Title
Overview of and Recommendation to the City Council on Adoption of the Draft City of San Leandro 2021 Climate Action Plan
Staffreport
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Planning Commission review the Draft City of San Leandro 2021 Climate Action Plan and approve Resolution 2021-002 recommending City Council adoption.
BACKGROUND
The scope of work for the General Plan 2035 contract with DCE | Planning Center (now known as PlaceWorks) included updating the City of San Leandro’s 2009 Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the target year of 2020. Due to limited resources, preparation of the CAP was deferred to prioritize the Zoning Code Update concurrent with the General Plan’s adoption in 2016. Deferral of the CAP allowed it to better align with forthcoming updated state greenhouse gas (GHG) targets.
In 2017, the State of California released its Scoping Plan that outlines new GHG reduction goals for 2030 and 2050. The City Council adopted its 2030 and 2050 GHG emission reduction targets in 2019 for 40% and 80% respectively to conform to the State’s reduction goals, which are science-based and vetted for cost-effectiveness and feasibility. To this end, the City’s 2009 CAP has been updated to address the 2030 and 2050 GHG reduction targets and to qualify for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) streamlining under Section 15183.5 of the CEQA guidelines.
The 2021 CAP includes the following key components for climate mitigation and GHG emissions reduction:
A. Quantification of GHG emissions with baseline and future forecast inventories;
B. Establishment of the level whereby activities covered by the Plan would not exceed targets of 40% for 2030 and 80% for 2050, consistent with State targets and the General Plan and measured-based on substantial evidence;
C. Identification and analysis of GHG emissions resulting from specific actions anticipated within San Leandro;
D. Specification of measures, including performance standards, that would achieve the GHG emissions reductions targets;
E. Establishment of a mechanism to monitor the CAP’s progress towards reaching the adopted targets; and
F. Adoption of the CAP in a public process including environmental review under CEQA guidelines.
In addition to addressing GHG emissions reduction, the 2021 CAP also focuses on climate adaptation. As evidenced by recent extreme weather and climate-induced conditions, the region is already experiencing impacts related to climate change that require the City to focus on resilience and adaptation. SB 379 requires that local agencies review and update General Plan Safety Elements to address climate adaptation and resiliency strategies or create a stand-alone Climate Adaptation Plan. As the 2035 General Plan was updated prior to the passage of SB 379, the creation of a stand-alone Climate Adaptation Plan will satisfy this State mandate. The 2021 CAP includes the following components to address climate adaptation:
A. Identification of potential climate change hazards and important physical, social, and natural assets in the community;
B. Assessment and analysis of potential impacts and adaptative capacity to determine the vulnerability for populations, natural resources, and community assets;
C. Development of adaptation strategies based on the results of the vulnerability assessment; and
D. Development of the adaptation implementation framework.
PlaceWorks has worked with the Sustainability Office since 2019 to develop the updated CAP.
Community Involvement
From September 2019 to December 2020, the Sustainability Office had close to 150 in-person and virtual small-group meetings, one-on-one meetings, and presentations to community groups to introduce the City’s climate program and the upcoming CAP update, the bulk of which were held in the first six months. Audiences included parent associations, labor alliances, faith groups, elementary and high school students, service clubs, Indigenous leaders, climate and bicycling organizations, disability advocates, local businesses, and more.
In addition to community groups, the Sustainability Office also convened with internal City staff as part of the interdepartmental Green Team, the staff group that would be responsible for implementing portions of the adopted CAP. Throughout the update process, the Green Team met bi-monthly for updates and feedback on the CAP, training on specific climate topics, and cross-department sharing.
A total of two public workshops, two online surveys, and a climate board game were organized for the public to understand the climate planning process and give input to the CAP. An initial online survey was conducted in November-December 2019 prior to the kickoff workshop, where 195 participants responded on their climate priorities and concerns. The climate board game, Game of Extremes, was developed by the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) to educate community members about the climate adaptation planning process in an interactive hands-on way. The Sustainability Office facilitated the game for six different classes at Monroe Elementary and San Leandro High School, as well as one game for the general public.
The kickoff public workshop for the CAP update was held in person on February 20, 2020 with over 90 community members in attendance. PlaceWorks and the Sustainability Office gave a presentation overview of the CAP update process, including what had been achieved thus far, and what was expected for the following months. Community members then broke out into discussion at their tables, facilitated by Green Team members, about their primary concerns and suggestions around major climate sectors. Chinese and Spanish interpretation, childcare, and dinner was provided for accessibility.
After refining strategies with the interdepartmental Green Team, the draft strategies were uploaded to an online platform, Consider.It, for the public to vote and comment on in September 2020. All strategies were translated into Spanish and Chinese on separate forums for accessibility. Targeted outreach was conducted to business leaders, regional agencies, and community champions. About 100 users responded across all of the forums.
