Rachel's Council Review

As usual for the review, my comments are in red and italicized in the context of the latest Council Preview by Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen. 
 

The Ames City Council meets on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall.  The agenda includes the following (and much more). Note that you can generally click on individual agenda items below to get the full staff report or other explanation.

• 1. Discussion on Climate Action Plan Analysis Staff Report.
  Finally, the long awaited staff report on our Climate Action Plan! This plan outlines "6 Big Moves" that aim to reduce emissions by 83% by 2030 (over 2018 levels) and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This plan has a $2.3 billion price tag, $1.4 to reach to 2030 target, and another $897 million by 2050. These costs are not borne by the City alone, but rather by all parties, including the City, businesses, individuals, developers, etc. There are a total of 29 individual action steps suggested by the consultant, though it may not be feasible to accomplish them all, so we are being asked to prioritize them to create an action plan. Staff are recommending using 8 criteria for evaluating our options, ranging from cost to legal feasibility to impact on residents and inclusion goals. To summarize, following are the 6 Big Moves. Each is detailed in the staff report according to the 8 criteria mentioned. 
• The 6 Big Moves:
  • Building retrofits
  • Net-zero new construction
  • Renewable Energy Generation
  • Reducing Vehicle Emissions
  • Increasing Active Transportation and Transit Use
  • Reducing Waste Emissions

This report signifies the beginning of our serious work towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is a sobering price tag, but the price of inaction as our global temperature continues to rise is unfathomable. 
 

Each of the Big Moves were studied by staff based on the following eight criteria:​

1. Cost - cost of investment; gain on investment; marginalized abatement cost
2. Amount of Administrative Effort Needed
3. Feasibility of Achievement
4. Legal Feasibility
5. Funding Sources
6. Impact on Residents in Terms of Property Taxes, Utility Rates, etc.
7. Impact on Inclusion
8. Cost Compared to the Tonnage of Carbon Reduced

Based on staff's research, there are a few recommendations for inclusion in an initial implementation plan. They are: 

1. Increased Wind and Solar Generation As Part Of Electric Services Portfolio​
2. Waste to Energy Improvements/Reducing Waste Emissions - options will be presented to the council on Dec 20th!​
3. New Construction - either through changing our Zoning Ordinance to include specific design features of a building that support both being net-zero ready and passive building design, requiring net-zero ready and passive design as part of annexation and contract rezoning, and/or implementing a new tax abatement program to incentivize new construction to be net-zero ready and reflect passive building design.​
4. Retrofitting Existing Buildings – Pilot Program with smaller and older homes in the Ames Electric Services territory
5. Retrofit Municipal Buildings​
6. Electrify the Municipal Fleet (Non-CyRide)​
7. Create a Mayor’s Climate Action Plan Leadership Task Force - bring together primary "community" leaders from various public and private entities (for example, ISU, ACSD, Iowa DOT, etc) that are crucial to meeting the City Council's carbon reduction goals.​

The City's Climate Action Plan is a carbon reduction strategy for the total community, and not just for the City organization. Since approximately 91% of the net costs needed to meet the City Council’s climate action goals are associated with these community entities, it is crucial to have voluntary participation from all parts of the community. The City of Ames cannot fund every action step, but can provide support to achieve the actions in other forms such as education and guidance. 

Moving forward, staff will be re-engaging the supplemental input committee to gain feedback from various sectors in the  community, get additional feedback on this report and on the broader CAP implementation plan from the public, and will start using these 7 initial items as a springboard for an implementation plan with SSG. Council will have a workshop in the spring to discuss this report and gain public feedback before voting on it.
 

Thanks for reading,

Rachel Junck

Ames City Council, Ward 4