HomeMy WebLinkAbout6-1-20 Climate Action Commission AgendaIowa City Climate Action Commission Age nda
Monday, June 1, 2020, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Electronic Meeting, Zoom Platform
Meeting Agenda:
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1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of May 4, 2020 minutes
4. Public Comment of items not on the Agenda
5. Staff Announcements
a. Discussion of updated work plan for “Accelerating Iowa City’s Climate Actions” (see
attachment)
b. Updates from Climate Action and Outreach office
6. Old Business:
a. Assigned to the Building’s Working Group for further review: Request from Council for
Commission to research and advise the Council on the carbon footprint of buildings of
varying density and scale
7. New Business:
a. Review and discuss transportation and waste metrics
b. Public input on “Accelerating Iowa City’s Climate Actions”
c. Ensuring equity is considered for all climate actions
d. Update on working groups
i. Buildings (Krieger, Karr, Soglin)
ii. Transportation (Leckband, Giannakouros)
iii. Outreach (Krieger, Fraser, Holbrook, Bradley)
iv. Equity/Adaptation (Tate, Hutchinson)
v. Waste (Bradley, Sarsfield)
8. Recap of actionable items for commission, working groups, and staff
9. Adjourn
If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact
Brenda Nations, Sustainability Coordinator, at 319-356-6161 or at brenda-nations@iowa-city.org. Early
requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.
MINUTES PRELIMINARY
IOWA CITY CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION
MAY 4, 2020 – 3:30 PM – FORMAL MEETING
ELECTRONIC MEETING
MEMBERS PRESENT: Madeleine Bradley, Grace Holbrook, John Fraser, Stratis
Giannakouros, Kasey Hutchinson, GT Karr, Matt Krieger, Jesse
Leckband, Katie Sarsfield, Becky Soglin, Eric Tate
MEMBERS ABSENT:
STAFF PRESENT: Ashley Monroe, Brenda Nations
OTHERS PRESENT: Miriam Kashia and Sheila Zeithamel
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
None
CALL TO ORDER:
Krieger called the meeting to order.
APPROVAL OF MARCH 9, 2020 MINUTES:
Minutes were approved.
PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
Kashia spoke about the importance of trees and noted that trees are being removed although
they are helpful in reduce emissions and providing shade. She hoped that there might be a
permitting process for tree removal in the future. Zeithamel asked how we were going to report
the climate action progress to the public and would like to see updates on how the City is
progressing.
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible
or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission
members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19.
Climate Action Commission
May 4, 2020
Page 2 of 8
STAFF/COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Nations introduced Sarah Gardener, Climate Action Engagement Specialist. Nations then
updated the Commission on what staff has worked on the last month and went over highlights
on the document that was attached to the agenda. The Commission will have regular updates
from the newly created Climate Action and Outreach Office, which Nations will provide in the
Commission packets on a regular basis. Now that the Accelerated Action report has been
approved, staff will update the Commission on implementation progress. Nations is working on
gathering data for the 2019 greenhouse gas inventory, and all data won’t be available until mid-
summer.
REQUEST FROM COUNCIL FOR COMMISSION TO RESEARCH AND ADVISE COUNCIL
ON THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF BUILDINGS OF VARYING DENSITY AND SCALE:
Krieger noted this item has been assigned to the Building's W orking Group for further review.
PUBLIC INPUT ON “ACCELERATING IOWA CITY’S CLIMATE ACTIONS”:
Krieger noted they need to look at both incremental and big structural change. They need to
work for big structural change, and in the meantime, also work incrementally because we have
to make progress. Regarding the project that the Commission voted down, I think that was a
communication issue. Quite honestly, a bunch of people in the public called and emailed and
sent information to the Council members because they didn't understand what the project was
really about, and how important it was. So that may actually be a failure on the process for the
review of that project and how it was engaged to the public, and then also a failure on us on
communication for why it's important to have.
