CITY COUNCIL
Darrell Steinberg, Mayor
Vacant, District 1
Sean Loloee, District 2
Jeff Harris, District 3
Katie Valenzuela, District 4
Jay Schenirer, District 5
Eric Guerra, Mayor Pro Tem, District 6
Rick Jennings, II, District 7
Mai Vang, District 8
CHARTER OFFICERS
Mindy Cuppy, City Clerk
Susana Alcala Wood, City Attorney
Jorge Oseguera, City Auditor
Howard Chan, City Manager
John Colville, City Treasurer
City Council
Financing Authority
Housing Authority
Public Financing Authority
Redevelopment Agency
Successor Agency
City Hall-Council Chamber
915 I Street, 1st Floor
Published by the Office of the City Clerk
(916) 808-5163
CORRESPONDENCE
Description of Attached: Correspondence received after publishing the Agenda.
For the Meeting of: Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.
Agenda Item: Discussion Item 21
21. Quarterly Climate Update
File ID: 2022-01807
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Receive and comment.
Contact: Jennifer Venema, Climate Action Lead, (916) 808-1859, [email protected], Office of the City Manager 1 From: Mindy Cuppy
Sent: Monday, December 5, 2022 4:39 PM
To: Agenda
Subject: FW: Climate Adaptation Plan - ECOS comments on Preliminary Draft Attachments: 221205 ECOS-Letter-and-comments-City-of-Sac-CAAP-Draft.docx From: Ralph Propper <rpr
[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, December 5, 2022 4:38 PM
To: Climate Action Plan <[email protected]>
Cc: Darrell Steinberg <[email protected]>; Mary Lynne Vellinga <[email protected]>; Jay Schenirer <[email protected]>; Angelique Ashby <[email protected]>; Sean Loloee <[email protected]>; Jeff S. Harris <[email protected]>; Katie Valenzuela (City) <[email protected]>; Eric Guerra <[email protected]>; Rick Jennings <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; Howard Chan <[email protected]>; Hector Barron <[email protected]>; Je nnifer Venema <[email protected]>; Jennifer Donlon Wyant <[email protected]>; Mindy Cuppy <[email protected]>
Subject: Climate Adaptation Plan ‐ ECOS comments on Preliminary Draft
Post Office Box 1526 | Sacramento, CA 95812-1526
December 5, 2022
Mayor and Council Members
City of Sacramento
915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Sent via email [email protected]
SUBJECT: City of Sacramento Climate Action Plan (CAAP) Preliminary Draft Adaptation Chapter Dear Mr. Mayor and Council Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this chapter.
Flooding: The Draft highlights the high flooding risk in Natomas. Proposed developments in the Natomas basin such as South Airport Industrial, Grand Park, and Upper West Side, would increase flooding threat to Natomas because these lands currently are agricultural, and can absorb significant water should flooding occur. In addition to increasing flooding risk in the Natomas Basin, another climate risk associated with these developments is the loss of habitat land and related species (giant garter snake and Swainson’s hawk), which would mean failure of the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan. Therefore, the City should find a mechanism to influence the County’s process of development approvals in these areas. One possibility might be a “Sphere of Influence” application to LAFCo, which has the charge to preserve agricultural land.
Trees: The City of Sacramento has both the Parking Lot Tree Shading Design and Maintenance Guidelines and a tree ordinance. These should be updated to allow for larger shade trees and larger planting areas. We note that Crocker Village has planted “lollypop trees” that don’t provide much shade, and trees on Crocker Drive have insufficient planting radius to allow for mature growth. In contrast, neighboring Curtis Park has tree plantings that shade the entire streets by foliage meeting in the middle. The City should develop programs to guide urban forestry within communities, with a focus on increasing canopy in underserved communities. Tree planting should be required as part of major roadway or utility projects. The City should establish a resource database to help staff select tree species based on maintenance costs, structural integrity, and the most appropriate planting locations.
Water: The City should actively participate in the Sacramento Regional Water Bank, to store water during high precipitation years, for use during droughts. This is especially important with models showing more extremes of precipitation, and much earlier Sierra snow-melts. Because the City relies on a combined sewer system for the older parts of the city, the City needs to budget for upsizing pipes in that water system.
Electrification: The City should move forward rapidly on an ordinance requiring existing building electrification, rather than burning natural gas that accentuates the heat island effect.
Land Use: The City should consider land use as an adaptation; e.g., rezoning around transit for higher density, creating community public spaces and parks.
Structures: The City should consider incentivizing green walls and green roofs that cool buildings and provide food in urban settings, as well as shaded bus shelters, including passive-cooled shelters, such as developed by JCDecaux. The City should develop green building programs that require institutional and commercial buildings to
have cool roofs. These strategies can be phased in based on square footage and allow for flexible compliance between cool roofs, green roofs, and rooftop solar PV to help alleviate cost concerns.
Roadways: The City should have code requirements for both new roadways and maintenance activities to ensure that roadways are designed and built at the outset to support heat-resilient paving materials. The City should also require high albedo and permeable pavements for transit stations, centers, and corridors.
Sincerely,
Ralph Propper
Climate Committee Chair
Environmental Council of Sacramento
cc:
Mayor, Darrell Steinberg, [email protected] Mary Lynne Vellinga, [email protected]
Jay Schenirer, District 5, [email protected] Angelique Ashby, District 1, [email protected] Sean Loloee, District 2, [email protected]
Jeff Harris, District 3, [email protected]
Katie Valenzuela, District 4, [email protected] Eric Guerra, District 6, [email protected]
Rick Jennings II, District 7, [email protected] Mai Vang, District 8, [email protected]
City Manager - Howard Chan, [email protected]
Assist City Mgr Public Works - Hector Barron, [email protected] Jennifer Venema, [email protected]
Jennifer Donlon Wyant, [email protected] Mindy Cuppy, City Clerk, [email protected]