TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Anne McIntosh, Director of Community Development
Dana Murray, Environmental Programs Manager
Laurie Jester, Planning Manager
Erik Zandvliet, Traffic Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Receive and File Draft Climate Action Plan (CAP) Phase II Policy Guidance Document to Reduce the City’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) from the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) (Community Development Director McIntosh).
RECEIVE REPORT, DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council receive information from the SBCCOG on the City’s draft Climate Action Plan (CAP) Phase II.
Further, staff recommends that the City use this draft Climate Action Plan as the foundation for future climate action plan work and development, with City Staff and the Manhattan Beach Community reviewing and developing a revised draft Climate Action Plan for City Council adoption in 2018.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
The SBCCOG has been preparing a CAP for each South Bay city. The first GHG inventories were funded by a special assessment. The Energy Efficiency Chapter was developed through funding from Southern California Edison (SCE) & Southern California Gas (SCG) to help meet goals from the CA Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. Phase II of the project was funded by the Strategic Growth Council and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Technical support for the methodology to calculate the GHG reductions was provided by consultants Fehr & Peers, Atkins Consulting, and Studio 111; Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts; and support from the University of Utah.
The SBCCOG completed GHG inventories for 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2012. Inventories are a necessary first step towards development of CAPs. The 2005 inventory year serves as the baseline for which GHG reductions are measured. The last inventory, 2012, serves as the basis for the emission forecast. It was observed that for Manhattan Beach, GHG emissions are primarily split between two sources -- energy and transportation - with a small fraction coming from waste, greening, and energy generation/storage. As part of the inventory and forecasting work, the City also set target dates for GHG reductions at years 2020 (15% below 2005 levels) and 2035 (49% below 2005 levels). These established targets are in-line with the State’s GHG reduction goals and help the City set objectives for obtaining the desired implementation results within the city.
On November 17, 2015, Manhattan Beach City Council adopted a resolution approving the Energy Efficiency (EE) Measures or CAP Chapter. The approved resolution completed “Phase I” of the CAP development process including establishing 2005 as the GHG emission baseline; forecasting emission reductions based on 2012 GHG inventory; and establishing 2020 and 2035 targets. Based on the 2015 approved Energy Efficiency Measures, the City will meet its established targets and with the strategies included in the additional proposed CAP chapters will continue to achieve reductions on a path towards helping the State meet its 2050 goals.
The SBCCOG also is developing a Sub-regional CAP that will support the proposed City's CAP strategies. This plan will include the LUT, Waste, Greening, and Energy Generation/Storage chapters. Unique to the South Bay, the SBCCOG LUT chapter will include GHG emission reduction measures that incorporate the Sustainable South Bay Strategy which is based on 12 years of research and focuses on neighborhood oriented development. As part of this effort, Fehr & Peers developed methodology for several of the strategies that are included in the proposed City CAP primarily for electric vehicle market acceleration.
In January 2007, the City Council adopted a resolution endorsing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. This resolution was the catalyst for comprehensively evaluating the City’s environmental programs, policies and goals. In August 2007, the City Council adopted a resolution in support of the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. As with the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, the City pledged to establish a GHG reduction goal and develop an action plan to achieve that goal. In April 2010, City Council adopted a CAP, incorporating measures identified by the former Environmental Task Force to reduce the city’s carbon footprint. The City also adopted a GHG emissions reduction target to coincide with statewide goals to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 15% below 2005 levels by 2020. Through the SBCCOG work, GHG inventories were completed for 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2012. The GHG emissions inventory for municipal operations and the community is available in the “GHG Inventory, Forecasting, Target-Setting Report for an Energy Efficiency Climate Action Plan” prepared by the SBCCOG in 2015, and adopted by City Council in November 2015.
DISCUSSION:
The SBCCOG has developed a non-binding, draft Climate Action Plan (CAP) that includes strategies (by sector) to reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The CAP was drafted in line with the goals outlined in AB 32, California's Global Warming Solutions Act, for GHG reductions. The CAP includes a list of emission reducing actions organized by sector (energy, waste, power generation/storage, land use, and transportation) and time frame for implementation from CAP adoption. On April 29, 2015, Governor Brown issued an Executive Order (B-30-15) to establish a California GHG reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The State’s California Climate Change Scoping Plan emission target for 2020 and 2050 are 15% and 80% respectively below the 1990 baseline.
Today’s presentation by the SBCCOG is to share the finished draft CAP Phase II, which details goals, measures, and sub-strategies to mitigate community GHG emission sources in the sectors of: land use and transportation (LUT), waste, greening, and energy generation/storage. Together, these measures, along with the previously approved Energy Efficiency measures, will constitute the foundation of the City’s CAP.
The CAP, prepared by the SBCCOG in cooperation with the City, will serve as a roadmap and guidance document for reducing GHG emissions within City operations and the community at large. The CAP includes a list of non-binding goals, measures, and sub-strategies for the possible emission reductions by sector to reach the City’s GHG target for 2020. The forecast continues to describe the impacts of these strategies on the City’s target for the year 2035. City actions towards implementing the plan were considered for both the short-term and long-term. The plan does not include financial analysis of the cost-effectiveness of each measure.
This plan lays out one level of strategies that the City can consider for development and sustainability for a low-carbon future. The policies and recommendations are to be considered as a complement to the business and goals expressed in the City’s General Plan and other policy documents. The non-binding City CAP is a guiding document to be used when assessing, prioritizing, and implementing future projects and policies towards the City’s sustainability goals.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
Public outreach has not been completed. However, as a City Environmental Task Force forms in 2018, City Staff will further develop the CAP’s strategies and plan public outreach with the community to help inform the final draft development of the City’s CAP.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is not a project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA.)
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
Attachment/Attachments:
1. Draft Climate Action Plan 2017
2. PowerPoint Presentation from South Bay Cities Council of Governments