REPORT TO SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION, BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMISSION AND THE CAP 2.0 ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Forward a recommendation to City Council to Adopt the Climate Action Playbook, including the greenhouse gas reduction targets
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
The City of Sunnyvale’s Climate Action Plan (CAP 1.0) was adopted in 2014. It laid the foundation for the City’s efforts to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and address climate change. With the implementation of CAP 1.0, as of 2016, the City had achieved its 2020 emissions reduction target four years ahead of schedule. However, CAP 1.0 was not designed to achieve the State of California’s longer term targets of a 40 percent reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by 2030 (SB 32) and an 80 percent reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by 2050 (S-3-05).
City Council adopted Accelerating Climate Action as a Policy Priority in 2017 and directed staff to work on Climate Action Plan 2.0 (CAP 2.0). The goal of the CAP 2.0 Initiative was to update CAP 1.0 to meet or exceed the State’s longer term targets. Working with a consultant team and the Council-appointed CAP 2.0 Advisory Committee, staff conducted a technical analysis, gathered extensive community input, and developed the Draft Climate Action Playbook (Playbook).
The Playbook proposes to achieve longer-term targets of a 55 percent reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by 2030 (more ambitious than the State target) and an 80 percent reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by 2050. While not strictly defined, an 80 percent reduction in community greenhouse gas emissions is considered to be equivalent to carbon neutrality by many leading cities (e.g., Portland, Vancouver, Sydney, Seattle) that are a part of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The Playbook contains six core Strategies and 18 Plays that are designed to guide the City to achieve the 2050 target. It also includes a Game Plan 2022 of “Next Moves” or specific actions for the City and community to focus on in the next three years. Moving forward, updated Game Plans will be developed in five-year cycles.
Community input was critical to develop the Playbook. A large workshop with more than 160 participants was held in March 2018 to gather creative, innovative ideas from the community, which were subsequently used to shape the Strategies, Plays, and Next Moves presented in the Playbook. A public review draft was released in March 2019 and feedback was gathered through April 2019. The final Playbook incorporates changes based on community feedback.
Initial implementation of the Playbook’s Game Plan 2022 is estimated to require additional funding of $1.64 million in one-time costs and approximately $500,000 per year in ongoing costs. The Playbook is aligned with ongoing initiatives, including the updates to the Integrated Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Safe Routes to School Plan and the Green Building Program.
Staff recommends that the Sustainability and Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commissions each forward a recommendation to City Council to Adopt the Climate Action Playbook. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review for the Playbook is underway and the final determination under CEQA will be presented to the Planning Commission and City Council.
BACKGROUND
The City of Sunnyvale’s Climate Action Plan (CAP 1.0), adopted in 2014, outlines the City's path toward mitigating climate change while fostering a sustainable, healthy, and livable community. CAP 1.0 summarized Sunnyvale’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for year 2008 (baseline year) and identified mitigation strategies for reducing emissions. The goal of CAP 1.0 was to: (a) achieve the State of California’s target of reducing GHG emissions by 15 percent below 2008 levels by the year 2020 (per AB 32), which is deemed equivalent to 1990 emissions; and (b) make progress towards the State’s target of 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050 (per Governor’s Executive Order S-3-05).
CAP 1.0 Biennial Progress Reports were accepted by City Council in May 2016 and June 2018. These reports concluded that Sunnyvale’s 2014 communitywide emissions were equivalent to 1990 levels, and 2016 communitywide emissions were 12 percent below 1990 levels. Thus, the City had achieved and exceeded the State’s 2020 target ahead of schedule. However, CAP 1.0 was not designed to meet the State targets of 40% GHG reduction by 2030 (adopted by the Legislature via SB 32 in 2016) or the longer-term target of 80% by 2050. In addition, new approaches and technologies continue to emerge, which offer opportunities to further modernize Sunnyvale’s approach to climate action.
