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CLIMATE ACTION PLAN UPDATE AND TRANSFORMATIVE CLIMATE COMMUNITIES GRANT STATUS
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RECOMMENDATION
This informational item provides an update on implementation of the Climate Action Plan and Transformative Climate Communities grant.
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Summary
The Climate Action Plan (CAP) outlines a framework to feasibly reduce community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the City of Stockton. In 2006, the Governor signed into law the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32), which established a statewide goal to reduce GHG emissions levels back to 1990 levels by the year 2020 (Health and Safety Code 38500 et seq.). Consistent with the State of California’s objectives outlined in AB 32, the City of Stockton (City) adopted specific policy in its 2035 General Plan to reduce GHG emissions generated by the community.
In January 2008, subsequent to the December 2007 approval of the 2035 General Plan, the City was litigated by the Sierra Club and State Attorney General. In October 2008, a Settlement Agreement was reached that obligated the City to, among other things, prepare a Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP was developed and ultimately approved by the City Council in December 2014. Since then, implementation actions as detailed below occurred. Ongoing progress was made through policy, ordinance, and procedural changes. The City Council’s adoption of the Envision 2040 General Plan Update in December of 2018 represented significant policy changes aimed at reducing GHG emissions and achieving public health goals. A major change in the Envision 2040 General Plan update is the reduction of approximately 8,000 acres (12 square miles) of urban designated land uses. The 2040 plan focuses on infill and downtown/mixed use development which is consistent with smart growth principles that attempt to reduce GHG emissions and Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT).
The City also amended the building code (Title 15) and department practices as outlined below to improve efforts to reduce GHG emissions. Staff anticipates additional proposals to amend code later this year to meet State mandated energy efficiency standards.
In 2018, the City was awarded a Transformative Climate Communities planning grant to conduct community outreach and obtain feedback on efforts to reduce GHG emissions and air pollution, and input on green economic opportunities. The results of the TCC Planning Grant will be presented to City Council by August 2019 and will include a Sustainable Neighborhood Plan and updated tree census for South Stockton. The planning efforts are intended to culminate in an application for a TCC Implementation Grant to more fully implement the CAP and reduce air pollution in Stockton.
DISCUSSION
Background
In December 2007, the 2035 General Plan was approved by the City Council. In January 2008, the Sierra Club filed litigation against the City. In October 2008, a settlement agreement between the parties, including the California Attorney General, became effective. The settlement agreement required in part that the City take the following actions:
• Create a Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee (CAPAC)
• Implement 2035 General Plan Policy HS-4.20 (greenhouse gas emissions) to:
o Develop a greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) inventory
o Identify GHG emissions reduction targets
o Identify measures to reduce GHG emissions
o Prepare a CAP consistent with the General Plan policy
o Council consideration of a green building ordinance (GBO)
To date, the following actions have been taken to implement the Sierra Club/California Attorney General Settlement Agreement:
Community Development
• Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee (CAPAC) began in 2009
• Implemented 2035 General Plan Policy HS-4.20 to:
o Develop GHG emissions inventory (included in CAP)
o Identified emissions reduction targets (included in CAP)
o Identified measures to reduce GHG emissions (Included in CAP)
o Prepared a Climate Action Plan. CAP adopted by Council December 2014
• Prepared a GBO for Council consideration
o Council adopted a GBO in 2010. GBO amended by Council in 2014 for consistency with state green building law.
• Prepared a Transit Gap Study
o Transit Gap Study Approved by Council in 2010
• Prepared the Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan
o General Plan approved by City Council December 2018:
Includes supportive infill development policies to locate at least 4,400 dwelling units in Greater Downtown and 14,000 units in the 2008 City limits
Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan Approved by City Council December 2018:
• Includes supportive infill development policies to locate at least 4,400 dwelling units in Greater Downtown and 14,000 units in the 2008 City limits
Energy Efficient Building Standards Effective Since Approval of CAP (2014, 2017 and 2020)
The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) adopted the 2013 edition of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24, California Code of Regulations). The Energy Commission's 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards are 25 percent more efficient than previous standards for residential construction and 30 percent better for nonresidential construction. The Standards, which took effect on January 1, 2014, offer builders better windows, insulation, lighting, ventilation systems and other features that reduce energy consumption in homes and businesses.
Mandatory requirements adopted 2013 (the effective date January 1, 2014)
• Mandatory requirements for solar ready buildings, Single family residences located in subdivision with ten or more single family residences including low rise multifamily buildings, hotel/motel occupancies shall be solar ready
• Nonresidential mandatory Requirements for lighting control devices and systems.
• Mandatory Roofing products solar reflectance and thermal emittance.
• Mandatory requirements for fenestration products and exterior doors.
• Mandatory requirements for Appliances and equipment.
• New nonresidential building shall include building commissioning for design and construction processes to verify the buildings energy systems and components. Including Commissioning plan: functional performance testing: documentation and training: and commissioning report.
Mandatory requirements adopted 2016 (the effective date January 1, 2017)
• Construction waste reduction, disposal and recycling reporting for universal waste plan.
• All new Single-family residences shall install and provide construction documents for location of future EV spaces and EV chargers.
• Multi-unit residential multiple EV spaced required
• Water Appliance Standards The standards apply to toilets and urinals; residential lavatory faucets; kitchen faucets; public lavatory faucets.