Soglin stated while she doesn’t want to go down this path too much, as there are other things on
the agenda, but just there was a slight mistake in what was said, it was not the Commission that
voted down the solar panels, it was a Council vote. She just wants to make sure that is very
clear, the Commission's engagement on that was limited because of how much time and
information they were able to have to process that. It was a complex case, and more than just
an aesthetics were at issue. Soglin agrees there needs to be more than just slow incremental
processes happening, and noted there are allies on the solar project and she just wants the
Commission to be careful how they discuss that and respect that there were some legitimate
opposition to that and the Commission did not have a chance to fully discuss it.
Tate noted it in the reports of discussions in Commission activities, for example the 100-Day
report, the actions are framed somatically, they're framed by who would act upon them and be
included, they are framed temporarily. He thinks perhaps missing is framing in terms of level of
impact and addressing the problem. Perhaps that should be a more core factor in the things that
the Commission are considering and discussing, the level of impact, and then advise to the
Council.
Giannakouros agreed and noted that behavior change matters need to be clear, and how do
they communicate in balance that there are these things, big structural things, that need to be
Climate Action Commission
May 4, 2020
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done and we have to get together as an Iowa City greater community and think about and move
towards that. They can't let people think that somehow this Commission is going to solve it by
suggesting that people do certain things. The City is moving in a good direction, MidAmerican
is going to zero out emissions as a City, and the consumption of electricity is going to be net
zero, those sorts of things are going to happen, but even that is not enough. We may need to
frame communication appropriately such as rooftop solar is better than the utility but there can
be both and the City is nowhere close to making that kind of change in society. The message is
we need to get more serious, but fear mongering is bad for communicating. He noted the last
few weeks have been a wakeup call.
Krieger noted this is something that the Commission will continue to discuss, and it's certainly
something they can address more specifically in the Outreach Working Group.
ENSURING EQUITY IS CONSIDERED FOR ALL CLIMATE ACTIONS;
Tate noted he talked to colleague, Stephanie Bowers, the equity director for Iowa City, and had
a call with the working group for equity and adaptation. Sarah Gardener was also on the call.
They talked a little bit about issues around equity being not just who's affected by these
outcomes but thinking about inclusion of disparate groups in the process of decision making and
framing. Tate noted one of the key things that came out of it was having a understanding of the
difference between communication and engagement with the communication strategy. They
are thinking about raising awareness where, by contrast in the engagement strategies, really
thinking about building new partnerships that are longer term and relationship building.
Tate acknowledged they are bringing voices into these activities and decision making that aren’t
typically included in regular channels, for example thinking about communication strategies and
Bowers brought up an example of a heavy focus on digital processes, LinkedIn, mailing lists and
things. Through COVID communication strategic it showed technology is good but also needed
to be complemented by old school approaches of posting flyers in various places and things like
that. So thinking a bit more creatively and not just sending out notices and thinking everybody
will receive them because that's likely not the case.
Tate stated they talked a bit about the baseline knowledge required for people that are on this
Commission, as they are looking at these actions with equity lens in mind. Some things that
came up were bias training, which did get set up for the Commission, or a baseline
understanding of racial equity issues, what that means to think about how different climate
impacts having a deeper understanding of that. They talked a little bit about measuring equity
and the need for some baseline measures so that they can then compare that to the impact of
actions. Bowers is a really strong proponent of mapping to understand how these populations
and these benefits or investments or deployment of resources are implemented across town.
As for events, particularly outreach, Tate said they need to think more deeply not just about
who's included, and who is communicating, but other things such as is food provided, are
interpreters going to be at these places, are there parking fees associated with locations, and
they need to reach out to places of worship. These might be some other things they might need
to consider in the Equity Group. Intern Quan Fawn put together the framework for what she's
called folder mapping which is identifying leading community organizations and placing them in
a chart in terms of characteristics of who's likely to be the most impacted by climate change,
Climate Action Commission
May 4, 2020
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and who has the most influence in shaping decisions and conversations. Then using this
mapping, putting it in these four quadrants, they can identify groups to reach out in thinking
about inclusion efforts. Additionally, the outcome from such a process would be useful for more
than just understanding how the benefits of climate actions are going to be distributed across
groups, but also utility for inclusion and communication, and events and outreach and all these
things that they’ve been talking about.