At a November 2016 Council Study Session, the City Council and the Sustainability Commission discussed options for advancing climate action and setting broader goals for GHG reductions. In January 2017, City Council added Accelerating Climate Action as a Council Policy Priority. In response, staff developed and implemented the Climate Action Plan 2.0 (CAP 2.0) Initiative. The objective of this Initiative is to conduct the research, analysis, and community engagement necessary to support Council policy setting and resource allocation for advancing and accelerating climate action. The expected outcome was an updated climate action framework that would enable Sunnyvale to achieve or exceed the State’s longer-term targets.
In June 2017, Council approved funding for the CAP 2.0 project and directed the formation of a community advisory committee, known as the CAP 2.0 Advisory Committee (CAC), to guide the development of the plan. Appointed by the Council, the CAC consisted of 11 members (and three alternate members) representing residents, businesses, developer/real estate firms, volunteer or non-profit groups, and three Commissions (Sustainability, Planning, and Bicycle and Pedestrian).
Staff engaged a consultant team consisting of DNV-GL, Fehr & Peers, IDEO, and Acterra. With consultant support, staff engaged the community in sourcing ideas for the updated plan; evaluated prospective scenarios to meet or exceed the State’s 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 reduction targets; and designed a new climate action framework including key strategies and an approach to future work planning and resource planning. The result of this effort is the Climate Action Playbook (Playbook) (see Attachment 3; a redline version can be found at bit.ly/sunnyvaleplaybook), which establishes a framework for achieving and exceeding the State’s long-term targets and identifies a focused set of specific actions and associated funding needed to implement them in the next three years.
The Playbook is being presented to three Commissions (Sustainability, Planning, and Bicycle and Pedestrian) and the CAC for recommendation to the City Council.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to consider this item on July 22, 2019.
The City Council is scheduled to consider this item on August 13, 2019.
EXISTING POLICY
General Plan
Chapter 2: Community Vision - Citywide Vision Goals
• Vision: It is the aspiration of the people of Sunnyvale to build upon the attributes which the City currently enjoys, so that Sunnyvale of the future will become … A regional leader in environmental sustainability … advocating to reduce dependence on non-renewable resources by providing greater transportation options, reducing waste, protecting our natural resources, and promoting alternative energy usage and research. We take environmental preservation and protection seriously and consider how each action will affect Sunnyvale for future generations.
• Citywide Vision Goal III, Environmental Sustainability: To promote environmental sustainability and remediation in the planning and development of the City, in the design and operation of public and private buildings, in the transportation system, in the use of potable water and in the recycling of waste.
Chapter 3: Land Use and Transportation
• Goal LT-2: Environmentally Sustainable Land Use and Transportation Planning and Development - Support the sustainable vision by incorporating sustainable features into land use and transportation decisions and practices.
o Greenhouse Gas Reduction Policy LT-2.2 Reduce greenhouse gas emissions that affect climate and the environment through land use and transportation planning and development.
Chapter 5: Housing
• Goal HE-6: Sustainable Neighborhoods - Maintain sustainable neighborhoods with quality housing, infrastructure and open space that fosters neighborhood character and the health of residents
o Policy HE-6.6 Encourage use of sustainable and green building design in new and existing housing.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The adoption of a Climate Action Plan is a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Although Climate Action Plans are intended to benefit the environment, CEQA requires the agency to evaluate and disclose whether any aspect of the plan will actually have a significant environmental effect. In this case, the Playbook is being adopted in order to implement a mitigation measure required by the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the 2017 Land Use and Transportation Element (LUTE) (State Clearinghouse No. 2015062013). Mitigation Measure 3.13.3 of the LUTE EIR required the City to update the Climate Action Plan to account for new LUTE growth projections. The LUTE EIR was a program EIR that can be used as a CEQA document for subsequent projects under Sections 15168 and 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines.
The City has reviewed the Playbook to determine whether the project’s impacts were addressed in the certified LUTE EIR, and to ensure that the Playbook incorporates all applicable performance standards and mitigation measures of the LUTE EIR. Based on this review, an Addendum to the LUTE EIR is being prepared and will be presented to the Planning Commission and City Council for their consideration prior to adopting the Playbook.
