among target demographics to further boost comfortability, diverse engagement, and spaces where participants can provide their input. Our budget assumes administering $5,000 in stipends for community members and community-based organizations (CBOs). As an added component of these focus groups, the consultant team will also facilitate the administration of up to an additional $40,000 of stipends for community members and CBOs. Our budget assumes no new material development for administering these stipends (i.e., we will use existing materials developed during other phases or components of engagement) and assumes working with up to 4 CBOs to onboard and train them to facilitate their own engagement with the communities they serve. Once community engagement is underway, we will discuss and determine the best opportunities for CBOs to use stipends (e.g., to broaden survey reach, to facilitate additional focus groups or workshops). PHASE 4: ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY AND PRESENTATIONS In the final phase, our team will synthesize the engagement activities and results into a topline engagement summary report. The summary report will include qualitative and quantitative data from engagement activities. At this stage, we will also make one presentation to City advisory bodies to share the engagement results and solicit feedback on integration into the Strategy. Engagement results and incorporation of feedback into the Strategy will also be presented to the City Council and Council Sustainability Committee in Task 7. DELIVERABLES Engagement plan to guide community and stakeholder engagement activities (1) Community survey (1), including flyers, social media posts, and email templates and survey fielding, incentives, and data entry for paper surveys ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 6
Community workshops and webinars (up to 3 events) Focus groups (up to 5 facilitated by consultant team) Administration of additional community and CBO stipends Event summaries and final engagement summary, to be integrated as an appendix in the Strategy Presentations to City advisory bodies (4) Task 4. Climate Vulnerability Assessment Cascadia will lead a Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) for the City of Mountain View. Our assessment process includes four phases: (1) exposure analysis, (2) sensitivity analysis, (3) adaptive capacity analysis, and (4) vulnerability assessment. This process complies with requirements for SB 379 for California communities and aligned with the vulnerability framework used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). ASSESS CURRENT AND FUTURE EXPOSURE OF CLIMATE IMPACTS We will begin the data collection process by summarizing existing science from the latest literature on observed and projected climate trends relevant to the City of Mountain View. Cascadia will draw from reputable reports and climate models—such as Cal-Adapt, the California Climate Change Assessment, the National Climate Assessment Atlas, ICLEI’s TEMPERATE tool, NOAA’s sea level rise projections—and other peer-reviewed studies that provides defensible climate data and projections. Cascadia anticipates working in collaboration with the City to confirm the parameters for the impacts assessment, but based on the RFP and our prior experience, we recommend using the RCP8.5 or SSP5-8.5 emissions scenario and a mid-century (2050s) and end-of-century (2080s) planning horizon. As relevant, Cascadia can create graphs that document historical and future climate projections or maps that demonstrate the spatial variability of how a variable may change across the City of Mountain View’s geography.
Climate Vulnerability ElementsExposure: Whether a community might experience a given hazard (e.g., location of housing in relation to flooding, landslide hazards, etc.). Sensitivity: Whether, and to what extent, a community might be damaged or disrupted if exposed to a hazard (e.g., community susceptibility to prolonged extreme heat). Adaptive Capacity: The ability of the community at large to cope with the consequences of damage or disruption (e.g., health inequities that could increase the danger of extreme heat). ExposureSensitivityAdaptive CapacityVulnerability ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 7
Figures and maps created by Cascadia. Cascadia prides itself on being able to communicate complex scientific information in easy-to-understand graphics. The graph in the top left depicts how average summer maximum temperature is expected to change by end-of-century under two climate scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) for the City of Pleasanton, CA. The map on the right shows the urban heat island effect for the City of Seattle, WA. The graph at the bottom illustrates how seasonal precipitation will change using three generations of climate models (CMIP3, CMIP5, and CMIP6). ASSESS SOCIAL VULNERABILITY AND OTHER SENSITIVITY FACTORSWe will complement this summary of climate impacts with a social vulnerability assessment. Cascadia uses a robust spatial methodology—mapping social vulnerability at the census block or tract level—to get a granular understanding of socioeconomic and health disparities across a geography. Assessing social vulnerability together with climate impacts exposure can help the City understand the distributional burden of climate change impacts across its jurisdiction as well as the social determinants of vulnerability—such as income, age, race, linguistic isolation, renter status, or other factors. Additionally, understanding the determinants of vulnerability will also help the City in tailoring climate actions to improve social equity outcomes or mitigate unintended disbenefits of climate action (see Task 5). We will complement this assessment with community input and feedback (Task 3) to ensure that impacts are grounded in lived experience. In addition to the social vulnerability assessment, Cascadia will work with the City to determine other key considerations that may make the City’s communities, assets, and operations more sensitive to
