In November 2009, the City Council accepted Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funds from the Federal Department of Energy to undertake several projects to increase energy efficiency. One of these projects was the drafting of a Climate Action Plan (CAP). The Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a stand-alone community-based policy document that establishes a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions achieved through implementation of a variety of actions, that when implemented, will help to achieve broadly-supported community values including: 1) protecting our water and air resources; 2) reducing the waste-stream to the landfill; 3) improving energy-efficiency; 4) enhancing choice in mobility; and 5) creating healthy and livable communities, while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The greenhouse gas reduction opportunities come from a wide variety of sources in the community, including but not limited to transportation, buildings, and water conservation.

Drafting the Climate Action Plan - Public Involvement

In December 2010, the Merced City Council appointed an 18-member Climate Action Plan Advisory Ad-Hoc Committee. The committee met monthly with Staff from January 2011 through September 2011, to prepare the draft Climate Action Plan. The Committee consisted of citizens, representatives of schools, colleges and universities, public entities, utilities, environmental advocacy and conservation groups, the building and development community, “green-jobs” industry; and local chambers of commerce representatives. The Committee acted in an advisory role to City Staff. Key advice and direction from the Committee included: 1) Initial actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should be those with the least financial or regulatory resistance; 2) Community partnerships need to be forged and expanded; 3) Set broad goals, but let individuals (builders, business owners, etc.) select specific methods to achieve them; 4) Pursue actions, not simply based on its GHG reduction potential, but on the suite of benefits that it can provide the community; 5) Attainment of the target is grounded in the leadership model set by Council to implement the Plan; and, 6) Focus on the “what” of the plan, not the “how” – meaning the field of feasible and effective actions will continually change, whereas the Plan’s values and goals will provide long-term implementation direction.

In August 2012, the City's Economic Development Advisory Committee unanimously recommended approval of the Climate Action Plan with inclusion of a "Statement of Intent" that was placed in the Implementation Chapter of the CAP.

Implementation

The actions that we take today will ensure a sustainable future tomorrow. The Merced Community consists of an array of interested citizens and groups each containing the ability and energy to implement in whole, or as partners with others, many of the ideas and actions expressed in the Climate Action Plan. Such independent and community-based spirit is celebrated and encouraged. Implementation of Merced’s CAP will only be accomplished with the help and participation of an engaged community.

In 2013, the City of Merced launched an effort, building upon the CAP, to create a suite of tools to identify and monitor near-term community greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts, adoption of new development-related codes, and to create an urban design manual that graphically demonstrates City development policies and codes in a user-friendly format. Collectively, these tools will from the Programmatic Climate Action Plan, or PCAP. With these new tools in hand, the City will simplify the development review process, especially in regards to a projects state-mandated review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Visit the PCAP webpage.

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