DISCUSSION
The Climate Action Playbook is the City’s plan to reduce GHG emissions and achieve or exceed the State’s longer term GHG targets. The development of the Playbook began in 2017, and the final Playbook will be presented to City Council on August 13, 2019.
Community Engagement
The development of the Playbook engaged diverse stakeholders to ensure it was created by and for the Sunnyvale community. Community engagement was supported by consultants IDEO and Acterra and included gathering community ideas via an online platform; an all-day Ideation Workshop in March 2018 with more than 165 community attendees; a Pitch Event to celebrate and recognize selected community ideas; and extensive publicity through community meetings, social media, and other avenues.
Inter-Departmental Engagement
The CAP 2.0 Initiative was led by the City’s Environmental Services Department (ESD). However, as with CAP 1.0, strategies in the Playbook will be implemented by multiple departments and be aligned with citywide programs, policies, and plans. To ensure that the Playbook reflected a comprehensive approach, a CAP 2.0 Executive Team was formed, which included the City Manager and leadership staff from the Department of Public Works, Community Development Department, Office of the City Manager, Information Technology Department, Department of Public Safety, and Finance Department.
One-on-one interviews were conducted with lead staff within these departments to understand their perspective as well as the operational challenges and opportunities for integrating the Playbook into departmental priorities or plans. ESD will continue to engage the CAP 2.0 Executive Team for ongoing implementation of the Playbook to ensure a cohesive approach to implementing its strategies as well as for data gathering and reporting.
Technical Analysis
Sunnyvale’s 2016 communitywide GHG emissions were used as a starting point for the technical analysis supporting the Climate Action Playbook. The City’s 2016 emissions were approximately at 12 percent below 1990 levels. The most notable action from CAP 1.0 was the formation and launch of Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), a community choice aggregation agency, which began providing carbon-free electricity to 13 communities in Santa Clara County in 2017. If the full impact of SVCE were factored into 2016 emissions, communitywide emissions are estimated to be 28 percent below 1990 levels. The primary sources of Sunnyvale’s remaining emissions are on-road
transportation (54%) and natural gas use in commercial and residential buildings (30%), as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Sunnyvale’s 2016 Communitywide Emissions with SVCE Lens
*"Other" represents emissions associated with water, wastewater, off-road motorized equipment and Caltrain.
**In 2016, prior to the launch of SVCE, residential electricity made up 4% of total emissions and commercial electricity made up 20% of total emissions.
A technical analysis was conducted by DNV-GL and Fehr & Peers to identify targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the path to achieve those targets. As a basis for this analysis, Sunnyvale’s emissions were forecasted for (Figure 2):
• Business-as-usual or BAU (no action);
• BAU with State policies (accounting for the impact of State policies already in place);
• BAU with State policies and CAP 1.0 implementation (including SVCE impact and implementation of ongoing CAP 1.0 actions); and
• Target reduction path (i.e., the path needed to get to reductions for 2030 and 2050 from our current emissions level).
The BAU forecast utilizes Sunnyvale-specific growth projections from the City’s LUTE, adopted in 2017. These growth projections are available through 2035 when the City is projected to achieve complete buildout. This BAU forecast, however, assumes continued growth in the absence of future projections between 2035-2050.
Figure 2. End Game 2050 and Target Path
Using DNV-GL’s Climate Scenario Analysis Tool (Climate Tool), potential scenarios were evaluated for 2030 and 2050 to examine how targets for these years could be achieved through actions in four main sectors: natural gas; electricity; transportation; and waste. For transportation, projections of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) were obtained for each 2030 and 2050 using Fehr & Peers’ TrendLab tool.
The results of the technical analysis established the following targets for Sunnyvale:
• 55% by 2030 (55x30)
• 80% by 2050 (80x50)
Sunnyvale’s selected 2030 target was designed to achieve reductions sooner than the State’s target of reducing emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, recognizing that early action now would be essential to achieving longer term reductions essential for meeting the 80x50 target.