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 8
climate-related hazards and risks. For example,higher percentage of impervious surfaces and lower tree canopy coverage will make a neighborhood more sensitive to the impacts of extreme heat and precipitation. As data is relevant and available, Cascadia will integrate these other factors into our vulnerability assessment. ASSESS ADAPTIVE CAPACITYAdaptive capacity—or the ability to cope or be resilient to climate risks and hazards—is related to multiple factors. For example, at the household-level, variables such as health insurance coverage, proximity to health care facilities, social cohesion and connectivity, or internet bandwidth can all indicate how residents. Adaptive capacity can also be built at the governance-level—government plans and actions can build collective capacity to withstand and respond to climate-related hazards. As part of this assessment, we will collect information to understand adaptive capacity at multiple scales—from household to the community-level. As relevant and available, we will collect indicator data on key adaptive capacity considerations for the City of Mountain View—such as health insurance coverage. Additionally, we will review key documents—such as the City of Mountain View’s General Plan Public Safety Element, the County of Santa Clara Silicon Valley 2.0 tool and Climate Adaptation Guidebook, the Mountain View Annex of the County of Santa Clara Hazard Mitigation Plan, the Shoreline Regional Park Community Sea Level Rise Study Feasibility Report and Capital Improvement Program, the City of Mountain View Biodiversity Strategy, among others—to understand the suite of climate strategies that have already been identified in existing plans, the level of implementation of each of these strategies, and additional gaps or needs that these strategies do not address. Map: Cascadia assessed community vulnerability to climate change for the City of Seattle by developing a race and social equity index, a climate exposure index(inclusive of extreme heat, precipitation, flooding, sea level rise, and air quality data), and other vulnerability factors (e.g., tree canopy) at the census tract level.
Figure: Cascadia created this graph that assesses how hydropower in WA State will be affected by changing precipitation patterns and drought. The green line indicates annual hydropower generation; the orange line indicates a decreasing trend in hydropower generation; areas in pink showcase drought years.
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 9
PULL IT ALL TOGETHER: ASSESS CLIMATE VULNERABILITYAfter assessing climate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, we will synthesize all the information into a comprehensive climate vulnerability assessment. As part of this final CVA, we will include the following: Summary of climate change science that contextualizes the City of Mountain View’s vulnerability within the broader regional and global context. Methodology of the CVA that documents a list of our sources, approach assumptions, and process. Summary of climate vulnerability results, including maps, data visualizations, exposure of key assets, social vulnerability, and narrative. Adaptation considerations such as asset maps of key services and resources that can be leveraged to enhance community resilience. Summary of gaps in vulnerability and resilience information to inform the planning in Task 5. DELIVERABLES Draft and final Climate Vulnerability Assessment Task 5. Wedge Analysis Our team will use communitywide GHG inventory data to develop a wedge analysis that forecasts future GHG emissions and reductions against adopted or proposed emissions reduction targets. Wedge analyses help illustrate the impacts that various policies and climate actions could have on reducing future emissions. Modeling future emissions through a wedge analysis also sets the stage for defining metrics and identifying measures and actions by zeroing in on priority focus areas and ensuring that identified CAP actions set the City on a path to achieve its short- and long-term emissions reduction targets. This scope of work assumes that Cascadia will develop a blank GHG inventory database in Excel and the City will populate it with existing inventory data. The wedge analysis task consists of two analyses: Business-as-usual (BAU) and adjusted business-as-usual (ABAU) analysis: BAU: We’ll work with the City to determine the appropriate forecasting timeframe, growth factors, and assumptions to estimate future emissions in a “no action” scenario. ABAU: With the ABAU, we can quantify the emissions reductions expected from key federal and state laws. Examples of relevant policies include building energy efficiency standards (Title 24), renewable portfolio standard (SB 100), vehicle fuel economy standards, and short-lived pollutant requirements and edible food recovery (SB 1383). Our budget assumes modeling up to 8 policies. Local impact analysis: The local impact analysis focuses on emissions to be addressed by City and community action. We will model estimated GHG emission reductions associated with selected major proposed actions in the Climate Strategy to provide a clear pathway toward the City meeting its communitywide GHG emission reduction targets. At task kickoff, we will discuss the City’s goals for this analysis (e.g., we can model major strategies or levers instead of actions, if desired). Our budget assumes modeling up to 10 key actions, with one round of City review and revisions to modeling assumptions.
