ECOS Climate Committee Meeting – Remi Mendoza, City General Plan Update 6/22

LINK to join: ECOS ZOOM 6656164155 or call: 1 669 900 6833, Mtg ID: 665 616 4155

6:00 Welcome and Introductions

6:10 City of Sacramento Draft General Plan Update (GPU)
Remi Mendoza, Senior Planner and Project Manager for the City of Sacramento, will share information on the City’s new draft General Plan Update (GPU). The General Plan Update includes goals for promoting the development of a wider variety of housing types and this plan also envisages interconnected centers and corridors, so that future growth is sustainable and equitable. sac2040gpu[at]cityofsacramento[dot]org
The City will host a webinar June 29 on CAAP + General Plan Update — https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Community-Development/Planning/Major-Projects/General-Plan).

6:40 Discussion/Q&A (GPU)

7:05 Updates and Announcements

  • Sacramento County’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force – status update
  • Measure A redux – 2024 ballot measure to fund transit, etc.
  • SACOG Blueprint
  • I-80 lanes to be added between Davis and Sacramento – draft EIR expected soon
  • Community Benefits Ordinance for Sacramento City
  • Proposed development projects jeopardizing the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan
  • Regional Climate Action Plan for 7 counties, by Sacramento Metro Air District (SMAQMD)
  • Others …

This meeting is open to everyone interested in addressing some of our region’s most pressing challenges.

Click here to view the agenda in PDF.

AB 1052 Sacramento Regional Transit District’s Ballot Authority (Support)

On May 30, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter of support for AB 1052, Sacramento Regional Transit District’s Ballot Authority.

Below is the text of our letter.

On behalf of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS), we thank you for authoring AB 1052 and express our support for the bill as it moves through the legislative process.

Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) continues to face reduced ridership and higher costs originally driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those negative impacts continue today, along with the lasting societal changes the pandemic caused. 

We strongly believe that a robust, efficient, and cost-effective SacRT transit system benefits all people within its service area, but some projects provide more benefits to a subset of the residents living within that service area. However, if SacRT wants to place a measure on the ballot to increase a sales or use tax, or property tax, that measure must cover its entire service area.

In the wake of these changes and the ongoing financial uncertainty, AB 1052 would give SacRT the authority to ask a subset of its service area to support paying for projects that would more directly benefit that area. Many much-needed community and SacRT projects are more localized, impacting and delivering the most benefits to a geographically specific region as opposed to the entire widespread, 440-square mile SacRT service area.

We know that efficient public transit provides tremendous regional benefits. SacRT services reduce traffic, improve air quality, boost regional economic growth, create jobs, and connect neighborhoods. It also offers residents a cost-effective way to get to and from school, work, medical appointments, and essential services. In addition, it provides mobility equity, by providing greater access to opportunities and services so all members of our community can connect, thrive, and prosper. 

ECOS was founded in 1971 as a visionary and action-oriented coalition for our region.

Today the organizational and individual members of ECOS work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, promote smart growth land use and transportation principles, promote equity in housing, promote sustainable regional water supply for all users, public health and opportunities, and promote regional habitat conservation.

We are pleased to offer our support for AB 1052 and I thank you again for carrying the bill.

Click here to read the letter in PDF.

City of Sacramento Draft 2040 General Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan

April 28, 2023

To visit the City of Sacramento’s webpage on this, including the latest update, please visit sac2040gpu.org.

Sacramento’s first community Climate Action Plan (CAP), adopted in 2012, was a stand-alone document that was intended to guide City efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. In 2015 the CAP was incorporated into the 2035 General Plan.

The City of Sacramento is currently updating the Sacramento Climate Action Plan, and integrating an Adaptation Chapter and a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, in tandem with the 2040 General Plan Update process. The full Draft Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) and Draft 2040 General Plan were released on April 28, 2023 for an extended public review period that will run through August, 2023. An online workshop was opened with the release of these documents, and will remain open through the full public review period.

Make Comments

PDFs to the full Draft 2040 General Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan are provided below.

Interactive land use maps to support review of these documents are provided below:

Self-Guided Online Workshop

Step 1: Watch the introductory video below.

Step 2: Click here to enter the self-guided online workshop

Webinar Workshops

Webinar 1:
Wednesday, May 10th 5:30-7:00pm
Register

Webinar 2:
Tuesday, June 6th 10:00-11:30am
Register

Webinar 3:
Thursday, June 29th 5:30-7:00pm
Register

For more information: sac2040gpu.org

ECOS Climate Committee Presenting City of Sac Draft Climate Action 5/18

Thursday, May 18 – 6:00 pm start

LINK to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155 or call: 1 669 900 6833, Mtg ID: 665 616 4155

Agenda (revised May 15, 2023)

6:00 Welcome and Introductions

6:10 Sacramento City’s new Climate Action & Adaptation Plan
The City’s Climate & Sustainability team will share information on the release, timeline for review, and how to provide input on their new Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP), along with some key General Plan policies with strong CAAP relationship; and update us on their Existing Building Electrification Strategy.

On May 10, the City hosted an orienting webinar for their CAAP and their General Plan Update: https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Community-Development/Planning/Major-Projects/General-Plan).
The City’s General Plan team will begin presenting key policies in early June. Additional webinars are scheduled.

6:40 Discussion/Q&A (CAAP & GPU)

7:05 Updates and Announcements

  • Sacramento County’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force – status update
  • Measure A redux – 2024 ballot measure to fund transit, etc.
  • SACOG Blueprint
  • I-80 lanes to be added between Davis and Sacramento – draft EIR expected soon
  • Sacramento City’s proposed Community Benefits Ordinance
  • SMUD/Calpine plans for carbon sequestration and storage (Board hearing May 17, 6 PM start)
  • Others

Click here for the agenda in PDF.

This meeting is open to everyone interested in addressing some of our region’s most pressing challenges.

Big Oil Resistance Tour in Sacramento 5/13

Big Oil bullies are ripping off Californians, polluting our air and water, poisoning our communities, and setting us on a path toward climate destruction.

Oil and gas companies just spent over $20 million to put a lifesaving environmental justice law on hold, and that’s on top of the millions they funnel into lobbying here in Sacramento every year to block climate progress.

It’s time for the Big Oil Resistance to fight back. Get your tickets today!

Governor Newsom is talking tough on Big Oil and trying to stop them from fleecing us at the gas pump. But, we need him to truly move California beyond fossil fuels once and for all – by ending neighborhood drilling and halting all new fossil fuel permits.

To get the Governor to act, we need to build our movement’s power.

That’s why the Last Chance Alliance – representing 900+ community, environmental, and public health organizations worldwide – is hitting the road for a 7-stop statewide tour through Los Angeles (Apr 28), Ventura (Apr 29), Santa Barbara (Apr 30), San Diego (May 6), Kern County (May 7), Oakland (May 12), and Sacramento (May 13)!

Our Sacramento event will feature…

  • Community leader Cesar Aguirre (CCEJN) from the frontlines of oil & gas extraction and refining in Kern County
  • Sacramento area climate leaders, including Tanda Bluebear (Women With Bows), Supriya Patel (Fridays for Future), and Katie Valenzuela (City Council, District 4)
  • Urgent local organizing opportunities
  • And, longtime activist, author, and co-founder of organizations like 350.org and Third Act…Bill McKibben!

Where: The Colonial Theatre, 3522 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento
When: Saturday, May 13th, 2023
Doors Open: 5pm | Event: 6-8pm
Tickets: https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/big-oil-resistance-tour-sacramento