The technical analysis also identified the reductions needed from the four sectors (Figure 3 and Table 1). This formed the rationale for the selection of the core strategies in the Playbook.
Figure 3. Emissions Reductions from Climate Action Playbook by Sector
GHG reductions in the waste sector (orange sliver below Transportation) constitute <3% of total emissions reductions needed to achieve 80x50.
Table 1. Current and Projected GHG Emissions by Sector with Climate Action Playbook Implementation
Climate Action Playbook Overview
The Playbook lays out six Strategies that provide the overarching approach for bold climate action to achieve the end game of 80x50. These are:
• Strategy 1: Promoting Clean Electricity
• Strategy 2: Decarbonizing Buildings
• Strategy 3: Decarbonizing Transportation & Sustainable Land Use
• Strategy 4: Managing Resources Sustainably
• Strategy 5: Empowering Our Community
• Strategy 6: Adapting to a Changing Climate
Within each Strategy, there are several Plays that identify areas for action and measurable targets to define progress. See the At-a-Glance: Pathway to 2050 (Attachment 4) for a summary view of Strategies, Plays, and targets. These Strategies and Plays are designed to achieve the proposed targets of 55% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 proposed targets.
The Playbook also includes a Game Plan 2022 of “Next Moves,” or specific actions that the City and community can collectively take in the short term to reduce carbon emissions and improve resilience to climate impacts. See Attachment 5 for an At-A-Glance view of Game Plan 2022 (“Next Moves” through 2022). The Game Plan addresses implementation for the next three years, and it will be revised every five years thereafter. It is intended to be dynamic and evolve with changes in state or federal regulations, new technologies, and emerging behavior trends and needs in our community.
Public Review of Draft Climate Action Playbook
The Draft Climate Action Playbook (Draft Playbook) was released in early March 2019 and public feedback was gathered through the end of April 2019 primarily through:
• Community meetings, at which staff provided an overview of the March Draft Playbook and obtained feedback through live polling (via mobile devices) and dot voting exercises. Outreach meetings targeted different audiences, including the CAC, general public, developers, businesses, and three Commissions.
• City Council Study Session on March 26, 2019 at which staff presented the Draft Playbook and received comments from the Council and the general public. A Study Session Summary can be found in RTC No. 19-0652.
• An online survey via Open City Hall, which provided survey respondents with a short survey option or a longer, more detailed two-part option.
Staff advertised the Draft Playbook and public outreach meetings through the City’s website, City e-newsletters, social media ads, newspaper ads, online ads, email blasts to targeted listservs, neighborhood associations and volunteer groups.
A total of 119 people attended the public outreach meetings. A total of 152 responses were received via the online survey. The community was generally supportive of the overarching long-term targets proposed in the Draft Playbook, with a comparable number of individuals indicating that the targets were not ambitious enough. Some written comments expressed concerns about the City spending resources on climate action.
The community was largely supportive of the Plays in the Draft Playbook, as shown in Figure 4. Even Plays that the community was least excited about (e.g., Play 4.4) received an overall favorable rating (67 responses indicating “high enthusiasm” vs. 45 responses indicating low enthusiasm).
Figure 4. Community Support and Concerns Related to the Playbook
Of the 46 Next Moves in Game Plan 2022, only two Moves received less than one-third support as expressed by low enthusiasm ratings. These were:
• Move 3.B - Identify areas that are most appropriate for parking strategies that discourage vehicle use, such as pricing, time limits, and supply restrictions.
• Move 3.I - Monitor autonomous vehicle testing and deployment to inform proactive policy.
Of note is that Move 3.A (Plan for additional housing, with the goal of diverse housing, to reduce long-distance commutes) had mixed feedback as it appeared within the top five Moves with both the most excitement as well as the top five Moves with the lowest excitement.