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 10
DELIVERABLES Wedge analysis in Excel Wedge analysis summary memo, including brief descriptions of policies and actions modeled, assumptions used in modeling, and analysis findings Task 6. Develop a 2035 Climate Strategy that Integrates Decarbonization and Climate ResiliencyOur team will leverage foundational work that the City has already done—such as its annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories and prior resilience studies—and other proposed work such as Task 4’s Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Task 3’s community engagement efforts to identify a set of integrated measures and actions that can simultaneously meet the City’s mitigation and adaptation goals. DEFINE GOALS, FOCUS AREAS, AND METRICS FOR THE 2035 CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGY While the City has already set a goal of decarbonization by 2035, we will work closely with City staff and the broader community to explicitly define its resilience goals. While developing goals, we aim to ensure that goals are specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-based. This allows us to develop appropriate quantitative and qualitative metrics to track progress towards these goals at the onset of the planning process, allowing us to iterate on these metrics as the planning process unfolds. As we develop the goals of the 2035 Climate Strategy, we will work with the City—in conjunction with broader community feedback—to identify key focus areas of the Strategy. Since this is an integrated strategy, combining both mitigation and resilience measures, we will aim to identify focus areas that have clear benefits for both goals. For example, we often have focus areas that include buildings and energy assets, transportation, parks and natural systems, and public and community health. As we confirm focus areas, we will develop additional metrics that can help the City track its progress towards its goals, such as communitywide solar energy generation, percentage urban tree canopy cover, or acres of the city experiencing urban heat impacts. DEVELOP MEASURES AND ACTIONS After confirming the goals of the Strategy and priority focus areas, we will begin developing a list of potential measures and actions that support Mountain View’s overarching goals. We will focus on developing a set of policy options, strategies, and measures that: Comply with current legislative requirements and targets, such as SB 32 Are impactful, feasible, and cost effective Integrate Mountain View’s existing operations, policies, and goals Prepare community members and infrastructure to effectively respond to current and projected climate impacts Consider the available capacity to implement—both City and community—and adjust the number, scope, and timing of actions accordingly (i.e., aim for a parsimonious list of actions) Can adapt to future changing conditions and legislation (i.e., are not overly prescriptive and rigid) Reflect community priorities and values, including social and racial equity Bring additional co-benefits to the community (e.g., advance public health or economic goals) ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 11
As we begin to build out our potential list of measures and actions, Cascadia will organize measures and actions by the priority focus areas. To develop the list of measures and actions, Cascadia will use a variety of resources to begin developing its list of actions, including: Task 2’s review of existing resources and plans Relevant plans and documents from key implementation partners (e.g., plans from Santa Clara County) Review of peer jurisdiction’s plans and reports Feeback from community engagement in Task 3 New and innovative actions from peer-reviewed publications All measures and actions will be documented in a shared and collaborative workbook with the City, allowing all team members to collaborate in real time as measures and actions evolve over the planning process. PRIORITIZE MEASURES AND ACTIONS After identifying potential measures and actions and gathering feedback from the community and City stakeholders, we will evaluate all measures using a multicriteria analysis to arrive at a prioritized shortlist of near-term and long-term measures to incorporate in the plan. A multicriteria analysis allows the City to evaluate actions on key criteria, ensuring that a final set of prioritized actions are aligned with the City’s values. Example criteria are listed below.
Photo: An example of a collaborative workbook from the City of Pleasanton’s Climate Action Plan. Consumption-Based Emissions StrategiesWe understand that the City is seeking recommendations for evaluating and addressing consumption-based emissions. Cascadia has supported cities, counties, and non-governmental entities in estimating consumption-based emissions and developing strategies to address those emissions. Using available consumption-based data and analyses, we can identify key consumption-based emission sources in Mountain View, crosswalk those emissions with what’s included in the sector-based GHG inventories, and recommend pathways to begin reducing consumption-based emissions.
