TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Napa County Planning, Building, & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Ryan Melendez, Planner II - Sustainability
SUBJECT: July 2024 RCAAP Update: Community Engagement Updates and Draft GHG Emissions Reduction Measures
RECOMMENDATION
title
ACTION ITEM: DISCUSSION & PRESENTATION: Staff will present the Draft Greenhouse Gas Reduction Framework, Guidelines, and Preliminary GHG Reduction Measures Memo and Matrix. Staff requests the CAC discuss the draft measures, provide guidance to staff, and vote to accept them. Napa RCD staff will also provide updates on the community engagement efforts for the RCAAP.
body
BACKGROUND
RCAAP Documents: The Ascent Environmental team has completed a Draft Greenhouse Gas Reduction Framework, Guidelines, and Preliminary GHG Reduction Measures Memo (Memo) and an accompanying Measures Matrix (Matrix). These documents are now available on the RCAAP Project Website <https://climateactionnapa.konveio.com/> where members of the public can review and provide comments. These documents are also attached to this staff report.
The Memo aims to (1) provide an overview of the proposed framework and guidelines for developing greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies, measures, and actions that will be included as part of the Napa County Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAAP); and (2) present a preliminary list of GHG emission reduction strategies, measures, and actions.
The framework is comprised of strategies, measures, and actions. Strategies serve as high-level methods for reducing GHG emissions in each sector of the GHG Inventory. Within each strategy, are measures that include policies, measurable objectives, or other more specific pathways for achieving emissions reductions. And within each measure, are actions defining specific activities, implementation programs, projects, or steps that each jurisdiction will take to implement the measures to achieve GHG emissions reduction targets defined in the RCAAP.
The Memo describes two guideline objectives for developing the GHG reduction measures and implementing actions: (1) ensuring that the measures and actions are consistent with a CEQA-qualified GHG reduction plan; and (2) outlining a more specific set of criteria that evaluates the measures based on their GHG-reduction effectiveness, cost, impact on equity, implementation feasibility, and secondary benefits (e.g., health, air quality).
The CEQA requirements for a GHG Reduction Plan, are that the plan should: (a) Identify and analyze the GHG emissions resulting from specific actions or categories of actions anticipated within the geographic area [of the RCAAP], and (b) specify measures or groups of measures including performance standards, that substantial evidence demonstrates, if implemented on a project-by-project basis, would collectively achieve the specified emissions [reduction] level.
The accompanying Matrix describes the draft emissions sector, strategies, measures, existing actions, and near-term actions and long-term actions that the CAC member jurisdictions will need to implement to work towards their GHG emissions reduction targets. The matrix also highlights which jurisdictions each action applies to, whether the action is quantifiable or qualitative, the magnitude of action impacts, and more. This matrix, along with upcoming cost estimates will provide the roadmap with which Napa County jurisdictions will accomplish their collective goal of reducing climate pollutions and reaching Carbon Net Zero.
Community Engagement:
Napa RCD, City and County of Napa, and Ascent staff have completed five (5) Focus Group Discussions with focus group participant categories. The categories are as follows: Youth, Families, Public Health, Community Based Organizations, Multi-Language Populations. Staff will convene for a sixth focus group discussion in the week of August 5, 2024. This focus group discussion will be an overflow meeting for those who were unable to attend a prior meeting in their respective categories. The Focus Group Discussions took place via Microsoft Teams throughout the week of July 8th. 12 individuals representing 13 group categories participated in the first five focus group discussions, and five individuals are expected to participate in the August overflow meeting. Additionally, the first RCAAP Community Meeting took place on July 24th at the Yountville Community Center. This meeting was open to all members of the public. The meeting was facilitated in English with Spanish language accessibility. At this meeting, Napa RCD, City and County RCAAP team, and Ascent staff provided an overview of the RCAAP and the documents produced to date, provided a prospective timeline of RCAAP development, and led an interactive discussion to solicit feedback on the RCAAP and Climate Action in Napa County. Napa RCD staff will provide updates on the outcomes of the Focus Group Discussions and the first RCAAP Community Meeting.
Important upcoming RCAAP updates:
August 2024:
- Ascent and subconsultants, Jacobs and EPS, will begin work on an analysis of GHG emissions reductions from proposed GHG reduction measures, as well as a draft cost estimate and funding and financial analyses for the implementation of climate action and adaptation measures. RCAAP project staff will review and provide feedback.
- Ascent will begin preparing an administrative Draft RCAAP.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.