From: Kirsten Riker
To: Haley Croffoot
Cc: Troy Fujimoto
Subject: RE: City of Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan Public Review Draft Date: Monday, December 22, 2025 11:38:46 AM
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Good morning,
1. Page 44 cites “511 Contra Costa” – our program name is changing to “511 CCTA.”
2. Strategy TR1.1 could be revised to include our local ebike rebate program which is available to all county residents ages 18+. There is no income limit for our standard rebate of $150. Our Low Income Rebate of $300 is available for residents with household incomes at or below 400% of the FPL.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Happy holidays, Kirsten Riker
511 Contra Costa
[email protected]
Cell: 925-393-4807
511 Contra Costa is a program of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority From: Haley Croffoot <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2025 11:05 AM
To: Haley Croffoot <[email protected]>
Cc: Troy Fujimoto <[email protected]>
Subject: City of Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan Public Review Draft [EXTERNAL EMAIL]
From: Kesha Hitchrick
To: Haley Croffoot
Subject: Draft Climate Action Plan
Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 11:26:26 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Good Morning,
My family and I are Pleasant Hill residents and our home is in the Ridgeview area. We’ve been living in Pleasant Hill since 2016 and we absolutely love our city! I read the Draft Climate Action Plan and it looks great. I was very happy to see GC 2.5, Gas Powered Equipment Ban. Most of my neighbors have yard maintenance people that use gas powered blowers. I have to close our bedroom windows whenever they’re using blowers because the exhaust fumes come into our home. Even when I’m taking our dogs on their daily walk I have to cross the street or hold my breath because the exhaust is so bad. I’m glad PH is planning on doing this since we're sandwiched between other cities that have already adopted this ban. Why is the gas powered equipment ban Tier 3 complementary and not Tier 1?
We would like to see our city ban the use of chemical insecticides and herbicides. We are beekeepers and are witness to how these chemicals are killing our honeybee and native bee populations. We'd also like to make sure the honey we’re blessed to extract from our hives is free of chemicals. Everyday I see the yard maintenance workers people in my community have hired, spraying chemicals to kill insects and weeds, or company trucks like Orkin pulling up to their homes to do the same. It would be great if there was a city wide requirement to use botanical formulas for insect and weed control and ban the chemical ones. Companies such as Planet Orange have been offering botanical solutions for years.
It would also be beneficial to educate the residents of our city about permaculture gardening practices so they’ll learn chemicals are not necessary. Just the simple act of planting herbs around your fruit trees or vegetable gardens help to repel pests because of the aromas they emit. Companion planting is also another trick to help our gardens and landscape thrive. Insects are beneficial because they are pollinators too! Sincerely,
Kesha Hitchrick
510-508-6778
From: B-P Irion
To: Haley Croffoot
Subject: Comments on Climate Action Plan
Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 1:20:42 PM
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I am writing to provide comment on Pleasant Hill's Climate Action Plan.
The plan notes that the single largest source of green house gases is caused by vehicular traffic. Page 151 provides a breakdown based on speed, however, there is no breakdown for idling, eg 0 mph. I would think that working to reduce or eliminate emissions while idling at traffic lights or waiting to pick up children at schools should be a study area for the Climate Action Plan.
It is commendable that page 48 talks about "Creating infrastructure that allows citizens to safely travel between high traffic areas, particularly elementary schools, middle schools, and downtown." Tactics that would allow children to more safely walk or bike to school would reduce traffic congestion and emissions associated with parents driving to pick up their children.
Finally, it should be recognized that regardless of how successful Pleasant Hill is in reducing emissions, the city and its residents will still have to deal with the impacts of climate change. Therefore it would seem prudent to include such tactics in the Climate Action Plan. In particular, I would like to see study of the City's plan for dealing with increased wildfire risk, including prevention tactics and evacuation plans.
Thank you.
Bruce Irion
Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan 2025
Public Response Comments from Pleasant Hill Resident: Mona Wang Submission Date: 1/30/2026
Context:
This document provides comments from Mona Wang, resident and homeowner in Pleasant Hill, in response to Pleasant Hill’s 2025 Climate Action Plan within the Public Comment Period.