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 12
Social equity and environmental justice: evaluates how an action can redress existing inequities or disparities or can lead to unintended disbenefits for some frontline community groups. Level of impact: evaluates the emissions reduction potential or the adaptation potential of an action.Feasibility: evaluates feasibility by considering factors such as existing capacity, degree of City control, regulatory constraints, technological considerations, speed at which impact can be achieved, and alignment with state and regional policy objectives.Political and/or community support: evaluates how much support an action has from the broader Mountain View community or key leaders. Cost: evaluates relative cost of an action and considers elements like new hires to expand City capacity, upfront costs, and ongoing programmatic costs. Co-benefits: evaluates other additional co-benefits the action can lead to, such as improved public health outcomes, economic development and workforce training, enhanced biodiversity, or other beneficial outcomes. Following the multicriteria analysis, our team will summarize the prioritized shortlist in a measures and actions memo that presents results of the multicriteria analysis, community feedback, and prioritization. We will also provide a detailed measures and actions matrixas a companion document (MS Excel or Google sheets) that can be sorted and filtered for quick reference and to assist in implementation planning.DEVELOP DRAFT 2035 CLIMATE STRATEGYWe pride ourselves on distilling complex technical information into easy-to-understand, visually appealing reports and plans. Cascadia’s internal quality control and design teamswill ensure that all project materials—and ultimately any final plans—are not just clear and concise, but engaging and inspiring, too. After developing the priority measures and action list, our team will create a draft 2035 Climate Strategy for the City of Mountain View that is clear, concise, and visually engaging. At the kick-off meeting, we will work with the City to envision the format, objectives, and audience for the Strategy. While the exact layout of the Strategy will be determined based on conversations with the City team, we anticipate it including the following key elements:Executive summary: A compendium of key elements of the 2035 Climate Strategy, including background, goals, metrics, and key actions. We often have our executive summary be a stand-alone document that City staff and community partners can pull as a handout for meetings and events.Introduction and background: This will describe background of this project and the opportunity for local governments like the City of Mountain View to implement actions at the local level while leveraging actions and coordination at the regional, state, and federal levels. Vision, goals, and metrics: This component will frame the document with the vision, goals, and key metrics of success for achieving those goals. Summary of key climate vulnerabilities: This section will describe the high-level results of the Climate Vulnerability Assessment in Task 4, including projected climate impacts on frontline and disadvantaged communities.
ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 13
Summary of the City’s emissions: This section will lean on the City’s inventories to describe the primary GHG emissions profile of the City. Summary of community engagement efforts: While we anticipate a more detailed summary of community engagement (see Task 3 for more details), we will also include a section that summarizes our engagement efforts, including who we reached, how we reached them, key themes we heard from the feedback, and how their feedback was integrated into the Strategy. Priority actions and recommendations: We will describe the final set of prioritized actions for the Strategy, including the key priority action to implement in the first five years (2025-2030). We will also describe how actions will yield benefits to frontline communities—such as mitigating climate risks or reducing barriers for communities to access key resources. Implementation considerations and metrics: This section will provide a high-level roadmap for achieving the priority actions, additional metrics that can track progress, and an overview of evaluating future progress for adaptive management of this Strategy. Appendices: In essence, we provide appendices to “show our work. ” Appendices for the 2035 Climate Strategy can include detailed engagement summaries of each touchpoint, the T ask 2 summary memo, methodology and results of the multi-criteria analysis, and so forth. DELIVERABLES Multicriteria analysis Strategies and measures memo detailing and prioritizing recommended strategies and actions with supporting rationale Strategies and measures matrix in Microsoft Excel or Google sheets Draft 2035 Climate Strategy Task 7. Finalize Climate Strategy and City Council Adoption We will ensure that the draft 2035 Climate Strategy undergoes a robust and comprehensive review process with the City, Council Sustainability Committee, City Council, and community. This process helps to ground-truth the Strategy and ensure buy-in, which will be essential for sustained support and engagement during implementation. As part of this review process, we will meet with City staff to solicit feedback on the final Strategy. Our specific approach for these meetings will be determined once the project is underway, but we imagine meeting with cross-departmental and Sustainability and Resilience Division City staff during