CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: April 6, 2026
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
TITLE: ADOPT RESOLUTION NO.__ - 26 ADOPTING THE CITY OF PLEASANT HILL’S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
SYNOPSIS
A public hearing to review and consider adoption of the City of Pleasant Hill’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). The proposed plan serves as a comprehensive guiding document to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from both municipal operations and community-wide activities. It provides a roadmap with over 56 strategies and 84 action steps designed to meet targets set by Senate Bill 32 (SB32) to reduce GHG emissions by 40 percent below the 1990 levels by 2030, and Assembly Bill 1279 (AB1279) that requires achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. The Planning Commission reviewed the document on February 10, 2026, and recommended the City Council adopt the CAP.
DISCUSSION
Background
The proposed Climate Action Plan directly responds to the following programs within the Environmental Element of the City’s 2040 General Plan (“General Plan”), adopted on May 18, 2023:
Environmental Element Program Q – Climate Action Plan. The City shall adopt the Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan by Summer 2025 and include targets that reflect those set by SB 32 to reduce GHG emissions by 40 percent below the 1990 levels by 2030 and AB 1279 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Environmental Element Program R – GHG Emissions Threshold of Significance.
The City shall also adopt Pleasant Hill CEQA GHG Emissions Thresholds of Significance that are consistent with the Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan by Summer 2025 for use in future CEQA GHG emissions analyses through 2030 and consistent with SB 32. In addition, upon completion of future Climate Action Plan updates and as necessary, the City shall update the CEQA GHG emissions threshold of significance to be consistent with each climate action plan update.
Environmental Element Program S – GHG Reduction and Source Alignment. Pursue a diverse mix of GHG reduction strategies across a range of municipal activities that generate GHG emissions and perform municipal GHG inventories at least once every five years to track results for implementation elsewhere.
In addition to the General Plan, the City certified an associated Programmatic EIR that contained various CEQA mitigation measures. One of those measures required completion of a Climate Action Plan to address GHG emissions that may result from potential development envisioned within the recent adoption of the 2040 General Plan. Finally, the City’s 2024-2029 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) authorized $200,000 for the preparation of the CAP (Project Number #CP-24-015). The EIR can be viewed on the City’s website at the following link:
https://www.phillca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21503/Draft-EIR.
On December 2, 2024, after reviewing Request for Proposals (RFP) from multiple professional firms, the City Council selected and approved a Professional Services Agreement with Blue Strike Environmental to complete the Climate Action Plan.
CAP Framework and Approach: The CAP is designed to be consistent with state guidelines and regulations, addressing the need to mitigate the local impacts of climate change. At the onset of the CAP process, the City completed a GHG inventory to establish a baseline to set measurable reduction targets. The emissions were divided into two primary sources: the community inventory and the local government operations inventory. Transportation-related emissions from both community and City operations resulted in the highest GHG emissions.
By 2023, the City had already achieved a 66.5 percent reduction in emissions from 2005, thereby satisfying the SB 32 midterm target seven years ahead of schedule. This achievement surpasses the statewide goal of reducing emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 (note: The City did not have data from 1990 available; however, data from 2005 was higher and therefore a reduction in emissions from 2005 would equate to an equal and/or greater reduction from 1990 levels). The City remains committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, as required by the State and the 2040 General Plan. In order to meet this goal, the CAP analyzed three emissions scenarios including:
Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenario represents future emissions assuming no new reduction measures are implemented.
Adjusted Business-as-Usual (ABAU) scenario incorporates the effects of state and federal policies that are already adopted or reasonably anticipated but not included in this CAP.
The CAP scenario illustrates the additional emission reductions achieved through the strategies and actions outlined in the CAP.
The BAU and ABAU scenarios do not reach the City’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2045 such that implementation of the strategies included in the CAP are necessary to satisfy the State’s mandate and City’s goals. City Staff and the consultant had many early discussions whether or not the CAP would include mandates or “reach codes,” given recent legal issues with these kinds of regulations in other jurisdictions (e.g., Berkeley’s natural gas ban). However, on June 30, 2025, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130), which created a temporary moratorium for cities statewide on adopting new residential reach codes from October 2025 through June 2031, which coincides with the majority of the CAP’s implementation timeline. Therefore, in consultation with the consultant, Staff decided to focus on proactive planning and local engagement, and incentivizing community-driven actions, rather than relying on regulatory mandates (such as reach codes). Staff also chose not to incorporate mandates for commercial properties since they were not necessary to achieve the goals. With this approach, the CAP assumes full implementation of voluntary programs, incentives, and partnerships to meet the City’s goals. The City can choose to revisit this approach in 2031, if desired.