A snapshot of the public review feedback from surveys and meetings is presented in Attachment 6 and a full compilation of the feedback is presented in Attachment 7.
Key Changes to Draft Playbook
Based on the feedback gathered, the following revisions were made and are reflected in the final Playbook (Attachment 3):
• Emphasize battery storage
New Play 1.3 added to reflect the important role of local battery storage in enhancing availability of clean electricity supply and resilience.
• Accelerate all-electric new buildings
2030 target for Play 2.3 revised to 100 percent all-electric new buildings, versus previous target of 2050 for all-electric new buildings.
• Adjust vehicle miles targets downward
Targets for vehicle miles travelled per person scaled downward to align better to related Plays, such that the targets are ambitious and also attainable. New targets are 13% reduction in vehicle miles per person by 2030 (previously 37% reduction by 2030) and 25% reduction in vehicle miles per person by 2050 (previously 47% reduction by 2030), measured relative to 2016 vehicle miles per person.
• Simplify Zero Waste target
Revised the language for Zero Waste Play 4.1 and its targets to specify a per person waste reduction goal rather than a communitywide diversion rate.
• Revise Play and Move related to food choices
Play 4.4 and Move 4.H revised to clarify terminology and to emphasize personal choice.
• 2030 GHG target revised
With the change to the target date for all-electric buildings (which enhanced GHG reductions for 2050) and the dialing down of reduction targets for vehicle miles (which decreased GHG reductions achieved for both 2030 and 2050), the net result is that the GHG reduction target for 2030 decreases from 60 percent to 55 percent below 1990 levels. This 2030 target is still markedly higher than the 40 percent State target. The 2050 target remains at 80 percent.
Strong consideration was given to the following feedback, but changes are not proposed for the Playbook as described below.
• Increase zero-emission vehicle targets
Feedback received indicated a preference to dial up the zero-emission vehicle targets (25% of all vehicles are zero-emission by 2030 and 75% of all vehicles are zero-emission by 2050) to reflect the anticipated rapid market adoption of such vehicles and alleviate expectations on sharp reductions in driving patterns reflected in the targets for Plays 3.1 and 3.2. Based on consultant team expertise, increasing the 75 percent zero emission vehicles target for 2050 would be unrealistic. Therefore, the zero emission vehicle targets were not modified from the Draft Playbook.
• Consider adopting a “carbon neutral” by 2045 target to align with Executive Order B-55-18
Feedback received requested consideration for adopting the “carbon neutral by 2045” target for Sunnyvale to align with Executive Order B-55-18. The Executive Order was signed by former Governor Brown in September 2018 during the development of the Playbook and does not define “carbon neutral” as a numerical target. For the purposes of the Playbook, the City assumes “carbon neutral” is equivalent to an 80 percent reduction in emissions. Staff recommends adopting the proposed target of carbon neutral (80 percent) by 2050.
FISCAL IMPACT
Implementation of the Playbook will occur through 2050. Staff has identified the resources needed for the implementation of Game Plan 2022, which covers fiscal years 2019/20 through 2021/22. Funding for the Playbook’s Game Plan 2022 is available in Project 821290 - Climate Action Plan Implementation. This Project includes:
• One-time costs of $1.64 million, covering consultant services, temporary staffing, and infrastructure needs
• Ongoing costs of approximately $500,000 per year to fund three new positions: 1.0 FTE Transportation Planner in Public Works, 1.0 FTE Environmental Programs Specialist in Environmental Services, and funding for a Sustainability Fellow in Environmental Services
Funding needs for the Climate Action Playbook will be refined as needed and considered as part of the annual budget process. In the near term, staff will be working with SVCE to identify opportunities to leverage SVCE’s territory-wide initiatives and programs for Sunnyvale residents and businesses. Staff will also work on studying the potential revision of utility user tax rates as a potential revenue source and incentive for electrification. In addition, staff will continue to monitor for grant opportunities to support climate action programs.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact regarding this item was made through the following ways:
1. Posting of the agendas for the Sustainability Commission, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, and the CAP 2.0 Advisory Committee on the City’s official-notice bulletin board, City’s website, and at the Office of the City Clerk.