Fraser noted that the same people that are adversely impacted by COVID are the same people
that are going to be negatively impacted by climate. He stated there are some exceptions to that
but they ought to be aware of who in Iowa City or Johnson County doesn't have a job right now,
who's unemployed and what's the correlation between that and the similar impact to that same
group of people if they don't resolve these climate issues. There is the old adage of the rich get
richer and the poor get poorer is really being proven right now, unfortunately. They really need
to be sensitive to that group that's being adversely impacted right now by COVID because
there's going to be an overlap with them in climate issues.
UPDATE ON WORKING GROUPS:
Krieger moved onto the updates from working groups. The last item summarized what the
Equity and Adaptation Working Group has been working on.
Waste: Bradley noted they had been talking about a couple things that they might get started
working on and had planned to get together with some people from AmeriCorps and tour
Sarsfield’s plant, but most of the stuff that they had talked about was kind of sidelined when
COVID happened. They are planning to get together soon and talk about how they can move
forward more virtually.
Buildings: Soglin noted they already reported on outreach to the Iowa City area Association of
Realtors and looking at the ways energy scores could be tied to the MLS.
Soglin stated there had been a request with MidAmerican to potentially provide some census
track level data to help understand energy usage, especially in areas where folks are struggling
to pay those bills. That information could help with motivations to reduce energy use, and
perhaps deal with things like the split incentive. There was an additional report from the
Johnson Clean Energy District Group, they've been a little bit stymied in rolling out some of their
pilot programs, understandably, they can't do much given that Green AmeriCorps can't be
actively in homes, but they are hopeful that maybe something could happen by the fall.
Soglin stated the Ben Grimm, who attends the meetings, had reported the Iowa City Community
School District had planned to have their climate plan in June, but that's been delayed.
However, the AmeriCorps team is still working on building data and help to find ways to
decrease extraneous appliances. Krieger and Soglin are both sharing information with Grimm
on different types of appliance audits and something called the Green Ribbon School checklist
that Krieger had. Grimm had also noted that some meetings regarding solar unfortunately had
to be postponed. Soglin had reported that the Johnson County solar group will hopefully still
take place but likely with a virtual format. Some positives being mindful of the difficult situation
everyone is in, there will be household savings, some increased jobs, and contributions to clean
energy. There will be a lot of focus on education and mindfulness about people's financial
situations, but hopefully done in a way so that regardless of income, people have an interest
Climate Action Commission
May 4, 2020
Page 5 of 8
and can get involved.
Soglin noted additionally there was some discussion of the South District Plan and they think
they just need to know how much more input might be needed on that and they're going to
reach out to staff to find out what might be needed since it was more than just the building
working group that would be affected but the Commission as a whole.
Transportation: Leckband stated they had a meeting several weeks ago and the big item is
waiting on the transportation study results, they are assuming that's something that's been put
on hold by COVID.
Leckband noted some of their discussion centered around just needing to engage with more of
the groups and he had asked Nations last week about getting that equity piece, and just
engaging with more people outside of this group and people that will be affected. Basically,
they are just waiting on some of those other pieces to fall in place.
Giannakouros added one of the other things that they talked about was understanding what the
intermediary policies are between big things such as why some choose to drive their car to work
versus commute could have everything to do with when the start of the school day is right or, as
schools consolidate and move, so it's understanding those things that are that are below the
surface that dictate policy that aren't so explicit. It is also trying to identify someone from the
school district or others who will know things about why, why there are impediments to certain
modes of transit that may not readily make themselves apparent.
Nations added they did have a great discussion at their last meeting talking about how to really
get people to reduce their vehicle miles traveled and that was before COVID because now
everybody has reduced their vehicle miles traveled. Nations thinks it will be a matter of learning
how to slow down and stay at home because she feels they are going to have huge rebounds,
so they need to talk about both infrastructure as a transportation group and also behavior chain.
