Tag Archives: Climate Change

SMAQMD Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program Webinar 7/26

Wednesday, July 26 at 10 am

The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (Sac Metro Air District) is receiving a planning grant from the EPA to develop a Priority Climate Action Plan, a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, and a Status Report for the seven-county Sacramento region (El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba). As the lead agency for this regional climate pollution reduction grant opportunity, it is the responsibility of the Sac Metro Air District to coordinate with our jurisdictional partners to not only develop an attainable vision for a low-carbon region, but also prepare for the second phase of this program, where a total of $4.6 billion in competitive grants will be available nationwide to implement greenhouse gas reduction measures from the Priority Climate Action Plan.

Attend this webinar to learn more about the grant program and how you can participate in the planning process. Review the attached Priority Climate Action Plan Roadmap for program details, a timeline, and additional background information on the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.

Link to Sac Metro Air District CPRG Roadmap (PDF)

Link to Zoom meeting

ECOS Transportation Meeting in partnership with Strong Sactown 8/3

ECOS Transportation Team Agenda
Thursday, August 3, 2023; 6 PM start
Old Soul at the Weatherstone (812 21st St. between H & I St. in Midtown)

Our August meeting will be held in-person, in partnership with Strong Sactown.

Strong Sactown is a community group focused on enriching and improving the livability of Sacramento, CA for all neighbors. Their concerns include Ending Parking Subsidies, and Mixed-Use Zoning: www.strongsactown.org

Among the topics we will discuss:

  • 2024 Sacramento transportation funding ballot measure, including “Measure C”
  • City of Sacramento: General Plan Update & Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

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

Click here for the agenda in PDF.

Sacramento County Climate Emergency Resolution, BOS Item on 7/11

On July 11, 2023, the Sacramento County Planning and Environmental Review staff presented a recommendation to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to amend the Climate Emergency Resolution to be consistent with the State’s 2045 carbon neutrality goal.

You can watch a recording of the July 11, 2023 Sac County Board of Supervisors meeting here: https://agendanet.saccounty.gov/BoardOfSupervisors/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=7961&doctype=1. The Climate Emergency Resolution Update presentation (Item 72) starts at 6 hours into the video.

Watch Live Online

The meeting is videotaped and cablecast live on Metrocable 14 on the Comcast, Consolidated Communications and AT&T U-Verse Systems. It is closed captioned and webcast live at http://metro14live.saccounty.gov. There will be a rebroadcast of this meeting on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

Give Comments

In-Person public comment

Speakers will be required to complete and submit a speaker request form to Clerk staff.  Each individual will be invited to the podium to make a comment.

Telephonic public comment

Dial (916) 875-2500 on the day of the meeting to make a comment. Follow the prompts for instructions and refer to the agenda and/or listen to the live meeting to determine when is the best time to call to be placed in queue for a specific agenda/off agenda item. Each caller will be transferred from the queue into the meeting to make a comment accordingly. Please be prepared for an extended waiting period.

Written public comment

Members of the public may send a written comment which is distributed to Board members and filed in the record. Contact information is optional and should include the meeting date and agenda/off agenda item number to be sent as follows:

Sacramento County Climate Emergency Resolution

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors declared a climate emergency in December 2020 and adopted a climate emergency resolution that identified the County’s existing and future actions to reduce communitywide greenhouse gas emissions. The resolution specified several commitments and goals, including an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

Sacramento County’s Sustainability Manager has been implementing the actions specified in the Climate Emergency Resolution over the last two years through coordination and collaboration with the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force, other jurisdictions in the Sacramento metropolitan area, and local organizations and interest groups. Planning and Environmental Review staff have continued refining the County’s Communitywide Climate Action Plan as a result of feedback received on multiple public draft versions.

The California Air Resources Board adopted the 2022 Climate Change Scoping Plan in late 2022, and Assembly Bill 1279 became law in September 2022. Both the Scoping Plan and AB 1279 establish a statewide goal of achieving carbon neutrality as soon as possible but no later than 2045.

On July 11, 2023, Planning and Environmental Review staff will present a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to amend the Climate Emergency Resolution to be consistent with the State’s 2045 carbon neutrality goal. This recommendation does not change the actions of the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force or their timeline and commitment to working with the Sustainability Manager to prepare a Climate Emergency Response Plan. All County staff will continue to be ambitious and aggressive in reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the Climate Emergency Resolution and Planning and Environmental Review staff will continue their diligent work to finalize the Communitywide Climate Action Plan.

More details on the status and next steps on the Communitywide Climate Action Plan will be available in mid-July.

Sacramento is at a tipping point. What’s the future of housing, sprawl and racial inequality?

June 12, 2023 | By Ryan Lillis

The Sacramento region is at a tipping point. And the next few years will determine what shape we leave it in for the next generation. The region’s housing is less expensive than California’s coastal cities, a selling point that motivated thousands of new residents to move inland since the start of the pandemic. Yet housing prices and rents have skyrocketed the past three years, and fewer than one-third of residents here can now afford to buy the median-priced home. Within the past few months, the Sacramento area became a “minority-majority” region, meaning white residents now make up less than 50% of the population. Still, substantial racial disparities in income, education and access to housing persist, even after the racial reckoning of 2020. Many commercial corridors remain starved for investment, especially those running through lower-income neighborhoods.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/sacramento-tipping-point/article276112636.html#storylink=cpy

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.

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.