The second public workshop was held virtually in October 2020 with community partners and Green Team members facilitating breakout rooms for specific discussions by stakeholder group. Spanish interpretation was provided. With the CAP draft policies available, the focus of the workshop was on implementation and how the community can collaborate to work on climate action together. Breakout groups were divided into faith groups, schools/youth, neighborhoods, businesses, families, and Spanish speakers, facilitated by representatives from the Interfaith Homeless Network, the San Leandro Unified School District Board, San Leandro High Eco Club, Mission Bay community, Building Futures for Women and Children, San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, Community Impact Lab, and PlaceWorks respectively. About 60 people attended the virtual workshop.
Plan Overview
Staff prepared this CAP update in accordance with a set of principles that are globally applicable to climate action planning work. These principles include a comprehensive and integrated approach that is ambitious while also being relevant and actionable, an engagement effort that is fair and inclusive, and analyses and reports that are evidence-based, transparent, and verifiable. Beyond these principles, this CAP is centered around the principle of equity, which is central to the community members of San Leandro.
GHG emissions have declined steadily from 2005 levels. In 2017, GHG emissions totaled 573,580 MTCO2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent), a decrease of 20 percent from 2005 levels. GHG emissions from energy, transportation, waste, and water and wastewater declined as a result of cleaner electricity supply, more robust recycling and composting programs, and upgrades at the City’s Water Pollution Control Plant. With projected changes in households, jobs, and other community changes anticipated in looking out to 2050, San Leandro’s GHG emissions are expected to increase by approximately 21 percent by 2050 (relative to 2017 emissions) if no action is taken to reduce emissions. This emissions forecast guided the development of climate mitigation strategies and the scale of action needed to meet the GHG reduction targets.
Similarly, the climate vulnerability assessment helped guide the development of the adaptation strategies. San Leandro, like most communities in California, is expected to experience multiple direct impacts as a result of climate change, including potential flooding, sea level rise, wildfires, drought, extreme heat, and resulting negative effects on public health and biodiversity. Low-lying coastal areas, such as the San Leandro Shoreline, which extends from Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline south to San Lorenzo Creek, are most susceptible to the effects of bayshore flooding. This will be aggravated by sea level rise, which is projected to rise approximately 24 inches by 2050 and as much as 84 inches by 2100 along San Leandro’s shoreline. The number of extreme heat days in San Leandro is projected to increase from four days per year historically, to an average of 12 extreme heat days per year by midcentury and an average of up to 22 extreme heat days per year by the end of the century. The season for extreme heat also coincides with wildfire and smoke season; longer and more intense wildfires are expected in California, leading to increased frequency of poor air quality, as evidenced in the last few years. In San Leandro, high fire hazard severity zones are located along the Bay-O-Vista and Daniels Drive area.
In total, the 2021 CAP includes 52 climate mitigation strategies and 59 climate adaptation strategies. The mitigation strategies are organized into 12 categories and includes the anticipated GHG emissions reduction and co-benefits to the action:
• Building electrification (BE)
• Residential energy efficiency (RF)
• Commercial energy efficiency (CF)
• Municipal renewable energy and energy efficiency (ME)
• Renewable energy (RE)
• Reducing auto dependency (AD)
• Active and alternative transportation (AT)
• Transportation electrification and low-carbon fuels (TE)
• Waste management (WM)
• Waste reduction and reuse (WR)
• Water efficiency (WE)
• Equity and just transition (EJ)
The climate change adaptation strategies are organized into six overarching goals that address overall community hazardous conditions preparation and response, public health and safety, resilient development, resilient infrastructure, biological and cultural resources, and future CAP updates. Co-benefits are similarly highlighted.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On September 19, 2016, the City Council adopted the 2035 General Plan, along with the associated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental impact report (EIR).
CEQA Public Resources Code Section 21000, et seq., and the State CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 require that when an EIR has been certified for a project, no subsequent EIR shall be prepared for that project unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in light of the whole record, that one or more of the following exists:
1. Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects;
2. Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions to the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or
3. New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with exercise of reasonable diligence at the time of the previous EIR was certified as complete shows any of the following:
a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR;
b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or
d. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measures or alternative.
Planning staff has reviewed the proposed project and analyzed it based upon Section 15162 of the CEQA Guidelines. Pursuant to CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, the City of San Leandro completed an Addendum (Exhibit B to the Resolution) to the San Leandro 2035 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The Addendum includes an analysis of the proposed project, based on Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines, and whether the environmental effects from the proposed project would be any different from those disclosed in the Certified EIR. The Addendum concluded that the proposed project would not result in any new significant impacts or substantially increase the severity of any significant impacts identified in the Certified EIR. No new information of substantial importance was identified, and no new mitigation measures would be necessary to reduce significant impacts. Applicable mitigation measures from the Certified EIR will be included as conditions of approval when future projects are processed for planning approvals.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1: Climate Action Plan 2021 Public Review Draft
Attachment 2: Addendum to 2035 General Plan Update Environmental Impact Report
PREPARED BY:
Hoi-Fei Mok,
Sustainability Manager