Leckband noted that he is struggling to rationalize what COVID is currently bearing, but there's
going to be a move towards telehealth right now in a city that depends a lot on medical history.
A lot of regulations that stood in the way of telecom were temporarily demolished, some of those
are going to come back for good reason, but it's allowed. There are other issues such as now
tons and tons of people walking, and will they continue to keep it up. So, this may be an
opportunity to rethink the way we do a lot of stuff, post COVID, that might have a real impact
long term on behavior chains or structure chains. For example, working from home, it seems
like the dam is broken on that and there’s going to be more flexibility that wasn't there before
this. Also talking about conferences, how many conferences to attend versus how many can be
done through zoom? These sorts of things are going to come to fruition, and they should be
talking about that in the transportation sector for sure.
Fraser noted it strikes him that some people will drive because of ego, they've got a Mercedes,
and they want to be seen driving that Mercedes. He’d like to think we could get to a point where
it's like wearing a mask today, he considers wearing a mask a status symbol to state he is not
naive, and he is protecting other people. He would want to get to the point where there can be
equal status by taking public transportation to show that one is really aware of the damage that
they cause when driving their Mercedes and burning fossil fuel. It's just that mindset of what
gives you status and why is it important to have a big mindset switch.
Climate Action Commission
May 4, 2020
Page 6 of 8
Giannakouros agreed there's certainly lessons to be learned from this time of social distancing
and could be applied to all the different components. Maybe that's something within the working
groups they should each be discussing, what could they take advantage of what's been learned
during this process. Obviously, people are anxious for things to go back to normal but there are
definitely some positives that could be pull from this time as kind of a silver lining.
Karr noted he has seen some studies that note if the average person worked from home one
day a week, the reduction in co2 emissions is pretty huge, and for a host of reasons that seems
to be where we're going post this, especially if this lingers 12 to 18 months. However, if it's
something like that comes to pass, that's a landscape shift that is unachievable through just
asking people to change behavior. Keeping an eye on experiments and encouraging employers
to stick with them post COVID could be a strategy. As a Commission can they encourage Iowa
City to continue with this as long as productivity is not hurting or to advocate for these things to
make them more present people's minds.
Outreach: Krieger mentioned the outreach group has been focused a lot on the climate action
festival, but also diving deeper into the climate ambassador program advising on that as it gets
developed and rolled out now that Gardener has joined the staff. One of the things that they did
also talk about in outreach is it'd be good to have a detailed work plan associated with each of
the actions that that the staff are working on. This would allow for more succinctly or concisely
and also as they start to address the issues around communication, who are they talking to and
equity issues. It was something that they brought up as part of the presentation to City Council.
Nations and staff on that process and what that might look like.
STAFF/COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Nations stated the City Planner would like to come to the next meeting to discuss the Riverfront
Crossing Districts. Also, the Historic Preservation Commission wanted the Climate Action
Commission to come to one of their meetings and they might want to come to one ours.
Nations also asked if anybody would be interested in marking down the action items for this
group, so to make sure that they're in the notes and to maybe email them out to people right
after the meeting. On her action item list, she has that she needs to send out that list to some of
the working groups about outreach to of those groups that they want to discuss regarding
equity.
Soglin stated she did not take notes during the meeting but is willing to help review whatever
someone else might have written down as all the action items and help that get that sent out.
Nations asked if there were any action items for working groups for the next month that needed
to be addressed. One action item for the whole group might be to think about what kind of input
they want from the public. But also, some of the working groups can do that in their meetings
and bring it back to the large group.
Soglin suggested in the future to designate someone at the start to write those down. She is
finding herself overwhelmed just with the management of the working group she is in and
maybe they can just come up with a process for that.
Climate Action Commission
May 4, 2020
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Krieger suggested they address this at the beginning of the next meeting, noting it is good
thought as they move forward to identify an individual to jot down the action items discussed.
Fraser noted one of his action items on behalf of the outreach group is to contact Gardener to
coordinate with her to make sure that she's comfortable with some of the direction that they've
taken thus far.
