Climate Action Commission introduces plan to tackle climate change

Six months after its inaugural meeting, Petaluma’s Climate Action Commission last week debuted the group’s first tangible product in a draft 44-page action plan intended to serve as the city’s guidepost in tackling the effects of a changing climate.

The seven-member advisory body appointed in October rounded out the city’s push last year to name sustainability a priority, declaring a climate emergency and adding the issue to its list of top five goals alongside accessibility, safety, supporting community spaces and fiscal prosperity.

“We chose these commissioners because of their expertise and diversity, but we also have so many experts in our community,” said Vice Mayor and council liaison D’Lynda Fischer. “It’s because of this robust group of people that we declared this emergency and they’ve been pushing this entire effort.”

Yet the milestone attracted a mix of praise and disappointment from some members of the public, with half of the roughly dozen public comments questioning its value in the face of several recent controversial votes by city council that have drawn considerable ire over environmental grounds. These primarily include a few high-profile land use and development projects.

The proposed Sid Commons apartment complex in the Payran neighborhood and the east side single-family Corona Road development linked to SMART’s second station are both facing citizen-led lawsuits alleging environmental violations. The vote in both projects was 5-2, with Mayor Teresa Barrett and Vice Mayor D’Lynda Fischer casting opposing decisions.

“I hear this committee talking and then I look at the city council, and there doesn’t seem to be any relation between what this committee is saying and what the council is doing,” said resident Beverly Alexander, the signatory on the lawsuit filed against the Sid Commons project near the Petaluma River.

This recent frustration was nearly anticipated by the city attorney and staff liaison, who have struck sobering tones in characterizing what they see as a long road ahead in establishing the nascent commission that has no clear antecedent. Although a growing number of local governments are taking climate change policy into their own hands, a devoted commission like Petaluma’s remains a rarity.

Each of the commission’s six meetings so far have often stretched into the night, filled primarily with mundane discussions of coordinating commissioner schedules, divvying up workloads and assembling ad-hoc committees. Nearly all of the commissioners are new to the world of local government as well, adding an additional layer of novelty to the dais.

Public discussion over striking a balance between the slow work of establishing the commission with calls from local activists to take more urgent action began to percolate early on. The introduction of this draft document, although boasting a wealth of climate and sustainability data specific to Petaluma along with carefully-constructed action steps, saw that simmering frustration briefly surface.

“I would really like to encourage the commission to seek every opportunity to partner with action,” said resident Taryn Obaid, who has been vocal in her disapproval of the Sid Commons project. “But the majority of our city council, with the exception of D’Lynda (Fischer) and Teresa (Barrett), are just not representing what the emergency declaration is all about and it’s really angering me and a lot of other people.”

Although the meeting featured its first round of public criticisms, all categorically commended the commissioners and celebrated this first step, instead directing their dissatisfactions with city council.

The draft document is the product of what Chair Ann Baker called “hundreds of hours of volunteer work” by commissioners and more than 40 citizens representing a range of expertise.

The plan traces climate change mitigation and carbon sequestration methods, infrastructure adaptation, how to engage with and educate the community and incorporate climate justice and equity throughout the process.

Its primary purpose is to brand Petaluma as a county leader and to integrate with the upcoming General Plan update process to cement policy suggestions in the city’s planning goals.

Unlike its closest equivalent the Planning Commission, Petaluma’s Climate Action Commission is strictly advisory. Suggestions range from establishing a Climate Change Department, allocating new sources of funding, holding a “Disaster Fair” to educate the public, performing a survey to measure residents’ knowledge, dramatically reducing fossil fuel emissions and restoring green spaces.

The draft and associated work plan also met public eyes for the first time amid the coronavirus economic downturn, a new financial reality that commissioner Panama Bartholomy posed to staff during the meeting.

Although prior talk of hiring a consultant may be on the back burner, city manager Peggy Flynn was careful to underscore the commission’s mandate as part of the city’s top goals for the year despite the financial crisis.

“We are having budget issues, but I don’t think we can afford not to invest in this effort,” Flynn said.

Next steps for the draft include a finalizing process after which it will go before city council for review, comment and input. Although commissioners say the timeline remains fluid and subject to change, they are still aspiring to see full adoption of its comprehensive and ambitious plan to tackle climate change by the end of this year.

“It’s going to be a slow turn, like steering a giant ship,” Fischer said. “But when you look at the priorities in our community as well as the goals we’ve made as a city, I think it’s apparent there is a desire to make sure we implement these policies.”

(Contact Kathryn Palmer at kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com, on Twitter @KathrynPlmr.)