The Environment, Energy, and Equity: How Cities Are Moving Forward in Today’s Economy

The Environment, Energy, and Equity: How Cities Are Moving Forward in Today’s Ec onomy

by Karalee Browne

2020 was supposed to be a big year for climate action. Instead, cities find themselves needing to divert attention and resources to address the COVID-19 crisis and respond to the call for racial equity following the death of George Floyd.

Events in recent months have illuminated the direct correlation between health and the environment. The negative impacts of pervasive inequities in disadvantaged communities and communities of color are now abundantly clear. Local governments are faced with tough decisions about how to proceed with policies and projects that address energy, equity, and the environment, in conjunction with the new realities of COVID-induced budget shortfalls. The financial impacts of the COVID-19 crisis are staggering, especially for cities with tourism-based economies. Due to a decrease in revenues associated with tourism, sales tax, and parking, the City of Santa Monica projects a $224 million deficit through the next two fiscal years. On May 5, 2020, the council voted to pass a restructuring plan, which resulted in the consolidation of numerous departments, the streamlining of administrative functions, and the elimination of more than 400 positions — including staff for its sustainability program, which has helped define the city as an innovative leader for decades.

Sustainability staffers in cities throughout California are still reeling from the news. “It was shocking to see Santa Monica, a leader in the field, take such dramatic actions,” says Tiffany Wise-West, sustainability and climate manager for the City of Santa Cruz. “There is still much uncertainty for my colleagues across the state.” Santa Cruz recently committed to a “health in all policies” approach to infuse equity, public health, and sustainability into decisionmaking and policymaking, and Wise-West was invited to join the city’s recovery team. She is looking for opportunities to advance sustainability as part of the recovery process.

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Karalee Browne is director of the Sustainable Communities Program of the Institute for Local Government and can be reached at kbrowne@ca-ilg.org.

The City of Santa Cruz is also exploring all possible options to reduce costs. For example, Santa Cruz hopes to see near-term cost savings from a newly launched project with an energy service company. The project will include “deep” (beyond the basics) energy efficiency retrofits, rate changes, electrical load-shifting, renewable energy projects, and peak shaving (the process of leveling out big spikes or dips in energy usage by commercial/industrial customers so that it is more consistent and easier to accommodate). An energy management dashboard will improve the project’s analytical capability to demonstrate energy and cost savings. The dashboard will also make the project data more visible to city staff and energy managers. In 2020, the city will also move forward with three photovoltaic solar power purchase agreements and energy efficiency projects funded by utility customers’ on-bill financing.

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The cities of Colton and West Hollywood are also moving forward with energy efficiency projects in an effort to save every penny possible.

Climate Action Planning

San Mateo County and the 20 cities in the county participate in a regional climate action planning effort that uses a set of standardized tools and methodologies (the Regionally Integrated Climate Action Planning Suite) to create a higher level of consistency, increased collaboration, and resource sharing. In an informal poll of the participants conducted in May 2020, 22 percent of the city staffers surveyed anticipated no change to their climate and energy initiatives, 28 percent responded that their activities paused because of budget implications, and 56 percent responded that actions slowed because staff moved to other initiatives related to COVID-19. The last category includes the City of Half Moon Bay, which withdrew its Request for Proposals seeking a consultant to develop its Climate Action Plan and associated out reach. The cities of East Palo Alto and San Carlos also put Climate Action Plan updates on hold pending budget restrictions and questions about community engagement.

Despite immediate and looming budget shortfalls, many cities are moving forward with Climate Action Plans, including the cities of Oxnard, Pittsburg, Paramount, Santa Cruz, and Watsonville. The City of West Hollywood is also continuing its Climate Action Plan work, but without the assistance of consultants. Oceanside, Culver City, Salinas, and Ventura are moving forward with General Plan updates, which will have associated Climate Action Plans if grant money is available.

The City of Arcata had many climate planning and implementation initiatives on the horizon, but some stalled due to the city’s COVID-19 response. Thanks to state grant funding, Arcata will continue efforts on its Local Coastal Plan, associated sea level-rise component, and required safety element update. The city had to put its Climate Action Plan on hold, however, along with several energy initiatives that include making energy upgrades in city facilities, installing electric charging stations, and phasing in new electric vehicles to the city’s fleet.

Arcata’s Community Development Director David Loya says although some of the city’s initiatives aren’t moving forward due to budget constraints, it is critical that cities use this time to strategize and emerge with a changed sense of priorities. “Climate change poses a huge threat to humanity. While the COVID-19 threat is immediate and the climate threat may seem existential by comparison, there are many parallels. The inequality highlighted by the current crisis is nothing compared with the equity challenges we face in the future.”