Highlights:
Pleasant Hill’s holistic approach to climate action is thoroughly appreciated. The approach is focused and aligned with California’s emissions reductions goals, while also taking a broader and more holistic ecosystems-level approach by integrating nature-based solutions and emphasizing increasing opportunities for community engagement, education, and involvement for sustained success.
Overall Comments for Consideration:
● Energy - Consider building a sustainable solar infrastructure for the city that would create criteria for responsible sourcing of solar installation materials, and would require panel installation to occur only in existing high-use public and urban spaces (e.g., parking lots, commercial rooftops) and exclude green, open, and natural spaces.
Additionally, consider establishing more facilities and public engagement and education, and increased accessibility for proper hazardous waste disposal (i.e., organizing e-waste collection days, having a booth for collection at each PH event, etc.). Consider also introducing and providing incentive programs (e.g., tax deduction, free weatherization programs, etc.) to residents (owners and renters) to increase energy efficiency and further reduce city-wide emissions.
● Transportation - Would encourage PH to consider the following to add to its transit-oriented development plans: 1) creating more affordable housing opportunities near and around the PH Downtown area and/or the Pleasant HIll BART station to increase equitable access and walkability to major transportation hubs - as opposed to its focus on providing e-bikes, 2) supporting more small business development in the Pleasant Hill BART station, as another major transportation hub area, to increase walkability and connectivity across City and County, 3) pilot or engage County of Contra Costa to test feasibility of increasing frequency and utility of County Connection to create more connectivity within City and County points of interest, 4) move away from providing individualized e-bikes approach, which would add to clutter and enable continued resource waste and depletion
● Resource Conservation - Consider incentivizing and/or requiring permeable pavers and surfaces and establishing native plant (drought-tolerant) and pollinator corridors to new and existing municipal construction, and providing similar incentive programs to residents, for the purposes of improving groundwater retention, mitigating flooding risk, providing habitat to improve native wildlife and insect populations (foundational for ecosystem health), supporting PH’s tree retention policy (by allowing improved water retention for older tree root systems), and reducing overall municipal water use. Could be worthwhile to explore models of re-purposing un-used public spaces to create urban gardens and pollinator gardens (e.g., street medians, abandoned parking spaces, etc.). ● General - consider also prioritizing minority-owned businesses in proposed green sourcing strategy for vendor procurement
In-Depth Comments for Consideration:
● Section: Goals, page 32
○ Energy - Ensure prioritization of installation of solar panels in existing high-use urban settings (e.g., parking lots, rooftops), and avoiding expansion into green, open and natural spaces.
○ Resource Conservation - Improved Waste Diversion Program - establish more programs and facilities dedicated to proper treatment and disposal of toxic materials and waste (e.g., paint, oil, insecticides, scrap metal, etc.) ○ Resource Conservation - Consideration to also include prioritization of minority-owned businesses, in addition to green purchasing options, as part of improved procurement plan
● Section: Energy, EN1
○ Energy - Very much appreciate the holistic community engagement and education emphasis, providing technical support and creating ways for residents to get informed and involved.
○ EN1.1. -
■ Will these solar incentives also include for those who intend to own? While it is important for PH to move forward in the green energy transition, and while leasing to solar companies is a more feasible financial option for most homeowners, it would be important to also include incentives for homeowners who wish to own their solar panels and storage.
■ Is there a way to ensure that the raw materials for solar installation are sourced responsibly?
● Section: Energy, EN3, Page 40
○ EN3.1 and EN3.2 - Consider LEED certification for building efficiency in energy and water usage, if possible.