Nations noted it seems like a lot of the action items are for either individuals or for the working
groups, but they could have those recorded as well. Overall the Commission's action was to get
through that 100-day report and get the response to Council. Moving forward would be for
individuals or for working groups to do and to report back on. She thinks the public input is the
main thing that they'd want input on as an action for the whole Commission to decide on. She
will add that to the June agenda
ADJOURNMENT:
Karr made a motion to adjourn.
Giannakouros seconded the motion.
A vote was taken, and the motion passed unanimously.
Climate Action Commission
May 4, 2020
Page 8 of 8
NAME TERM EXP. 10/7/2019 11/4/2019 12/2/2019 1/6/2020 2/10/2020 3/9/2020 5/4/2020 6/1/2020 Madeleine Bradley 12/31/2022 -- -- X X X O/E X
John Fraser 12/31/2020 X X X X X X X
Stratis
Giannakouros UI Rep X X X X X X X
Grace Holbrook 12/31/2021 X X X O/E O/E O/E X
Kasey Hutchinson 12/31/2022 -- -- X X X X X
GT Karr 12/31/2020 X X X X X X X
Matt Krieger 12/31/2020 X X X X X X X
Jesse Leckband
MidAmerican
Rep X X X X X X X
Katie Sarsfield 12/31/2020 X X O/E X X O/E X
Becky Soglin 12/31/2022 -- -- X X X X X
Eric Tate 12/31/2021 X X X X X X X
KEY: X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
NM = No
Meeting
-- -- = Not a Member
CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2019 - 2020
Climate Action and Outreach Office Updates: May 2020
Recent Activity
Community-wide Climate Action
o Implementation of Accelerating Iowa City’s Climate Actions, tracking and reporting
o Created work plan for the 35 actions for which implementation will be initiated in 2020
o Included start times (by month) along with other updates
o Internal staff meetings to introduce new employee and gather recent updates
pertaining to Plan actions
o Climate Action Grants
o FY2020 grants due for completion end of June
o FY2021 grants awarded, will share recipients next month
o Climate at Work (Green Business) pilot –
o Rebooted program (recognition-focused) to be led by Economic Development
Coordinator
o Develop annual CAAP metrics and tracking process
o Draft of transportation metrics created, distributed to city staff and working groups for
feedback
o Draft of waste metrics created with assistance from city staff
Events
o Monarch Festival: August 1, 8, 15, 22
o Restructured as a virtual event with different activities for each weekend in August
o Turning over to Parks and Rec next year
o Farm to Street Planning Committee: August 13
o Alternatives being explored, including boxed dinners to go or postponing
o Climate Festival: Sept. 19-Sept. 26
o Recalibrated as weeklong virtual and independent activity celebration during which
residents, businesses, and organizations will be encouraged to share their “climate
action story” through social media channels
o Structured to highlight different focus areas of the plan (buildings, transportation,
waste, adaptation, sustainable lifestyle) throughout the week
o Daily “challenges” connected to the Climate Action Toolkit and activities related to focus
areas will supplement virtual events with “live” activities
Ongoing Projects
Equity Outreach Program
o Received update of Equity Report (some minor additions still needed), work with equity working
group, and introduce to community groups to begin equity outreach program development
Reporting and Metrics
o Climate Action Commission and working groups, meetings and associated work – working on
metrics for each section to be completed in next couple of months
o Annual community-wide GHG reporting and reporting – data collection still in progress for CY
2019
Current Grant Projects
o IEDA-Eastern Iowa EV Readiness Planning- contract signed, grant agreement in process
o Heartland Carbon Sequestration (USDN grant just awarded with Columbia, MO and Lincoln, NE,
9 months - 1 year)
Communications (with part-time Sustainability Communications Assistance)
o Ongoing monthly Sustainability Newsletter
o Working on communications strategy, news releases, water bill inserts
Municipal Energy and Climate (with part-time Climate Action Assistant)
o Municipal utilities tracking and analysis
o Start tracking water usage of municipal facilities
o Municipal GHG inventory reporting (~ every 5 years)
o Staff Climate Committee – municipal climate plan
o Working with staff to incorporate GHG reductions and increasing sustainability practices
within City operations
Sustainability Groups and Committees
o USDN groups, Innovation Fund grant committee, annual meeting
o Heartland (Midwestern) Monthly calls, annual meeting
o Johnson County Sustainability Working Group, quarterly meetings
o Occasional travel for various climate workshops and projects, often with other City staff
members (ex. Communications, Transportation, Affordable Housing, etc.)