Planning Commission Recommendation: On February 10, 2026, the Planning Commission reviewed the Public Review Draft and recommended the City Council adopt the document. The Planning Commission requested the following comments be forwarded to the City Council (comments were not unanimous and, therefore, were not included in a formal motion):
Consider establishing a “Climate Engagement Commission” to assist with implementation of the CAP strategies and actions.
Consider accelerating the timeline of the CAP to achieve net zero emissions before the projected 2045 timeframe.
Analysis
The CAP is structured around five primary focus areas, each containing specific, measurable goals and the policies designed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. The five focus areas and goals within each are summarized below. Additionally, the CAP includes tiers to help provide guidance on importance, particularly related to GHG reductions, thus, Tier 1 strategies are anticipated to have the most impact on GHG reduction. The CAP includes many other strategies with other cobenefits to help the City reach its goals. Many of the goals and strategies depend on partnerships with agencies or organizations, such as Sustainable Contra Costa and MCE, as well as alignment with other City documents, such as the adopted Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, and the recently initiated Safety Action Plan.
CAP Focus Areas:
1. Energy: Targets emissions from electricity and natural gas consumption in buildings and municipal operations.
Goal EN 1: Transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045 Goal EN 2: Focus on implementation of energy efficiency projects community wide
Goal EN 3: Promote electrification resources
Key GHG Reduction Energy Strategies:
o EN 1.1: Launch a crowd sourcing commercial and residential solar campaign, "Solarize Pleasant Hill" to provide bulk pricing incentives; Partner with a solar company in the East Bay to bundle city solar and storage projects and submit to a developer to maximize installation cost savings and streamline developer engagement.
EN 1.2: Explore the potential for onsite renewable energy systems combined with battery storage at municipal facilities and select neighborhood associations EN 1.4: Identify rebates for preparing residential homes with wired solar ready infrastructure at time of permitting new construction
EN 1.7: Purchase 100% of municipal energy through MCE's Deep Green program, which is a 100% renewable electricity option (primarily California solar and wind). (Action EN 1.7.1 – Adopt a City Council Resolution committing to this strategy).
EN 3.3: Electrify 3,356 residential units and 121 commercial buildings by 2045
2. Transportation: Pinpoints the largest source of community-wide emissions by focusing on reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and transitioning to electric vehicles. Goal TR 1: Reduce community-wide combustion engine VMT by 3% by 2030, and 5% by 2045
Goal TR 2: Support Transit-Oriented Development
Key GHG Reduction Transportation Strategies:
o TR 1.2: Transition city fleet to all electric by 2035 per California Air Resources Board (CARB)'s Advanced Clean Fleet rule, mandating electrification of all light, medium and heavy-duty fleet vehicles.
o TR 1.3: Support transition to all EVs community wide
3. Resource Conservation: Focuses on waste reduction and water conservation to minimize associated GHG emissions.
Goal WS 1: Adopt a community wide Zero Waste Plan with a goal of 75% diversion by 2030
Goal WS 2: Evaluate and implement green purchasing options across all city departments and consider the life cycle effects of purchases Goal WS 3: Enforce water efficiency standards in new construction and remodeling at time of permitting.
Key GHG Reduction Resource Conservation Strategies:
o WS 1.1: Conduct waste audits of City facilities, including assessing the volume and composition of all waste streams, identifying challenges with waste activities, and developing educational or operational changes to address issues and reduce waste generation.
o WS 1.2: Adopt an ordinance to ban the use of Styrofoam, plastic straws, and other petroleum-based, non-recyclable, or non-compostable materials used for food and beverage services, including to-go and delivery items.
o WS 1.4: New development should incorporate a minimum of 15% of recycled materials into new construction to encourage the market for recycled goods (Action WS 1.4.3 – Adopt an Ordinance).
o WS 2.3L Give preference for city contracts to firms using reduced-emissions equipment, including for services such as trash collection and landscaping. (Action WS 2.3.1 – Develop a Resolution from City Council stating this priority by 2027.)
4. Adaptive Management: Concentrates on the need for community resilience and integrating climate action into all City functions.
Goal AM 1: Encourage the development of new programs and initiatives that support the City’s adaptive management goals
Goal AM 2: Integrate climate action management systems into City operations Key GHG Reduction Adaptive Management Strategies:
o AM 1.2: Promote tree retention and planting in urban areas to reduce heat island effects
5. Green Community: Focuses on nature-based solutions and encourages sustainable practices among residents and businesses.
Goal GC 1: Prioritize and implement nature-based solutions in the community Goal GC2: Foster green business and residential practices Key GHG Reduction Green Community Strategies:
o GC 1.1: Implement carbon sequestration by expanding the urban forest, participating in soil-based or compost application sequestration initiatives, supporting regional open space protection, and/or incentivizing rooftop gardens o GC 2.2: Promote Sustainable Contra Costa's Pleasant Hill Sustainability Challenge o GC 2.5: Phase in a gas-powered landscape equipment ban for the City. (Action GC
2.5.3 – Draft an ordinance and present to City Council for approval).