2. Sustainability Commission and CAP 2.0 Advisory Committee (CAC) public hearing at a joint meeting on July 15, 2019.
3. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission public hearing on July 18, 2019.
Community Engagement
During the development of the Playbook, the consultant team conducted extensive outreach to engage the community in contributing ideas for reducing GHG emissions. An ideation workshop was held in March 2018 with more than 165 attendees. A public platform was created to crowdsource ideas and, ultimately, more than 240 ideas were evaluated. In addition, a Pitch Event was held at LinkedIn on July 30, 2019, to recognize selected ideas contributed by the community. The ideas from the community were used to shape the core Strategies and Plays of the Playbook.
Public Outreach for Draft Playbook
To share the Draft Playbook and gather public comments, staff engaged the community through:
1. An online survey hosted on Open City Hall;
2. Social media posts on Facebook and Nextdoor;
3. Seven community outreach meetings during March and April;
4. Paid online and newspaper advertisements;
5. E-mail notifications to selected e-mail lists; and
6. Announcements in the City’s e-newsletters.
ALTERNATIVES
Recommend that the City Council:
1. Adopt the Climate Action Playbook, including the greenhouse gas reduction targets of 55% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.
2. Adopt the Climate Action Playbook, including the greenhouse gas reduction targets of 55% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, with modifications.
3. Other recommendation provided by the Commission.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Recommend Alternative 1 to the City Council: Adopt the Climate Action Playbook, including the greenhouse gas reduction targets of 55% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.
The Climate Action Playbook provides a pathway to exceed the State’s 2030 target by achieving a 55 percent reduction below 1990 levels, and achieve the State’s 2050 target. The Playbook identifies six core Strategies, 18 Plays, and targets to enable the City to reduce GHG reductions. The Playbook also includes a Game Plan that outlines 46 Next Moves for implementation in the next three years.
Adoption of the Playbook also completes Study Issue ESD 18-01 (Encouraging Heat Pump Water and Space Heating), which was presented to the City Council at a Study Session on November 27, 2019 (See Study Session Summary Report RTC No. 18-1084). The Study Issue presentation covered an overview of heat pump technologies; their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Sunnyvale; their cost-effectiveness for different building types, appliances, and scenarios; methods to encourage the adoption of heat pump technology including outreach, incentives, and policy approaches; and SVCE’s proposed pilot program design. Council expressed interest in exploring the possibility of requiring heat pumps or having all-electric requirements for new construction and expressed support for staff’s next steps to include heat pumps as a part of the Playbook. In alignment with the Council direction provided at this Study Session, staff has committed to pursuing the expansion of heat pump technologies via Move 2.C (Develop a program to accelerate the adoption of heat pump water heaters and space heaters) of Game Plan 2022.
The Playbook represents bold targets that are aimed to inspire and guide the City and community in achieving significant GHG reductions. It demonstrates a broad commitment to collaboration across the City organization, with and within the community, and across agencies. It is aligned with ongoing efforts, including the updates to the Integrated Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Safe Routes to School Plan, and the recently adopted Green Building Program.
Staff
Prepared by: Melody Tovar, Regulatory Programs Division Manager
Reviewed by: Ramana Chinnakotla, Director, Environmental Services Department
Reviewed by: Trudi Ryan, Director, Community Development Department
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director, Department of Public Works
Reviewed by: Phan S. Ngo, Director, Department of Public Safety
Reviewed by: Timothy J. Kirby, Director, Finance Department
Reviewed by: Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Reserved for Report to Council
2. Reserved for Addendum to LUTE EIR
3. Climate Action Playbook (with appendices)
4. At-A-Glance: Pathway to 2050
5. At-A-Glance: Game Plan 2022 (“Next Moves”)
6. Snapshot of Public Review Feedback
7. Compilation of Public Review Feedback