○ EN3.3 -
■ Consider making it a requirement for commercial buildings to comply with electrification standards, and provide incentives for residents. ■ Consider providing city-wide rebate incentives or tax deductions to incentivize energy-efficiency home improvements through tax credits, such as replacing, to a certain extent, the program provided under the Inflation Reduction Act, which ended in 2025. (This is what made us make the jump to finally bite the bullet to pay the upfront costs to switch out our 30-year old furnace to a heat pump – because we still qualified, as of Dec. 2025, for the IRA energy credits). Could be helpful to have a city-wide program or advocate for a county-wide program to continue the momentum, given the sunset of the IRA program, and current administration’s stance on clean energy and climate change. ■ Consider offering a city-sponsored “Weatherization Program” ahead of the winter months, where free services for simple efficiency improvements are offered to provide residents (owners and renters) applied improvements in heat retention (e.g., weatherizing windows, doorways, etc.), saving residents - both owners and renters - money in utility bills, and lowering overall city-wide gas and electricity usage, and therefore emissions.
● Section: Transportation, TR 1
○ Overall -
■ Recommend shifting to a more holistic approach by focusing on transit-oriented development. Suggest advocating for pilot program on increasing the frequency to existing bus routes over 12 months+ to test feasibility of increasing ridership by increasing utility and function of existing public transportation networks to riders to therefore reduce individual vehicle emissions transmission, or consider engaging the County to partner and pilot on similar-type program, given that this issue lies within county jurisdiction.
■ Piloting an e-bike program further enables the dependence of addressing transportation as an individualized location-by-location basis (i.e., it’s not enough of a systems change), and detracts from the broader more impactful focus of shifting and improving the public transportation system for improved collective city-wide transportation.
○ TR1.1 - Would heavily deter against the focus of introducing e-bikes into the city, for reasons of safety, and most of all, sustainability issues. Most e-bikes require regular maintenance, and battery replacements that contribute to a cycle of increasing minerals extractions from an unregulated industry associated with human rights and labor rights violations and significant environmental degradation, often from lower-income countries. Would recommend regular bikes instead and for focus to create safer and more extensive, accessible bike lanes through and around the city.
○ TR1.6 - Thank you for making space for community engagement, engagement, and involvement in this area. Shifting the culture of how we see “driving vs walking” is key. It would be key to prioritize safety as a prerequisite to this. ● Section: Transportation, TR 2
○ TR2.1 - One key consideration for improving walkability in a residential area is how close local necessities are located, or how densely commercial spaces are located alongside residential areas to facilitate ease and practicality of walking to reach places for daily necessities, such as grocery stores, drugstores, convenience stores, etc. Are there any zoning policies currently that prohibit this type of mixed-use planning? Are there any that could support greater integration, that would make it more practical and easier for walking to complete more daily household-type activities?
○ TR2.2 -
■ Consider boosting businesses surrounding the Pleasant Hill BART station, by holding certain city events, to draw in greater crowds and support to businesses surrounding that area.
■ Consider creating more affordable housing units near Pleasant Hill BART station to increase equitable access and walkability to major transportation hubs
● Section: Resource Conservation
○ WS1 -
■ Would be helpful to establish more infrastructure on proper waste disposal, by creating more facilities whose purpose is to help residents and commercial operators and owners properly dispose of hazardous materials, scrap metal, etc. (e.g. e-waste, paint, oil, insecticides, scrap metal, etc.), and to include this in the public education campaign. Have ready options available makes it easier and more possible to properly dispose of these materials and to ensure they do not further contaminate groundwater and unnecessarily fill landfills.
■ Consider hosting dedicated city-wide e-waste events, or hold a booth at each Pleasant Hill City event, to increase accessibility and awareness. ○ WS3 -
■ Consider exploring requiring new construction, and replacing existing municipal surfaces, with permeable pavers or permeable surfaces that can help with replenishing groundwater, mitigate flooding, and improve water availability and retention for deep tree root systems for existing and older trees, in alignment with and supporting ease of maintenance of PH’s tree retention policy. (In support, alignment with GC1.2) ■ In addition to transitioning all municipal landscaping to native plants as plants are replaced, consider requiring all new municipal landscaping be restricted to native plants only.
■ Are there any aquatic plants planted in the Pleasant Hill City Hall pond? They could offer natural filtration and improve water quality for wildlife and promote public aesthetics.
