HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 9/29/2020 - Memorandum From Michelle Finchum Re: Climate Action Plan Updates
1 Includes Interim Utilities Executive Director Theresa Connor; Interim Director of Community Services
John Stokes; Director of Planning, Development, and Transportation Caryn Champine; Chief
Sustainability Officer Jacqueline Kozak Thiel; and Environmental Services Director Lucinda Smith
MEMORANDUM
Date: September 22, 2020
To: Mayor and City Council
Thru: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Jackie Kozak-Thiel
CAP Executive Team1
From: Michelle Finchum, Interim Climate Program Manager
Re: Climate Action Plan Updates
Purpose:
To provide a status update on the City’s climate actions and upcoming engagement
opportunities, including the following:
Our Climate Future (OCF) Accomplishments & Updates
Shift Campaign Update
Electric Vehicle Update
Other climate related initiatives
o CC4CA (Colorado Communities for Climate Action) policy agenda – LRC
(Legislative Review Committee) approval
o Northside Aztlan Resilience Hub Project
o Air Quality - wildfire resiliency and anti-idling campaigns
Our Climate Future Accomplishments & Updates:
Community members were asked to design solutions based on the eight Big Barriers identified
in Phase 1. Strategy identification took place via Zoom from June through early August with
community members and businesses generating solutions to meet our climate, energy, and
waste goals. Sessions addressed the eleven Our Climate Future Community Priorities
identified through engagement in Fall 2019. The Community Priorities and Big Barriers include:
Community Priorities
More reuse, recycling and composting
Healthy air quality
More renewable energy
Reliable supply of high quality water
Local and regional transit
Affordable housing
Job opportunities and healthy economy
Local and dependable food
Healthy natural environment
More equity, diversity, and inclusion
Be prepared for changes in our climate
Big Barriers
• Racism, inequity and exclusion
• Not enough funding and resources
• People struggle to afford to live here
• Rapid population growth
• Lack of information and awareness on
sustainability
• Mistrust in local organizations and
government
• Not enough action by individuals,
organizations and government
• Lack of access to services
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Examples of community input from strategy workshops:
"The ease of parking encourages people to drive. If parking were at cost, people would bike, walk, and
take transit more. Also, folks in SE FC can't walk/bike to a grocery store, even if they wanted to."
"Can there be new ways to fund efficiency and renewable energy projects? Add a round up to next dollar
for utility bills (pennies to near dollar per month as an opt out option) to fund low income/affordable
housing upgrades for multi-family and rental properties, mobile homes etc.?"
"Businesses transform space from parking lots and concrete to usable land for growing food. People in
the community can reach access to affordable, local, cheap produce within a 15 minute bus, walk, or
bike ride. Members of the community work together in shared spaces (parks, city building lands/parking
lots, etc.) to create growing space for food for the people who need it the most."
Strategy Evaluation is the next step in the Our Climate Future process and will compile ideas generated
by the community, staff suggestions, and international leading practices into an evaluation framework.
The framework, created by the OCF consultant team, will identify Big Moves (transformational outcomes)
and Next Moves (initial strategies toward the Big Moves) that achieve our goals and advance community
priorities. The evaluation framework also emphasizes equity, resilience, and mitigation as key outcomes,
alongside factors like feasibility, cost-benefit, and health.
Next Steps for OCF
- Staff presentation to Community Impact Committee regarding OCF outreach centered on equity
and leading with race (September 28th)
- Strategy evaluation to identify Big and Next Moves (September-October)
- Staff presentation to Community Advisory Committee for the Climate Action Plan (October 13th)
- Internal and community review (October-November)
- Council work session (November 24th)
- Council work session (February - TBD)
- Council adoption (March)
Shift Campaign Update:
September: Shift Your Ride Month
o FC Moves, The Planning Department, Transfort, and the Climate Team collaborated to
coordinate a month dedicated to alternative and active modes of transportation through
Shift Your Ride Month in September. With events such as Bike to Wherever Day and
partnerships with CSU and the Sustainable Living Association, staff are working with the
community to shift 1,500 community members to go car-free one extra trip per week by
Earth Day 2021 through the Shift Your Ride Challenge. Community members can join the
challenge at fcgov.com/SYR and be entered into a drawing for a free bike. The Shift
Campaign is working to center equity further in its work through a goal of at least 500 of
the total community members who join the challenge to be from Historically
Underrepresented Groups such as Hispanic/Latinx and/or low-income communities. The
challenge currently has 296 total signups, 15% of which identify as People of Color and
9% of which identify as having a household income of less than $25,000 per year.
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3
Shift Equity Focus Group
o Staff partnered with a local consultant in Spring 2019 to host a focus group with Spanish
speaking community members to explore if the Shift brand and messaging would translate
into Spanish effectively in order to connect with more audiences. The results of the focus
group indicated that Shift would not effectively translate culturally or linguistically. As Shift
strives to further embed equity in its campaigns and marketing, it is important that a
culturally and linguistically relevant brand for Shift Your Ride be developed. The Climate
Team and FC Moves are partnering to conduct a second focus group dedicated to
exploring what an effective Spanish Shift Your Ride brand and campaign might look like.
The focus group is expected to take place in November and early December 2020 over
the course of three meetings with community members.
Electric Vehicles:
EV Group Buy hosted by Northern Colorado Clean Cities (NCCC) is occurring from September 3-
30. Residents can purchase a new Nissan 2020 LEAF, BMW 2020 X3 or BMW 2020 X5 at a
significant discount. NCCC is working with local dealerships to have more Group Buys this fall.
In partnership with NCCC, the City will be pursuing 2021 Department of Energy and Colorado
Energy Office grant opportunities to fund the expansion of EV charging infrastructure and
education efforts.
City staff are working on the next update to the City Building Code as it relates to EV-conduit and
EV charger installation requirements.
The City’s Fleet Department was recently recognized as #1 Green Fleet by 100 Best Fleets in the
Americas. Last year, the City won 8th place. Applicants to the Green Fleet Awards were
evaluated based on fleet composition, fuel and emissions, policy and planning, fleet utilization,
education, executive and employee involvement, and supporting programs.
The Colorado Energy Office released the Statewide EV Plan in April of 2020. City staff are
working to align our EV Readiness Roadmap strategies to the Colorado EV Plan.
https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/zero-emission-vehicles/colorado-ev-plan-2020
Other CAP Related Items:
CC4CA Policy Agenda was approved by Legislative Review Committee on August 28, 2020.
Northside Aztlan Resilience Hub Project: an appropriation and associated financial strategy was
adopted on first reading September 15th to add battery storage to the Northside Aztlan
Community Center in support of its capabilities as a resilience hub. The $425,000 project is
supported by a $200,000 grant from the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).
New Air Quality wildfire resiliency efforts are in place, including campaigns promoting awareness
of health-related smoke impacts and actions to protect indoor air quality during smoke events.
Community wide communication on anti-idling campaigns continue in order to reduce climate
related emissions from idling vehicles.
Next Steps:
October – expected 2019 Carbon Inventory Results including industrial process emissions.
November 24 - OCF Council Work session
CC: John Phelan, Energy Services Senior Manager; Molly Saylor, Environmental Sustainability Senior
Specialist; Cassie Archuleta, Air Quality Manager; Amanda Mansfield, Transportation Planner; Jensen
Morgan, Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement Specialist
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