New/
Next
Step
Plan
Alignment
Month to
Initiate Workplan Equity Focus
1 Next 1.1 – 1.2, 1.6 June Initiate planning and needs assessment;
feedback from Commission working group.
Identify resources, contacts, and content.
Assess web access and source development,
method of dissemination. Support eventual
actions with strategy from communications
plan (Action 5.1 - EDU)
Imperative. Review of equity report and assistance from
EHR staff essential. Commission and Working Group
recommendations and feedback needed.
2 New 1.1-1.4 June Initiate introductions to organizations, CAO
staff understanding of goals and example
programs necessary. Meetings with City
development staff. Develop group of
stakeholders to discuss barriers and interest in
pursuing green build strategies to better
partner and build new alliances/education
opportunities. Support eventual actions with
strategy from communications plan (Action 5.1
- EDU)
Use equity report to ensure stakeholders from impacted
groups are represented, and feedback is shared with
development community, landlords, and builders.
Commission and Working Group recommendations and
feedback needed.
3 New 1.1 & 1.6 May Buildings Working Group indicated initial
conversations were in motion with local
realtors about value of this action. Staff
checked with the group members about where
this stands. CAO/CMO can offer support as
needed. Example programs elsewhere need to
be presented. More research and education
needed on realtor and homebuying/selling,
paired with engagement with ICAAR. Concerns
include an inability to sell inefficient
properties.
Benefits for informed buying/selling, may need incentive
assistance later on, if concentration of activity falls
within only a few neigborhoods or stakeholder interest
lacking. Education for all residents and renters about
housing with energy efficiency and indoor air quality
speaks to equity concerns. Commission and Working
Group recommendations and feedback needed.
1 Next 1.1 Sept Mid Summer - Meetings with Americorps,
bringing in new team. Work must be finalized
and coordinated with JCED's conceptual
expansion of Americorps responsibilities. May
need to explore non-americorps team to
perform additional assessments and
weatherization services.
Americorps is focused on certain groups - seniors, low
income, veterans. Not sure how they track or report
these demographics. May need to get creative in how
audits are performed in light of Covid-19. Education
delivery and equipment installation/provision
alternatives probably needed in short term. Establish a
mapped GIS inventory of energy efficiency assessments
and investments.
2 Next 1.1 June Need updated report from NDS on current
activity and efforts. Explore alternatives for
rehab projects and ability for City to support
incentives or supplemented energy efficent
equipment if homeowners cannot/won't pay
the difference to upgrade. Education
components necessary - communications
strategy outcomes.
Assisted households currently meet federal income
requirements. Establish a mapped GIS inventory of
energy efficiency assessments and investments. Ensure
access to energy effciency and other sustainable design
elements in each project through education and
engagement.
3 New 1.1 Fall Coordinate efforts with Neighborhood Planner,
Recreation, and community organizations;
Support actions with strategy from
communications plan (Action 5.1 - EDU); will
likely align this action with introduction of
Climate Ambasssador program. Earlier rollout
of small projects with summer activities like
Parties in the Park.
Assess equity report to determine any areas of focus.
NDS can assist with housing/permit data that can help
focus on neighborhoods with less efficient housing
stock. Outreach to underserved groups may spur
interest in blitz programs or projects. Working Group
recommendations and feedback needed.