As noted previously, each strategy is prioritized into three tiers (Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3) with its potential impact on GHG emission reductions and potential co-benefits such as cost-effectiveness, or contributions to equity and climate justice issues.
Implementation: The 2040 General Plan commits the City to tracking the performance of these strategies every five years. All strategies will be internally tracked and will follow the implementation targets outlined in the CAP. An early action item for 2026 is to expand the City's CAP webpage to serve as a one-stop resource for residents and businesses to find vendors, rebates, and incentives for emission-reduction projects.
Stakeholder Engagement: The CAP was shaped by an extensive stakeholder engagement process conducted from January to September 2025. This process included 14 focus groups, four public workshops, participation at Off-the-Grid’s Earth Day event, and a communitywide online survey that garnered 114 responses. Residents expressed strong concern about the impacts of climate change, particularly regarding wildfire risk, drought, and air and water quality. Additionally, 80 percent of survey respondents believe it is important for the City to take climate action. Input from the public has been incorporated into the CAP where possible, such as prioritizing energy efficiency upgrades and rooftop solar projects.
Environmental Review
The City has prepared an Addendum to the certified 2040 General Plan Programmatic Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse No. 2022070095) for the project.
Additionally, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15163, no subsequent or supplemental EIR or Negative Declaration is required for a later project that is within the scope of the Programmatic EIR. Therefore, the City finds that an Addendum to the certified 2040 General Plan Final EIR is the appropriate environmental documentation under CEQA for the Proposed Project.
Public Comments
Staff has received nine written comments to date on the draft Climate Action Plan. Copies of which are included as Attachment E to this report.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Climate Action Plan includes a diverse mix of external funding sources for each strategy to partially offset direct costs to the City’s General Fund. The funding plan lists different outside funding sources for each strategy, such as the Bay Area Air District’s “Charge!” Program, PG&E’s EV Fleet Program, CCTA funding, and other similar programs. As proposed, the anticipated total annual funding needs to implement the CAP through 2030 are as follows:
Implementation Year Annual Total
2026 $344,050
2027* $1,021,950
2028 $417,850
2029 $221,050
2030 $198,050
It is important to note that there is a significant increase in 2027 (specifically for Adaptive Management Strategy AM 1.1, which costs an estimated $760,000) for the following Actions:
Strategy AM 1.1 - Identify, fund, and prepare existing and new public facilities to serve as resilience hubs (i.e. locations that can generate power in the event of a power outage, distribute emergency supplies, and coordinate communication). Action AM 1.1.1 - Target the Library for a renewable microgrid project, and partner with the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District to establish a renewable microgrid project at the Community Center.
Action AM 1.1.2 - Incorporate these emergency preparedness microgrid projects into the Capital Improvement Project budget by 2027.
Other strategies that would include more significant costs to implement include:
Transitioning city fleet to all electric by 2035 (TR 1.2): $40,000 Implementing related projects within the Safe Streets for All Action Plan with clear VMT/GHG reduction goals (TR 2.3): $325,000
Purchasing 100% of municipal energy through MCE’s Deep Green program (EN 1.7): $175,000
Continuing to install LED retrofits to City buildings (EN 2.4): $150,000 One of the potential impacts that could affect City General Funds includes the need to manage the numerous implementation CAP strategies, possibly through the hiring of additional City staff, (e.g., temporary, permanent, half-time, or full time), or augmenting staff through a professional contract.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public Contact was made through posting of the City Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board, at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center, and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department. The agenda and staff report are posted on the City’s web page. Additionally, notice of this public hearing was published in the Contra Costa Times Newspaper on March 6, 2026, and March 27, 2026, provided on the City’s electronic sign, A-Frames at the Police Station and Pleasant Hill Library, respectively, and notices of the meeting have also been posted on the City website and project’s website (www.phillca.gov/CAP2025), and at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center. Finally, notification was emailed to all interested parties who have signed up via the website or attended workshops (approximately 100 people).
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Adopt the proposed resolution to approve the Climate Action Plan.
ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt the Climate Action Plan with modifications
Do not adopt the Climate Action Plan
Continue the item to a later City Council date with direction provided to City Staff
ATTACHMENT(S)
Attachment A Proposed Resolution
Attachment B Climate Action Plan – Public Review Draft
Attachment C Addendum to the 2040 General Plan EIR
Attachment D Planning Commission Resolution No. 03-26
Attachment E Public Comments
Attachment F Public Hearing Notice
Prepared by: Haley Croffoot, Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Troy Fujimoto, City Planner
Approved by: Ethan Bindernagel, City Manager