Alameda Climate Action & Resiliency Plan Update & Commission Engagement Discussion - March 12, 2026
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Alameda Commission on Persons with Disabilities Meeting Summary - March 12, 2026
The Commission on Persons with Disabilities met on March 12, 2026, to receive the city's 2025 Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) annual report, discuss engagement with other city boards and commissions, plan community outreach activities, and receive updates on city accessibility initiatives. Key topics included greenhouse gas emissions progress, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, sea level rise adaptation, and a proposed "Alameda for All" sensory/cognitive accessibility framework.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from the January 14, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously.
Discussion Items
- Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) 2025 Annual Report: Sustainability & Resilience Manager Danielle Miller presented the annual report. Key points:
- City goals: 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2030; net-zero emissions by 2045.
- 2022 inventory showed emissions reduced 29% since 2005; on track for 2030 target.
- Over half of emissions come from cars; about one-third from natural gas in buildings.
- AMP's 2020 transition to 100% clean electricity was a major driver of reductions.
- Current metrics: 61 of 70 target miles of bikeway; 11% of registered vehicles are electric; average indoor water use at 43 gallons per person per day (target 42); natural gas consumption at 14.7 million therms.
- 2025 accomplishments: first public curbside EV chargers deployed (Everett Commons), three new public chargers at Bohol Circle Immigrant Park, 55 e-bike and 47 used EV rebates through AMP, new heat pump replacement requirements for single-family homes, and adoption of a zero waste implementation plan.
- 2026 plans: updating the GHG inventory for 2024, continuing public charger deployment, exploring cost-effectiveness studies for non-residential heat pump requirements, and advancing sea level rise adaptation planning (Bay Farm Island project received grant funding for 60% design; estuary project and South Shore Beach area projects still seeking funding).
- A sea level rise planning fair held in September 2025 drew 150 attendees.
- Commissioners asked about metric selection, comparison to other communities, EV charging costs (40 cents per kWh via the It's Electric company), partnerships with transit agencies, and food waste reduction programs. Miller noted the city is exploring nature-based adaptation solutions (e.g., levees with habitat and trails) and is working to meet state food waste diversion requirements under SB 1383.
- Commission Engagement with Other City Boards and Commissions: Commissioners discussed a new standing agenda item to monitor other city bodies (Parks & Recreation, Transportation, Public Utilities, Social Services/Human Relations, Library Board, Planning Board, and others) for accessibility-related issues. They agreed to volunteer to track agendas/minutes and report back at the next meeting. Specific interests included Parks & Rec (beach access, bridge conditions), Public Utilities, Social Services, and the Library Board. No formal delegation was assigned; participation would be as residents.
- Community Outreach Planning: Staff reported an email to ARPD about tabling at the Spring Shindig (April 18th) and discussions with the library for a Disability Pride Month event in July, possibly a screening of the film "Crip Camp" followed by a Q&A. Commissioners also discussed creating an interactive "Accessibility Community Wall" for community events and potentially tabling at the Home Electrification Fair (May 2nd, combined with the Alameda Bike Festival).
- "Alameda for All" Framework: Commissioner Kenadler presented a draft framework for small-scale pilots to improve sensory, cognitive, and communication accessibility in public spaces (e.g., sensory kits at the library, communication boards at parks, quiet areas). The framework emphasizes inclusive design, predictable environments, clear communication, and flexible spaces. Commissioners expressed interest and agreed to follow up at a future meeting pending guidance from the city clerk's office on formal next steps.
- Police Department Engagement: Commissioners discussed the relevance of police training on disability (autism, sensory overload, hearing impairments), the existence of a voluntary registry for families, and the possibility of a future presentation to the commission on these efforts.
- Staff Communications: Staff reported on the Gibbons sidewalks and trees plan (117 liquid amber trees assessed along the corridor; 5 posted for removal; community meetings held), progress on digital accessibility compliance (April 24, 2026 deadline), and a new opportunity for commissioners to be featured in an ADA newsletter or on the Island Beats podcast to share lived experiences with disability and city accessibility initiatives.
Key Outcomes
- The CARP annual report was accepted as informational; it will be presented to City Council on March 17, 2026 for adoption.
- Commissioners will monitor other city board/commission agendas and report back by the next meeting (May 13, 2026).
- Staff will follow up on tabling opportunities at the Spring Shindig (April 18) and Home Electrification Fair (May 2).
- The "Alameda for All" framework will be agendized for further discussion pending guidance from the city clerk.
- The meeting was adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
And uh we'll go ahead and call to order. Um, we'll start with roll call, please. Chair Mullins. Here. Vice Chair Bond Smith. Here. Commissioner Bieler. Here. Commissioner Kenadler. Here. Commissioner Lipp. Commissioner Lyons. And Commissioner Schmitz. Okay, thank you. Um next agenda item is not agenda public comment. Seeing that there is none, we'll move to the minutes. Um this is just this is the only consent calendar item are the minutes from January fourteenth, twenty twenty-six. Um, so hopefully you all had a chance to review those. And if all looks good and um you've reviewed and are ready to approve, then we can do a motion to approve. Okay. Thank you. And then all in favor say aye. Aye. Okay. So that's approved unanimously, thank you. Yes. Good evening. Uh, I'm Danielle Miller and Sustainability and Resilience Manager for the City of Alameda, and I'm really pleased to be here tonight uh to share with you our twenty twenty-five annual report for the climate action and resiliency plan of the city. Um we have a plan that is really ambitious. It was a um adopted originally in twenty nineteen. It was updated uh last year in twenty twenty-five. Um, our goals as a city are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fifty percent below two thousand five levels by twenty thirty, to reach net zero emissions by twenty forty-five, and to prepare for the climate impacts that we're facing, um, such as shoreline flooding, rising groundwater, as well as heat, um, smoky air we've experienced in the past, um, and earthquakes and liquefaction. Earthquakes, not necessarily climate related, but liquefaction can have a connection with groundwater. We did, as part of that 2025 update, we did a new greenhouse gas emissions inventory for 2022. And that inventory showed that a little over half of our emissions in the city come from driving cars on the road. About a third come from burning fossil fuels, natural gas, and buildings, that's residential and non-residential. And then the remainder is off-road engines are things like generate portable generators, lawn equipment, leaf blowers, and then solid waste and water and wastewater. There's quite a few metrics for each of our focus areas. I should have put a slide in here, but focus areas include transportation emissions, so active transportation and vehicle electrification, building emissions, natural gas reduction in buildings, zero waste, urban forestry, and then a community activation and education. It's really acknowledging that the city can only do so much on our own, and we really rely on our partnerships with the community to achieve our reduction. And then city leadership is about us showing by example when we do things like electrify our fleet and retrofit our buildings. So for each of those focus areas, we have a lot of metrics so we can track how we're doing towards our goals. And we created this metrics hub, which is on our website, and I invite you all to check it out. There's many metrics on that website, and it's interactive. One of the things the first metric is showing our greenhouse gas emissions from that 2022 inventory compared to some of the previous inventories we've done. And the really exciting news is that we are have reduced our community wide emissions by 29% since 2005, and we're really on track to hit that goal of 50% reduction by 2030. A big contributor to that emissions reduction was AMP transitioning to 100% clean electricity in 2020. And with that, our big task now is to transition our vehicles and our buildings to using that clean electricity with things like electric vehicles, heat pumps for water and space heating, induction cooktops, and electric dryers. And that right there pretty much sums up like our CARP strategy. So miles of bikeways, we have a target of 70 miles of bikeway by 2030.
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