● Section: Green Community
○ General
■ Establish more native plant and native pollinator corridors. Identify un-used public spaces and re-purpose land-use (physically and policy-wise) to create urban gardens and pollinator gardens. Could include street medians, and managing the area to create native plant havens for pollinators instead, improving native wildlife and reducing water use
■ Prohibit the use of pesticides in all municipal landscaping and public spaces to protect groundwater, improve safety for residents and children, and protect insect population, which serves as the foundation for an overall healthy ecosystem.
● Section: General
○ AM2.5 - greatly appreciate the focus on providing readily available information on day-to-day practicalities for residents (e.g. one-stop shop list of vendors, rebates, and incentives) to reduce emissions reductions. Would be useful for homeowners to have a similar list of responsible contractors for home improvement projects and repairs.
From: Ryan Guest
To: Planning
Cc: Haley Croffoot
Subject: Public Comments | Pleasant Hill Planning Commission | Item 6.1: City of Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan (CityWide).
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026 11:41:14 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Dear Planning Commissioners,
I am writing because I can’t make it to the meeting tonight. These public comments are regarding Agenda Item 6.1: City of Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan (CityWide).
Flooding
While the plan covers greenhouse gases, it does not fully cover flood prevention. This omission is particularly concerning given recent and ongoing City actions. As you all voted, the City has just completed a major rezoning effort to meet the 2040 General Plan, and in March the City Council is expected to begin the process of amending that General Plan. One of the primary community concerns raised during rezoning has been the use of flood-prone land for medium-density housing. Given that context, it is surprising that the Climate Action Plan does not clearly identify floodplain development as a climate risk.
I am also disappointed to see that while several agencies provided input on the Climate Action Plan, Contra Costa Flood Control was not consulted. Flood protection and floodplain management are among the City’s most significant near-term climate risks, alongside wildfire, yet they receive relatively little attention in this plan.
Protecting and enhancing flood control infrastructure and flood zones should be a toptier climate priority.
I want to specifically challenge the statement in the CAP Addendum to the 2040 General Plan Final EIR (Page 57):
“Less than significant impact. Development... would not increase existing potential for inundation within flood hazard areas...”
This conclusion is logically inconsistent. Placing four-story buildings in FEMA flood hazard areas increases exposure by introducing residents, structures, and vehicles into a known danger zone. Characterizing these impacts as “less than significant” without flood modeling or clear mitigation measures is not smart planning.
Lastly, I’m not an urban planner, and I think a lot of us in the public would appreciate discussion on these items:
1. The Library "Resilience Hub": Does this mean the library becomes our emergency shelter during a flood or a power outage? Could this be used as a shelter for the unhoused?
2. The Downtown Climate Action District: What is a "demonstration area" exactly? What is a Climate Action District? In my experience, "demonstration area" is often code for something else. I’d like a guarantee that we aren't going to see parking fees that drive customers away from our local shops and into other cities.
I hope you’ll take a moment tonight to discuss whether parts of this plan make Pleasant Hill better or it simply adds layers of bureaucracy while leaving us vulnerable to the next big storm.
Ryan Guest
From: Courtney Coon
To: Haley Croffoot
Subject: Comments on draft CAP
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:37:16 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Dear Haley Croffoot,
Thank you and your team for the tremendous work that has gone into the 2025 Climate Action Plan.
Pleasant Hill has made real and measurable progress — achieving emissions reductions ahead of schedule is no small accomplishment. That leadership matters.
I also appreciated the opportunity to participate in the first community workshop. There were many thoughtful, creative, and bold ideas shared, including discussions about developing microgrids for the city and exploring zero-waste building requirements. The level of ambition and imagination in that room was inspiring. However, many of those forward-thinking concepts do not appear to be reflected in the current draft CAP, which feels more incremental than that first conversation suggested.
As such, I am writing to respectfully suggest that the next phase of our climate policy be bolder and more structurally robust.
The last three years have exceeded 1.5°C of global warming. Federal climate leadership is uncertain.
And while Pleasant Hill is “ahead of schedule,” we have largely achieved the easier emissions reductions.