2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards proposed adoption July 1, 2019 (The effective date of the is January 1, 2020)
• Residential prescriptive requirement for the installation of photovoltaic solar systems requirement for all new residential single family and multi-family dwelling.
• Updated thermal envelope standards (preventing heat transfer from the interior to exterior and vice versa),
• Residential and nonresidential ventilation requirements, The ventilation measures improve indoor air quality, protecting homeowners from air pollution originating from outdoor and indoor sources
• Nonresidential lighting requirements. the standards updated indoor and outdoor lighting making maximum use of LED technology.
A measure to require that commissioning work for buildings over 50,000 square feet or with a complex mechanical system be performed by third party ANSI accredited certified commissioning professional.
Implementing the CAP
To facilitate implementation of the CAP, the City outlined key priorities for three implementation phases starting in 2014 and ending in 2020. Measures to be implemented are described in Attachment A.
Phase 1 (2014-2015)
The City would develop key ordinances, programs, and policies required to promote the voluntary, incentive-based measures to establish the planning framework for the performance-based development review process, and to support and implement the local mandatory GHG reduction measures.
Phase 2 (2016-2017)
The City would conduct a mid-course evaluation of CAP implementation to examine progress made toward meeting the City’s reduction target, to examine the effectiveness of measures in the CAP, and to examine the City’s current economic condition, to identify if additional or different measures should be adopted and to identify whether the City’s reduction target can or should be revised.
Phase 3 (2018-2020)
The City would continue to implement, and support measures begun in Phases 1 and 2, and encourage implementation of all remaining CAP measures (Phase 3 measures). An analysis of the effectiveness of Phase 1 and 2 measures would be conducted, as well as an update to the community GHG inventory. The City would begin developing a plan for post-2020 actions.
The CAP anticipated that monitoring in the form of updated GHG inventories would be conducted in 2015, 2017, and 2019, and would be tied to the phases described above. The results of the monitoring would be used to examine GHG reduction progress and would allow for adaptative management of the CAP.
Present Situation
Since the adoption in December 2014, the following actions have or are about to take place to implement the CAP:
Public Works
• Waste - All garbage trucks operated by our Franchised Haulers are now very low emissions - either ultra-low sulfur diesel or compressed natural gas
• Waste 1 - Improved program of organic waste processing, including food rescue efforts and other SB1383 requirements, is being implemented
• Energy 2a - Completed Phase 1 of the LED Street Light Conversion Project converting approximately 3,100 lights in 2014
• Energy 2a - Completed Phase 2 of the LED Street Light Conversion Project converting approximately 2,200 lights in 2016
• Energy 2a - Completed Phase 3 of the LED Street Light Conversion Project converting approximately 5,300 lights in 2017
• Energy 2a - Completed installation of over 50 LED fixtures inside Louis Park, including the boat launch area, and parking lots in 2018
• Energy 2a - Changed parking lot lights at Stockton Soccer Complex to LED lights
• Water 2 - Completed installation of smart irrigation controllers at 49 of the contracted park sites in 2018
• Trans 6 - Implemented/implementing 5 Bus Rapid Transit routes with RTD
• Trans 7 - Developed SRTS plan and implementing several grant funded gap closure projects
• Trans 5 - Approved new comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan, implementing several grant funded road diet and bike lane projects such as Miner Avenue, California Street, Hunter Street, El Dorado and Center Street.
• Trans 6 - RTD has converted majority of bus fleet to either all electric or hybrid diesel/electric buses
Municipal Utilities
Wastewater 1 - Improve cogeneration engine function and operation to increase efficiencies converting methane, a wastewater treatment by-product, into a more-efficient and usable energy source over the next five years. The City’s Capital Improvement and Energy Management Plan (CIEMP) identifies improvements for the City operated Regional Waste Water Control Facility (RWCF). There are a number of energy saving opportunities associates with the design build process of the upgrade of the RWCF. This upgrade project is in process and will be before the City Council for approval this year.
Economic Development
• Completed solar light installations for some of the City’s parking lots.
Mayor’s Office
The Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program funds community-led development and infrastructure projects that achieve environmental, health, and economic benefits in California’s most disadvantaged communities. The program is administered by the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) and implemented by the Department of Conservation, along with other partnering state agencies. The TCC Program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment-particularly in disadvantaged communities. TCC empowers the communities most impacted by pollution to choose their own goals, strategies, and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution.
In 2018, Stockton received a planning grant to work with local partners within a project area in South Stockton to co-create a neighborhood-level blueprint for sustainable development (Sustainable Neighborhood Plan), update the city's existing tree inventory (Tree Census), and facilitate a community - led training program (Climate Leadership Forum) that will train residents in the area on climate-related and green economy topics. TCC Planning Grant is currently in its second quarter of implementation, with an expected end date of September 2019. The Project staff are preparing to apply for the $170 million TCC Implementation Grant in November 2019 to advance the project in Stockton.
Financial Summary
There is no direct impact on the General Fund as a result of this informational study session. Funding for the implementation of the CAP voluntary measures will be reliant on the ability of the City to receive grant and other funding that doesn’t rely primarily on the City’s General Fund. The TCC Planning Grant is an example of achieving funding through external sources. As the CAP strategies continues to be implemented and require city council action, these strategies will be reviewed for their potential fiscal impacts to the City.
Attachment A - CAP Summary of GHG Reduction Measures