TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
SUBJECT:
title
Next Steps for Climate Action Plan
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Natural Environment Stewardship; Safe Community Welcoming and Livable Community.
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SUMMARY:
summary
City Council has received the Climate Action Plan (CAP) from the Salem Climate Action Task Force.
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ISSUE:
The Climate Action Plan provides over 180 strategies to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and increase Salem’s resiliency to climate change. To assist City Council’s consideration of how to best make progress on achieving the Council-established GHG emission goals and owing to the long timeframe covered by the CAP (30+ years), staff have reviewed the strategies and has provided recommendations to City Council for early actions that could be the focus for the first two years of implementation. Public Works, because of its involvement in developing the CAP, will coordinate the City’s implementation of these strategies.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Information Only.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Recommended implementation priorities include strategies that:
• Have high potential for reducing GHG emissions, and
• The City is the lead agency, and
• The cost to the City is considered low, and
• There are community equity co-benefits, and
• The initiation of the strategy could occur in the next two years.
In addition to those strategies, other strategies are recommended as priorities if they:
• Demonstrate leadership by example by the City, or
• Establish CAP governance, or
• Enhance equity, or
• Are in-process or ongoing actions, or
• Are already planned for initiating within two years, or
• Will be required by current or pending State rules and requirements.
Attachment 1 provides the summary of 55 potential short-term strategies that could be undertaken in the first two years of implementation. This approach provides the highest probability that City actions will be feasible, and that Salem will make progress towards reducing GHG emissions and improving resilience. The recommendations include some of the strategies from the CAP that do not require new ordinances, a detailed cost/benefit analysis, or extensive public outreach. Many of the early action recommendations will require coordination with local, state, and regional partners. Many mid- and long-term actions will require additional analysis, participation from key partners, and rigorous outreach (including public hearings) before approval by Council and implementation.
Implementation of the CAP strategies will depend upon staffing and budgetary constraints. One of the recommendations for early action is to hire a new staff position to manage and coordinate the implementation of the CAP. Without a designated staff position, the number of early implementation actions shown on Attachment 1 may need to be reduced, delayed, or otherwise reprioritized. In the absence of a new position, Public Works will coordinate implementation of the CAP strategies using existing staff.
The strategies identified in the CAP are non-regulatory and non-binding on the City or other parties. That is, submittal of the CAP to Council will not directly result in funding, staffing, or specific implementation of any of the strategies. Rather, the CAP and its various recommendations serve as a menu of further action and a source of information for the Council to consider. Some strategies, such as those that involve staff-level collaboration with other organizations and conducting public education, can be implemented at the departmental staff level without further Council action. Strategies that require Council action, including amending City codes and adding new staff positions, must be approved by Council before implementation.
On December 6, the CAP was presented to Council, along with strategy recommendations for early implementation and public comments received to date were provided to City Council. The link to that staff report, which included public comments received by the December 6 council meeting, is available here <https://salem.legistar.com/ViewReport.ashx?M=R&N=TextL5&GID=647&ID=5600&GUID=LATEST&Title=Legislation+Text>
Attachment 2). The December 6 staff report included approximately 200 pages of public comments. Since that time, at least 500 additional comments have been received (see Attachment 5). The public comment period will be closed at 5:00 PM on February 21, 2022, one week from this Council meeting’s date. Further, unless directed otherwise by Council, staff will proceed to produce the Salem Climate Action Plan using the November 2021 final draft as the base and taking into consideration public comments, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities rulemaking, and any other technical updates received since the November 2021 conclusion of the Climate Action Task Force.
BACKGROUND:
On October 12, 2020, City Council adopted two goals for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in Salem: (1) By 2035, Salem’s GHG emissions shall be reduced to 50 percent of the citywide greenhouse gas emissions for the baseline year of 2016, and (2) By 2050, Salem should be carbon neutral. For 18 months, City staff have been working with a consulting firm, a 33-member Task Force, and multiple stakeholders to produce a Climate Action Plan (CAP) for Salem with the strategies necessary to reduce GHG emissions and to achieve the two Council-adopted goals. The CAP also provides measures for creating a resilient community and for addressing issues related to equity and inclusion. Several of the strategies contained in the CAP, if implemented, will have a significant impact on various sectors of the Salem community. For this reason, the public comment period on the draft document was extended at the December 6 City Council meeting.
The CAP will serve as a guide for further actions over many years, actions that may include Council-directed implementation of new initiatives, programs, plans, partnerships, regulations, and projects.
The full draft Salem Climate Action Plan is available here <https://www.cityofsalem.net/CityDocuments/salem-climate-action-plan-revised-draft-2021-11.pdf> (Attachment 3). The complete list of strategies can be found in Appendix 8 of the plan.
Attachments:
1. Recommended Climate Action Plan Strategies for Early Implementation
2. December 6, 2021 Update on Climate Action Plan Staff Report <https://salem.legistar.com/ViewReport.ashx?M=R&N=TextL5&GID=647&ID=5600&GUID=LATEST&Title=Legislation+Text>
3. Salem Climate Action Plan <https://www.cityofsalem.net/CityDocuments/salem-climate-action-plan-revised-draft-2021-11.pdf>
4. Public Comments (Public Works, December 6, 2021 to January 27, 2022
5. Public Comments (Public Works, January 27 to February 9, 2022 (5 p.m.)
6. Public Comments to CityCouncil@cityofsalem.net <mailto:CityCouncil@cityofsalem.net> emails