San Francisco Focuses on Resilience and Economic Recovery

Resilience, equity, and the economy are at the forefront in San Francisco. On

A wind farm and solar panels in Southern California help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

April 2, 2020, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and County Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee announced the creation of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force, co-chaired by San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu, San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rodney Fong, and San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Rudy Gonzalez. The task force is charged with guiding the city’s efforts through the CO VID-19 recovery to sustain and revive local businesses and employment, mitigate the economic hardships already affecting the most vulnerable San Franciscans, and build a resilient and equitable future. On April 24, 2020, the task force conducted its first virtual meeting to report on the sobering impacts of the crisis and related forecasts.

The task force will meet once a month for six months, and its efforts will culminate in a final report in September 2020 that will serve as the city’s roadmap for economic recovery.

San Francisco’s Chief Resilience Officer and Director of the Office of Resilience and Capital Planning Brian Strong says that the city’s nimble response was possible only because it has a long history of planning for climate resilience. “We have the benefit of having thought about resilience in advance, though it was in the context of fire, earthquakes, and floods. It’s no longer a question of focusing on climate or the economy — we really need to do both,” he says.

Navigating a Series of Challenges: ILG Can Help

The economic and environmental impacts of the COVID-19 crisis will weigh heavily on California cities for months and years to come. The Institute for Local Government (ILG) can be an important and strategic resource for local government

Cities are grappling with tough decisions about how to balance the essential needs of their communities with projects that were planned to address energy, equity, and the environment.

leaders working to address sustainability after COVID-19. As the nonprofit training and education affiliate of the League, ILG remains committed to helping local juris dictions build capacity in this area, while also sharing best practices in sustainability and celebrating the unwavering efforts of hard-working local elected officials and city staff. ILG offers technical assistance and guidance about solutions and options to consider and resources that may be available to support city programs and projects.

ILG is committed to helping local government leaders navigate the complexity of their important roles. In response to the Energy-efficiency measures and electric vehicles play key roles in efforts to slow climate change.

unprecedented impacts local governments are facing due to the COVID-19 crisis, ILG developed a curated list of practical actions local governments can pursue immediately to continue their commitment to sustainability and build resilience to future disasters and public health crises. These best practices illustrate ways in which local governments can address and balance economic development, climate action, and equity with the health and safety concerns of their communities. To access this resource, visit www.ca-ilg.org/ covid-sustainability-best-practices. ■

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Greening the Conc rete Jung le: Daly City Partners With Resid ents

As the largest city in San Mateo County, Daly City (pop. 109,142) is truly a concrete jungle. Major highways that connect San Francisco to Silicon Valley crisscross the city, spewing vehicle emissions and particulate matter into dense neighborhoods where residents experience high levels of pollution. The urban canopy covers less than 5 percent of the city’s land surface, and only three species represent almost half of the trees in Daly City, two of which are suffering from disease. Decades of tree removal, often to make way for both front yard and backyard paving, has increased impervious surfaces citywide. Now the highly urbanized population faces a new climate reality dominated by drought, rising temperatures, and limited but more intense storm events. This pattern destabilizes the landscape by overwhelming the city’s aging sewer system, flooding low-lying areas, and accelerating erosion of developed coastal bluffs and hillsides. The decimated urban forest simply cannot counter these impacts, leaving the city’s predominantly lower-income population completely exposed. Grant Funds Launch the Project

In 2016, city leaders created Project Green Space with a $25,000 grant from Cities of Service, a nonprofit organization that helps mayors build stronger cities by changing the way local government and citizens work together. Project Green Space has grown into a robust urban forestry and green infrastructure program that is convened by the city and driven by residents through impact volunteering, a strategy that engages volunteers to identify and solve public problems alongside municipal government. The program empowers citizens to actively reshape the future of their neighborhoods by adopting new trees and planting and maintaining rain gardens.

“Project Green Space has emerged as one of the city’s most prominent public engagement programs, allowing staff to partner directly with residents to solve civic problems together — a very effective method for producing cost-effective results,” says City Manager Shawnna Maltbie.

Daly City won the Award for Excellence in the Planning and Environmental Quality category of the 2019 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program. For more about the award program, visit www.helenputnam.org.