The remaining reductions will be harder and require stronger policy tools.
The current draft CAP relies heavily on several optimistic assumptions:
High participation in voluntary electrification and retrofit programs Continued strong state and regional policy momentum and incentives Transportation emissions reductions driven primarily by electrification rather than meaningful VMT reduction
Limited enforcement levers or formal accountability mechanisms If any of these assumptions underperform, our carbon neutrality pathway becomes even more fragile. To ensure Pleasant Hill continues to lead, I would like to see a strengthening of the CAP with the following policy upgrades, many of which are already in place in peer Bay Area cities:
1. Require All-Electric New Construction and Major Remodels (with equity carve-outs).
Move from promotion to requirement, while protecting affordability-restricted housing through targeted support. Berkeley, San Jose, San Mateo, Mountain View, and Oakland have already adopted similar policies.
2. Adopt a Building Emissions Performance Standard (BEPS).
Rather than relying on voluntary retrofits, establish emissions or energy performance thresholds for larger buildings. San Jose has adopted a BEPS, and San Francisco has implemented a Nonresidential BEPS.
3. Implement VMT- or GHG-Based Transportation Impact Fees.
Replace or supplement traditional traffic impact fees with a structure that charges more for high-VMT projects and offers discounts for transit-oriented, mixed-use, or car-light development. Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Oakland are already moving in this direction.
4. Enact Meaningful Parking Reform.
Parking policy is one of our lowest-cost emissions levers. Consider eliminating parking minimums near transit, introducing parking maximums in downtown and TOD areas, and unbundling parking from rent.
More significant parking reforms (e.g., paid parking) could be used in areas when/where their is sufficient alternative infrastructure like buses, protected bike lanes + bike parking and safe sidewalks. Berkeley, San Francisco, and Emeryville have adopted these reforms.
5. Establish a Local Carbon Mitigation Fund.
If projects cannot meet on-site electrification or EV readiness standards, require payment into a local mitigation fund to support electrification, EV charging in multifamily housing, and urban greening. San Jose and San Carlos have implemented similar models.
6. Include Formal Course-Correction Triggers.
If interim targets are missed, the CAP should specify automatic policy escalation measures. This makes the plan adaptive and self-correcting rather than aspirational.
7. Assign Department-Level Carbon Budgets.
Allocate annual emissions budgets to departments such as Public Works, Fleet, and Facilities, and tie manager performance metrics to reductions. San Francisco and Oakland have adopted accountability frameworks like this. Carbon reductions must be someone’s job.
8. Streamline Permitting for Solar, Storage, and Electrification Retrofits.
Clear, expedited processes reduce friction and increase participation.
9. Mandate Complete Streets.
Given the ongoing Pleasant Hill Safety Action Plan survey, this is a timely opportunity to codify Complete Streets standards to support walking, biking, and transit.
10. Require Rooftop Solar on New and Municipal Buildings.
11. Encourage and formalize telework policies for government employees.
Pleasant Hill has already demonstrated leadership. The question now is whether we institutionalize that leadership with durable, enforceable mechanisms — especially as easy reductions disappear and external policy support becomes less certain.
Strengthening the CAP in these ways would align Pleasant Hill with regional best practices and ensure that our carbon neutrality goal is not only technically achievable, but structurally resilient.
Thank you for your time and for your continued work on this critical issue. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss any of these ideas further.
Sincerely,
Courtney Coon, PhD, MPH
she/her
Pleasant Hill resident
From: Haley Croffoot
To: Haley Croffoot
Subject: FW: Draft PH Climate Action Plan
Date: Friday, February 13, 2026 12:28:35 PM
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2026 11:05 PM
To: Ethan Bindernagel <[email protected]>; Juanita Davalos <[email protected]>; Geoff Gillette <[email protected]>; Lyone Conner <[email protected]> Subject: Online Form Submittal: Email the City Council
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Email the City Council
Please note that all emails submitted through this website will be shared with all Councilmembers and certain City staff members. These emails are considered public records under the California Public Records Act (Govt. Code Section 6250, et seq.) and are available for public viewing.
