Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Adopts Climate Action Plan on November 12, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Adopts Climate Action Plan on November 12, 2024
Note: The transcript indicates the meeting occurred on November 6, 2024, but the provided date is November 12, 2024. This summary uses the latter as instructed.
The Board of Supervisors held a meeting to consider and ultimately adopt the community-wide Climate Action Plan (CAP). The meeting included a detailed staff presentation, public comments, and a unanimous vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Aaron Teague (Sacramento Association of Realtors): Expressed support for the CAP but urged caution on financial burdens for homeowners from retrofitting measures (GHG4). Requested continued stakeholder involvement to ensure user-friendly processes and support for low-income communities.
- Chris Noram (North State Building Industry Association): Thanked staff for collaboration. Focused on Measure GHG5, requesting alignment with state code updates by 2026 and consistency with state standards. Opposed mandates that could create competitive disadvantages for housing.
- Steve Johns (SMUD): Strongly supported the CAP, noting alignment with SMUD's 2030 zero-carbon plan. Highlighted partnerships on building and transportation electrification and energy efficiency.
- Megan Shermanway (Climate Action California/Sacramento Climate Coalition): Cautioned against reliance on hydrogen from methane reforming, advocating for clean hydrogen from electrolysis if used.
- Ralph Proper (Sierra Club): Expressed concerns that the CAP lacks sufficient land use measures to curb emissions from greenfield development. Criticized VMT reduction targets (5% vs. state's 22%) and the lack of fees for CAP oversight. Advocated for a carbon-neutral alternative for new development without offsets.
- Matt McDonald (California Apartment Association): Supported comments on GHG5, and urged inclusive engagement on EV charging requirements (GHG7) to avoid unexpected costs for property owners.
- Luz Lim (Environmental Council of Sacramento): Thanked staff but emphasized concerns about greenfield projects and stated that CAP measures are unproven. Noted SMUD's goal is not guaranteed and called for a better VMT mitigation approach.
- Carol Kinzer (Climate Ambassador for Elk Grove): Urged rejection of the current CAP, arguing it fails to stop urban sprawl. Called for smart growth, more affordable infill, and transit-oriented development to protect public health.
- Herman Baraona (Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition): Opposed the CAP, stating it does not adequately consider low-income, homeless, and disabled populations. Requested inclusion in future planning and noted barriers to community participation.
- Oscar Belaguer (350 Sacramento): Provided five reasons to delay adoption: general plan policies not reviewed, CAP not a mitigation detail, growth projections inconsistent with SACOG and historical rates, assumed full build-out of sprawl projects by 2045 unrealistic, and failure to adequately evaluate alternative prioritizing infill.
- Kitty McCann (350 Sacramento): Urged the board to take sprawl seriously and not rush the CAP; advocated for honest discussion of growth and climate impacts.
Discussion Items
- Staff Presentation (Todd Smith, Planning Director): Presented the 2024 CAP, summarizing background, public engagement, greenhouse gas reduction measures (GHG1-16), adaptation measures, implementation monitoring, CEQA review, and staff recommendation for adoption. Addressed inaccuracies in public comments on seven points, including enforceability, CEQA standards, land use nexus, and growth projections.
- Board Questions and Deliberation:
- Supervisor Hume questioned cost-effectiveness benchmarks for reach codes and VMT fee programs, noting that EVs reduce GHG but not VMT. Staff and consultants explained that cost-effectiveness analysis would be done per building type and that a nexus study for VMT fees would be developed.
- Supervisor Cerna commented on the evolving nature of VMT as a GHG surrogate given EV adoption, and suggested using CDBG funds for streetlight retrofits in equity areas.
- Supervisor Frost asked about life-cycle costs of equipment and financing; staff confirmed that cost-effectiveness analysis includes life-cycle considerations.
- Supervisor Desmond asked about the benchmark for cost-effectiveness; staff clarified that statewide guidance and local data would be used, and board approval would be required for any threshold.
