From:
To: City Council
Cc: Emi Theriault
Subject: public comment: March 19 item 11 Climate Action Commmitte Date: Sunday, March 16, 2025 11:58:25 AM
Attachments: Sebastopol CAC - Opportunities for Regional Alignment on Climate Action 2024 12 10.pptx Dear City Council and Planning Department,
As acting chair for the Climate Action Committee (CAC), I would like to add support for the city staff recommendation for reducing the CAC size to seven appointed members with expertise and/or experience in the categories outlined in the staff report.
We are grateful for the work done by city staff to prepare the report and support the work of the committee. We appreciate the council support for the CAC work to continue as the climate crisis continues to pose grave threats to the future safety of our community. We recognize the need for budgeted staff time until the difficult city financial situation has been resolved.
Corrections
I would like to add some corrections to the staff report:
1.The word “of” should be inserted into the line “the majority seven members must have a climate background” to read “the majority of the seven members must have a climate background.”
2. The recommendation to reduce meeting frequency to every other month is mistakenly mis-represented as a recommendation of the CAC. The recommendation of the CAC was to continue monthly meetings in order to allow timely response to issues as needed, with likely planned cancellations of meetings during which a quorum will not be present due to vacations or the staff time would be better used for advancing projects rather than meeting. Prescribing an odd-months only schedule does not allow the CAC the flexibility to respond in a timely manner to issues that may arise. The CAC can work with city staff to ensure that cancellations are planned well in advance.
Committee composition recommendation
I would also like to recommend an alternate committee make-up:
7 members from the following backgrounds:
1.One City Councilmember
2. Six members with one or more of the following experience/characteristics:
·
Youth representative (ages 17-23)
·Climate Change
·Zero Waste
·Sebastopol Business Owner
·Local Climate Action Group
·Environmental Justice and Equity
·Rights of Nature
·Energy
·Transportation
The logic behind this recommendation is as follows:
The Zero Waste representative was established as a requirement when the city combined the Zero Waste Committee with the CAC. The CAC is working with RCPA to align our work plan with regional priorities (see attached slide deck from December 2024 CAC meeting, slides #7 and 8 align city and regional work). While zero waste is an essential part of becoming a sustainable city, the CAC as an all-volunteer committee must prioritize different aspects of the Sebastopol Climate Action Framework according to what can reasonably be accomplished.
Incorporating that topic into the list of desired candidate experience should be sufficient, unless the city has identified specific Zero Waste responsibilities for the CAC to take on. 2025/26 work priorities
Currently, we propose to align our workplan with RCPA recommendations to focus on 1) community engagement and education about decarbonization actions and possibilities, and 2) promotion of active transportation through prioritization of Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan implementation options. In addition, the CAC can serve as consultants to City departments that request research assistance or advice about sustainability issues (e.g. the Planning Department could request a proposal for updating the Tree Ordinance).
In gratitude,
Kenna Lee