Name: Courtney Coon
Street
Address:
2246 Lisa Lane
City* Pleasant Hill
Phone
Number:
Email:* [email protected]
Subject:* Draft PH Climate Action Plan
Question
or
Comment:
Dear Councilmember Obolesky, I’m writing regarding the draft Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan, which the Planning Commission just reviewed and is now forwarding to the City Council. The recommendation to approve the plan comes with a request to adopt a more aggressive implementation timeline. I want to express my strong support for that recommendation — it is absolutely critical. First, I want to acknowledge the substantial work that has gone into this draft and the real progress Pleasant Hill has already made. Achieving emissions reductions ahead of schedule is meaningful, and our City deserves credit for that leadership. I participated in the first community workshop, where I heard thoughtful, creative, and genuinely bold ideas from residents — including discussion of citywide microgrids and zero-waste building requirements. The ambition in that room reflected a community that wants Pleasant Hill to lead. However, many of those forward-leaning ideas are not reflected in the current draft, which feels more incremental than the urgency of the moment demands. The last three years have exceeded 1.5°C of global warming, a target set by the IPCC, after which we can expect to see truly catastrophic impacts from climate change (here is a great summary article: https://e360.yale.edu/features/1.5-degrees-tipping-points). Federal climate leadership is uncertain. And while Pleasant Hill is “ahead of schedule,” we have largely achieved the easier emissions reductions. The remaining reductions will be harder and will require stronger policy tools and a faster pace. The current draft CAP relies heavily on optimistic assumptions: High participation in voluntary electrification and retrofit programs Continued strong state and regional policy momentum and incentives Transportation emissions reductions driven primarily by electrification rather than meaningful VMT reduction Limited enforcement levers or formal accountability mechanisms If any of these assumptions underperform, our carbon neutrality pathway becomes fragile. That is why accelerating the timeline and strengthening implementation mechanisms now is so important. The Planning Commission’s recommendation to pursue a more aggressive timeline is not symbolic — it is structurally important. Front-loading action: Locks in emissions reductions earlier Reduces long-term risk Signals continued leadership in the region Prevents us from deferring the hardest decisions to future councils Pleasant Hill has demonstrated that it can lead. The question now is whether we institutionalize that leadership with a timeline and policy framework that reflect both the science and the reality that the “easy” reductions are behind us. I strongly encourage you to support a more ambitious implementation schedule when the CAP comes before Council. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further if helpful. I have several ideas about specific policies that could be proposed in the plan. Thank you for your time and your service to our community. Sincerely, Courtney Coon, PhD, MPH she/her Pleasant Hill Cohousing resident Upload File
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http://www.phillca.gov/Admin/FormHistory.aspx?SID=18830 The following form was submitted via your website: Email the City Council Please note that all emails submitted through this website will be shared with all Councilmembers and certain City staff members. These emails are considered public records under the California Public Records Act (Govt. Code Section 6250, et seq.) and are available for public viewing.:
Name:: Courtney Coon
Street Address:: 2246 Lisa Lane
City: Pleasant Hill
Phone Number::
Email:: [email protected]
Subject:: Draft PH Climate Action Plan
Question or Comment:: Dear Councilmember Obolesky,
I’m writing regarding the draft Pleasant Hill Climate Action Plan, which the Planning Commission just reviewed and is now forwarding to the City Council. The recommendation to approve the plan comes with a request to adopt a more aggressive implementation timeline. I want to express my strong support for that recommendation — it is absolutely critical.
First, I want to acknowledge the substantial work that has gone into this draft and the real progress Pleasant Hill has already made. Achieving emissions reductions ahead of schedule is meaningful, and our City deserves credit for that leadership.
I participated in the first community workshop, where I heard thoughtful, creative, and genuinely bold ideas from residents — including discussion of citywide microgrids and zero-waste building requirements. The ambition in that room reflected a community that wants Pleasant Hill to lead. However, many of those forward-leaning ideas are not reflected in the current draft, which feels more incremental than the urgency of the moment demands.