- Supervisor Hume raised concerns about legal exposure from the 2030 aspirational goal in the climate emergency declaration, which conflicts with the CAP's 2045 target. Staff and counsel noted that stakeholders (including Sierra Club) have indicated they will not litigate on that issue, and the CAP is legally defensible.
- Supervisor Frost asked about funding implications without a CAP; staff stated that while not required, an adopted CAP positions the county better for grants and ensures general plan compliance.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous Vote (5-0): The Board adopted the Community-Wide Climate Action Plan, including:
- Resolution 1: Certifying the final subsequent EIR, adopting CEQA findings and statement of overriding considerations.
- Resolution 2: Amending the General Plan to incorporate the CAP as a policy plan and modifying General Plan Policy LU-120 to include a carbon-neutral new growth performance standard.
- The CAP will be implemented with annual reporting, a sustainability dashboard, and a comprehensive update by 2030 concurrent with the General Plan update.
- Staff directed to continue stakeholder engagement and return for board approval on specific implementation details (e.g., reach codes, VMT fee program).
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Welcome to the November 6, 2024 meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. Yes, good afternoon, Supervisor Cerna. Here. Desmond Frost, Hume, Kennedy. Here. And you have a quorum. This meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is live and recorded with closed captioning. It is cable cast on Metro Cable 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and Direct TV Uverse Cable Systems. It is also live streamed at Metro14 Live.gov and can be heard on 96.5 FM KUBE Radio. Today's meeting will be repeated Sunday, November 10th at 6 p.m. on Channel 14. This meeting can also be viewed at YouTube.com forward slash Metro Cable 14. The Board of Supervisors fosters public engagement during the meeting and encourages public participation, civility, and use of courteous language. The Board does not condone the use of profanity, vulgar language, gestures, or other inappropriate behavior, including personal attacks or threats directed towards any meeting participant. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Each speaker will be given two minutes to make a public comment and are limited to making one comment per agenda or off agenda item. Please be mindful of the public comment procedures to avoid being interrupted while making your comment. Comments made by the public during Board of Supervisors meetings may include information that could be inaccurate or misleading, particularly concerning topics related to public health, voter registrations, and elections. The County of Sacramento does not endorse or validate the accuracy of public statements made during these open public forums. The recordings are shared to provide transparency and access to proceedings of public meetings. To make a comment in person, please fill out a speaker request form and hand it to clerk staff. The chairperson will open public comments for each agenda or off agenda item and direct the clerk to call the name of each speaker. When the clerk calls your name, please come to the podium and make your comment. If a speaker is unavailable to make a comment prior to the closing of public comments, the speaker waves their request to speak and the clerk will file the speaker request form in the record. The clerk will manage the timer and allow each speaker two minutes to make a comment. You may also send written comments by email to board clerk at SATCounty.gov. Your comments will be routed to the board and filed in the record. If you need an accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act or for medical or other reasons, please see clerk staff or assistance or contact the clerk's office at 916-8745451 or by email at Board Clerk at SAC County.gov. Thank you in advance for your courtesy and understanding of the meeting procedures. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Now will you please join me in a moment of silence? I mean the Pledge of Allegiance. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Your first item is uh public comments related to matters not on the posted agenda. We do not have anyone signed up to speak for uh off agenda matters. Thank you. Okay, and for item two, this is the adoption of the com the community-wide climate action plan. Do you want me to lift it up? I got it. You got it? Okay. Good afternoon, uh Board of Supervisors. I will say it's nice to be back in an afternoon session. Uh just me today. Uh first I want to say start by saying this is hopefully the end of a lengthy process uh with the climate action plan. I know you all have been anxiously awaiting this coming back to you. I would like to note it's not just me here today. We have our consultants from Ascent Environmental and ESA available to answer any technical questions should they arise. But first, I'm just gonna go through the staff presentation and then I'm going to take a few minutes to address some um inaccurate statements that you may have been receiving over email.
openpublica.com