this task to discuss incorporation of community priorities, concerns, and feedback—collected during Task 3—in the final Strategy. We will also use these meetings to discuss any other final adjustments needed to the Strategy document, goals, and actions. Our proposed budget for this task includes three meetings with City staff. Cascadia will use the takeaways from these meetings, including revisions identified through community engagement, to prepare the final 2035 Climate Strategy. We will submit the final Strategy for independent proofreading and quality review by Cascadia’s internal Editorial Board prior to delivering it to the City. Our project team has extensive experience presenting to City Councils and facilitating Commission and Committee meetings as part of climate action planning processes. Once we have integrated feedback and finalized the 2035 Climate Strategy, we will support the City with presentations to the Council ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 14
Sustainability Committee and City Council for final adoption of the Strategy. Our team will develop and deliver clear, targeted, and visually engaging presentations and support City staff as needed during the meetings. Our proposed budget includes preparation for and participation in two Council or Committee meetings. DELIVERABLES Meetings with City staff (3) Final 2035 Climate Strategy Council or Committee meetings (2) Task 8. On-Call Services for Implementation Support Having worked with new and recurring clients to develop first-, second-, and third-generation climate action plans and strategies, our team has a unique understanding of what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to implementing climate and resilience actions. We don’t want our plans to “sit on the shelf”—we want them to be actionable from the get-go. For instance, we know plans must align with the implementation team’s mitigation, resilience, and equity knowledge, budget cycle, capacity to implement, and current ability to work cross-departmentally. Plans must also create buy-in from staff and the community; that means engaging implementation leads and partners throughout the planning process and reporting successes publicly. Given this expertise, our team is available and eager to support the City with on-call implementation services, as needed. Some of the potential support we can provide includes the following: Facilitation support for cross-departmental collaboration. After the completion of a climate action plan or strategy, many of our clients realize the continued need for cross-departmental communication and coordination to implement priority strategies. However, they may not have the initial staff capacity to conduct this coordination until additional staff hires are approved. Cascadia can provide this continued facilitation support after the adoption of the 2035 Climate Strategy to ensure that the City of Mountain View capitalizes on the momentum following the climate planning process. Technical assistance to implement key strategies. There may be some strategies that require additional technical assistance for implementation. Cascadia has a deep bench of additional technical experts that can assist in the implementation of some actions. For example, following adoption of other climate action plans, Cascadia has worked with our clients to conduct spatial analysis to identify areas suitable for EV charging and supported the mapping of re-vegetation opportunity zones for converting impervious surfaces (e.g., parking lots, paved rights-of-way) to vegetation and habitat. Continued engagement support for behavior change or education campaigns. Many actions may require additional community outreach during the implementation phase. Cascadia has multiple engagement and outreach staff based in the Bay Area that can support the City of Mountain View with continued engagement during the implementation phase of the 2035 Climate Strategy. Support for monitoring and evaluation. Successful strategies require continuous evaluation during the implementation phase, allowing our clients to adaptively manage their strategies to ensure that their goals are met. Cascadia has supported our clients in this monitoring and evaluation space, such as annual GHG emissions inventories to track emissions reduction progress ATT 1 – Scope of Work for the Development of 2035 Climate Strategy Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. | 15
or audits on the implementation progress of each measure. Cascadia can support the City of Mountain View in this ongoing monitoring, creating the initial foundation for metrics tracking that can set the City up for success down the line. DELIVERABLES On-Call Services for Implementation Support, as needed (specific activities to be determined later in the process and based on the City’s needs)Work Plan and TimelineOur proposed schedule for this project is outlined below—in alignment with the timeline requested in the RFP. Our team includes some of Cascadia’s most experienced project managers, who will adaptively manage this planning process to ensure deliverables are completed on time, and in budget, even as project needs shift.
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Proposal Costs Item Number (Task) Description Fees 1Project Management & Kickoff$33,9052Project Approach$23,2803 Outreach and Engagement with Equity Focus $200,979 4 Climate Vulnerability Assessment $62,375 5Wedge Analysis$33,6206Draft 2035 Climate Strategy$45,410 7 Final 2035 Climate Strategy$24,415 8 On-Call Services for Implementation Support$9,250 Total$433,234