The last three years have exceeded 1.5°C of global warming, a target set by the IPCC, after which we can expect to see truly catastrophic impacts from climate change (here is a great summary article: https://e360.yale.edu/features/1.5-degrees-tipping-points).
Federal climate leadership is uncertain. And while Pleasant Hill is “ahead of schedule,” we have largely achieved the easier emissions reductions. The remaining reductions will be harder and will require stronger policy tools and a faster pace.
The current draft CAP relies heavily on optimistic assumptions:
High participation in voluntary electrification and retrofit programs Continued strong state and regional policy momentum and incentives Transportation emissions reductions driven primarily by electrification rather than meaningful VMT reduction
Limited enforcement levers or formal accountability mechanisms If any of these assumptions underperform, our carbon neutrality pathway becomes fragile. That is why accelerating the timeline and strengthening implementation mechanisms now is so important.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation to pursue a more aggressive timeline is not symbolic — it is structurally important. Front-loading action:
Locks in emissions reductions earlier
Reduces long-term risk
Signals continued leadership in the region
Prevents us from deferring the hardest decisions to future councils Pleasant Hill has demonstrated that it can lead. The question now is whether we institutionalize that leadership with a timeline and policy framework that reflect both the science and the reality that the “easy” reductions are behind us.
I strongly encourage you to support a more ambitious implementation schedule when the CAP comes before Council. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further if helpful. I have several ideas about specific policies that could be proposed in the plan.
Thank you for your time and your service to our community.
Sincerely,
Courtney Coon, PhD, MPH
she/her
Pleasant Hill Cohousing resident
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Additional Information:
Form submitted on: 2/10/2026 11:05:20 PM
Submitted from IP Address: 98.47.222.112
Referrer Page: https://www.phillca.gov/1649/Andrei-Obolenskiy-Vice-Mayor-Dist-2- Coun
Form Address: http://www.phillca.gov/Forms.aspx?FID=137 1 Haley Croffoot
From: Michelle Simone <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2026 11:48 AM
To: Haley Croffoot
Subject: Climate Action Plan
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Good morning Haley,
I’d like the city to consider renting drones or having a light show instead of having firework celebrations. I have personally experienced the decline in air quality after the fireworks at College Park and it lasted several hours. In addition to poor air quality, fireworks upset animals, and are a fire hazard.
American Lung Association
https://www.lung.org/blog/fireworks-hidden-dangers
Earth.org
https://earth.org/environmental-impact-of-fireworks/
Thank you,
Michelle Simone
Resident
From: Therese Peffer
To: Haley Croffoot
Subject: PH CAP
Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026 3:14:14 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender.
Hi Haley,
Great job getting the CAP together! So exciting to see, so many amazing ideas! The layout is beautiful with gorgeous photos, great use of icons, and great content. I LOVE the librarymicrogrid idea for a resilience hub!!! I have a couple of comments:
1. I am confused by this sentence:
Regional Natural Gas Policies: Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) regulations show an electrification of approximately 2055 for all building stock.
Does this mean electrification of all building stock in PH by 2055?
2. p. 33 and 36: I would not list or recommend PACE--interest rates are way too high.
Consider GoGreen instead.
3. I love the crowd-sourced ideas about solar! Consider mentioning Solar United Neighbors as a way to connect people interested in solar, to get more information and bulk purchase pricing:
solarunitedneighbors.org
4. p. 38 Just a thought: My contractor hates the term weatherization and prefers "home performance." Also I think BayREN has all capital letters for REN....
5. Have you considered having a story in the newsletter each month/bimonth showcasing the electrification story of a residential citizen? "I changed out my gas water heater for a HPWH and these are the issues....." "I replaced my old gas wall furnace for a ductless mini split and this is how we did it....." or gas range to induction etc. I think folks seeing stories and photos of folks in PH electrifying their homes will go a long way towards adoption....Or maybe host regular meetings for people to share their electrification journeys?
6. Random thought: regarding reducing waste, has the City of PH ever considered partnering with Ridwell to provide a place for people to recycling more plastics? Best regards,
Therese