The city published the Drought-Tolerant Tree Guide for Daly City, an e-book featuring over 70 tree species uniquely suited to the changing local climate, with low water needs, large mature canopies to maximize carbon sequestration, and low impacts to sidewalks. “Project Green Space encourages the use of unusual, endangered, and California native species, so that the trees and gardens we plant today will become stunning landmarks in our city at maturity,” says Stephen Stolte, assistant to the city manager and founder of Project Green Space. “One main goal was to cultivate a landscape that generates a sense of awe, knowing how rare that feeling is in the rush of urban life and how natural features like large trees can bring nature back into our daily lives.” Daly City is in one of the world’s five Mediterranean climate regions, which are global hot spots of horticultural diversity. Project Green Space gardens showcase that diversity in the hope that residents will be inspired to do the same at home. “Growing up in a city without much green space creates an educational barrier in communicating the project’s benefits. That’s why we spent so much time educating our residents, with a Project Green Space volunteers transform the city’s landscape by planting endangered, unusual, and California

Providing Information and Inspiration

native species. special focus on youth, through face-to-face interactions, educational materials in multiple languages to reach all of Daly City’s diverse residents, and signage on all of our trees and gardens,” says Raphaelle Ortiz, an AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) member who helped implement Project Green Space in some of the city’s hard-to-reach communities.

The city formed partnerships with over 20 local entities, including the faith community, the Boys & Girls Club, local elementary schools, high school environmental clubs, service organizations, homeowners’ associations, the Boy Scouts, and community groups. These partners helped spread the word about volunteer opportunities and amplified marketing messages from the city. They also became some of the city’s most dedicated volunteers.

“Some of our most memorable projects were large scale and involved hundreds of youths, like the campus forestation project at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, where both community members and hundreds of students planted over 30 native trees. Using native species was important because the school borders a protected natural area,” says Brian Gerrity, an AmeriCorps VISTA member who spent a year at City Hall.

After four years, over 750 citizen volunteers have grown the urban forest by 10 percent with over 800 trees planted, 11 rain gardens installed, and a mini park constructed on a vacant parcel planted with 100 percent native California species. The trees alone mitigate more than 200,000 gallons of stormwater over a five-year period, because trees have the ability to:

Reduce the volume of stormwater that enters storm drains by capturing and storing rainfall both in their canopies and through roots.

Help stormwater seep into the soil instead of quickly flowing over surfaces into storm drains, which helps replenish groundwater.

Assist in slowing the movement of stormwater and preventing the impacts of flooding.

Help remove pollutants from stormwater, which is a major concern in cities. When rain falls on pavement, roofs, and other impervious surfaces and travels long distances, it picks up pollutants along the way. Trees and vegetation can take up those pollutants and break them down before they contaminate waterways.

The rain gardens also provide a haven for California’s beleaguered pollinators and other insects. Emerging research shows that even small pollinator gardens in urban areas significantly boost pollinator abundance, and Project Green Space is actively working to create a network of gardens with native plants in bloom every season.

Establishing new green spaces in cities is not without challenges, and this is why community ownership of projects is vital. “Having clean, attractive surroundings is important to me. I offer my time keeping the gardens free of litter for the satisfaction of knowing our community can enjoy the plantings without the blight of litter. We can all do something to better our environment,” says Terry Marie Counce, a dedicated caretaker of the rain gardens and cofounder of the Top of the Hill Improvement Association.

At its core, Project Green Space cultivates a sense of community stewardship of green spaces by treating rain gardens as community

Volunteers gather to work on Project Green Space gardens during the city’s Make a Difference Day.

Decades of tree removal, often to make way for both front yard and backyard paving, has increased impervious surfaces citywide.

gardens and street trees as community trees, transforming new installations into green community assets, not just stormwater infrastructure created by the city. Along the way, residents have become acquainted and built community.

Daly City’s built environment lacks meeting places like cafes and plazas. When people do not have the opportunities to meet each other, neighborhood-based social networks are less resilient. “The feedback we consistently receive from our residents at all our volunteer events is that they value most the connections they make with other people through Project Green Space,” says Stolte.

“Daly City residents demonstrate that resilience is built from within communities and set the example that all people can actively adapt to the new climate reality by working together,” says Daly City Mayor Glenn Sylvester. The city and its residents look forward to keeping the momentum going long into the future.

Contact: Stephen Stolte, assistant to the city manager, City Manager’s

Office; phone: (650) 991-8126; email: sstolte@dalycity.org. ■ Resident volunteers plant the Mission Street garden, left, and return to weed it after the plants matured, right.