TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Napa County Planning, Building & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Jesse Gutiérrez, Principal Planner, Sustainability
SUBJECT: Presentation: RCAAP Administrative Draft review process
RECOMMENDATION
title
PRESENTATION: RCAAP ADMINISTRATIVE DRAFT REVIEW PROCESS
STAFF REQUEST: Receive a presentation from staff on the process and steps for the internal review of the upcoming RCAAP Administrative Draft. CAC members will be asked to provide a list of staff in their municipality who should be granted access to the Sharepoint for purposes of reviewing and commenting on the RCAAP Administrative Draft.
body
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.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Administrative Draft is the initial complete draft of the Napa Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAAP). This draft will summarize the findings reported in the various technical memoranda and the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions reduction measures and the climate adaptation measures developed from them. All memos and measures have been previously presented to the CAC members and vetted by the project team and staff from jurisdiction agencies. The Administrative Draft will include chapters on GHG Emissions, Climate Change Vulnerability, GHG Measures, Adaptation Measures, Plan Implementation & Monitoring, an Executive Summary, and Appendices.
The purpose of the upcoming Administrative Draft (Admin Draft) of the RCAAP is for staff to review and refine the document internally, at the administrative/staff level, before becoming a “public” draft. The staff project team and the inter-jurisdictional staff-level working group, which met on April 15, will review this draft. Additionally, staff requests that the CAC members identify individuals from their respective municipalities that should also review the Admin Draft. This can include city managers, municipal legal counsel, and jurisdiction agency representatives.
The Administrative Draft of the RCAAP is not a “public” draft for wide release. The public draft of the RCAAP is expected to be ready in summer 2025. The release of the public draft will provide time for public comment and review. The public draft review can include the presentation of the document to public advisory and hearing bodies, such as the CAC and other appointed commissions, the board of supervisors, and city/town councils. In the meantime, interested individuals can visit the RCAAP project website <https://www.countyofnapa.org/3732/Regional-Climate-Action-Adaptation-Plan->, a public resource hub that hosts all project background studies, GHG and adaptation measures, and accompanying memoranda. These background documents serve as the foundation for what will be presented and summarized in the RCAAP drafts.
Review Process
1. Reviewers of the Administrative Draft are asked to focus their comments and review on ensuring the document is evoking the proper tone, that information is being communicated properly, and that the document is engaging and accessible to a diverse audience.
The technical substance of the RCAAP has been vetted over the course of the past 16 months by the CAC members, project staff, and jurisdiction agencies. See the Roadmap to the RCAAP below for a milestone timeline. At this point in the project process and plan development, it is not feasible to make major changes to the proposed GHG Measures, Adaptation Measures, or emissions counts.
2. The project schedule allows for a three-week window for the RCAAP Administrative Draft review. To ensure a coordinated and succinct review, Napa County will host the Administrative Draft as a shared file on the Napa County SharePoint drive. This will be the only copy of the Administrative Draft. Individually saved drafts from reviewers will not be accepted. All comments and input should be made directly on the shared copy of the Administrative Draft document.
3. Due to the tight 3-week review schedule, staff request that CAC members provide, as soon as possible, the list of individuals, with their email addresses, who should be granted access to the Sharepoint drive for purposes of reviewing and commenting on the RCAAP Administrative Draft on behalf of their municipal government. Access to the shared Administrative Draft file will not be granted without a name and email address. Potential reviewers can include city managers, legal counsel, and agency staff. Staff from agencies and departments that might take on the responsibility of implementing measures from the RCAAP should also be consulted and invited to review. For example, interested parties can include representatives and staff from public works, planning, recycling and solid waste, natural resources management, transportation, etc. Members of the all-jurisdiction staff-level working group have met and will be reviewing and commenting on the Administrative Draft.
For access to the Sharepoint drive for the purposes of reviewing and commenting on the RCAAP Administrative Draft please send your list of individuals representing your municipality to jesse.gutierrez@countyofnapa.org and ryan.melendez@countyofnapa.org. Jesse and Ryan will work to troubleshoot document access problems should they arise.
Week 1: Staff will share access to the RCAAP Administrative Draft.
Week 2: Staff will check in with reviewers via email as a reminder and count down to the deadline.
Week 3: Staff will send one final call for comments and remind reviewers of the deadline.
Roadmap to the RCAAP
Jan 2024 - Project Kickoff Meeting with Ascent, Napa County, and jurisdictional staff about scope of work, timelines, etc.
April 2024 - Public Engagement and Outreach Strategy Framework - Outlined Ascent and RCAAP team’s strategies for engaging with the public throughout the RCAAP planning process
May 2024 - RCAAP Project Website launched. Online hub for public to access and provide comment on intermediary technical documents, find information about the RCAAP, and contact the project team
June 2024 - RCAAP survey to gather community input opens on project website
May 2024 - Emissions Forecast Update. Provides a forecast of emissions by sector and by jurisdiction for Business-As-Usual emissions and Legislative-Adjusted (Federal, state, regional) emissions scenarios.
May 2024 - Climate Vulnerability Assessment. Provides an assessment of what climate change impacts are projected to occur in Napa County (i.e., flood, heat, fire, energy grid stress, etc.) and estimates the severity of each impact to the region as a whole and to each jurisdiction.
May-September 2024 - Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction Measures. Framework of 44 Measures with over 140 individual actions to achieve GHG emissions reductions across 8 sectors in the Napa Region.
July 2024 - Community Meetings (In-person & Virtual) and 6 Focus Group Discussions. Two general community meetings were held at the Yountville Community Center and over Zoom to solicit input and feedback from community members.
Five targeted Focus Group Discussions (with a 6th overflow) to gather input and feedback from marginalized or underserved groups in the region (1. Family groups, 2. Youth, 3. Public Health, 4. Community-Based Organizations, 5. Multi-language serving, and 6. Overflow)
August 2024 - RCAAP Survey Results completed with 260 participants
September 2024 - Climate Adaptation Strategies Memo. Framework of 40 measures and 87 individual actions to prepare the Napa region to better adapt to climate change and climate stressors as presented in the Climate Vulnerability Assessment.
November 2024 - GHG Measures Quantification and Gap Analysis. Analysis of how much the implementation of each measure in the plan would reduce the Napa region’s emissions and shows the projection of how we would reach “Net Zero” emissions by certain timelines in line with the CARB 2022 Scoping Plan (2030, 2035, and 2045).
December 2024 - Draft Outline and Branding guide for Administrative RCAAP Document. Outline of the sections and chapters of the RCAAP, and color/text guides.
February 2025 - CEQA Qualification Approach Memo. Outlines several options the County and Jurisdictions could take (at various additional costs) for Environmental Review Documents to be prepared to ensure the RCAAP is “CEQA Qualified.”