Action
Buildings: Education
Promote Energy Efficiency and
Performance Tips to the Public
Partner with Stakeholders to
Promote Green Building and
Rehabilitation
Encourage the Local Realtor
Community to Include Energy
Performance in the Multiple
Listing Services (MLS) Property
Inventory
Buildings: Incentives
Offer Free Home Energy
Assessments through Green
Iowa AmeriCorps
Enhance Energy Standards for
City Rehabilitation Projects
Coordinate Neighborhood
Energy Blitz Events
4 New 1.2 & 5.4 May Economic Development finalizing
requirements. Program examples needed to
finalize development of project framework.
Beginnning steps for establishing and
approving Urban Renewal Areas initating in
summer 2020.
5 New 1.1 – 1.4 July JCED applied for a small grant for
neighborhood pilot program. Must define GIA
involvement, capacity and scheduling. Explore
RFQ for external partner/s to implement a
program.
Approach to populations served critical. Commission
and Working Group recommendations and feedback
needed for further development.
1 New 1.1 -1.2 June Staff is enrolled in energy inspections training.
Additional inspector budgeted in FY21. CAO to
meet with NDS staff to understand what staff
will be looking at and for, addressing through
compliance checks.
Commission/Working Groups should assist with how
they would like to measure equity and what should be
reported to show progress.
2 New 1.3 – 1.4 Aug Begin review of options, develop revisions to
policy, introduce for Council adoption.
Stakeholder process required. Buildings
Working Group and Commission involvement
in policy review.
Greater equity can be achieved through a geographic
distribution of benefits. Education and advocacy could
benefit populations impacted and served by policy
implementation.
1 New 1.1 – 1.4 May Inquire at State about progress for rule making
process. Determine whether additional actions
necessary, including letters to elected officials.
Covid-19 delayed meetings in spring 2020.
Timing may require advocacy efforts expanded
into 2021.
Could support these efforts with help from education
and advocacy from underserved groups that directly
benefit from housing improvements.
2 New 1.1 – 1.4 May Eligible staff voted for adoption of new IECC
codes earlier in 2020. This action requires
letters to and engagement with elected
officials. Will proceed but timing may require
advocacy efforts expanded into 2021.
Could support these efforts with help from education
and advocacy from underserved groups that directly
benefit from housing improvements.
1 New 1.5 April Brought forward to City Council in April and
was not approved. No next steps planned at
this point. Will assess opportunities as
locations or chances present themselves.
New/
Next
Step
Plan
Alignment
Month to
Initiate Workplan Equity Focus
1 New 2.3 August Define Transporation metrics. Develop a video
in fall for Climate Ambassador Program which
will also be available to public. Identify how we
will engage all residents.
Review equity Report to identify groups and locations to
focus attention. Somewhat reliant upon
recommendations of transit study. Explore language
translations. Commission and Working Group
recommendations and feedback needed.
Buildings Regulations
Launch a TIF-funded climate
action incentive program
aimed at reducing industrial
energy consumption *(New)
Develop or Partner with Local
Stakeholders on a
Comprehensive Climate Action
Rehabilitation Program
Solar Partnership with
MidAmerican
Action
Transportation: Education
Significant Transportation
Education and Outreach
Campaigns
Create a More Robust Energy
Code Inspection Program
*(New)
Incorporate Stricter Energy
Standards into Tax Increment
Financing Policies *(New)
City Policy
Advocate for State Adoption of
Advanced Energy Codes *(New)
Advocate for Aggressive
Energy Code Development and
Adoption *(New)
Public Projects
1 New 2.2 May Actions already in place but written policy
needed. Collect EV policy models and evaluate
City purchasing policy for applicable language,
staff coordinating applicable data for tracking,
will begin drafting policy late May.
2 Next 2.7 May AVL equipment provides idling data. Staff will
compile data and CAO will assist with reporting
formatting. Transportation Working Group
needs to define and clarify their
recommendation before staff can pursue
exploration of technology.
1 New 2.1 Ongoing Due to be completed in summer, may be
somewhat delayed from Covid-19. Primary
implementation of recomendations to begin in
2021.
Dependent upon study recommendations and selected
actions for implementation. Goal is to serve residents
most needing transit service. Commission and Working
Group recommendations needed.
New/
Next
Step
Plan
Alignment
Month to
Initiate Workplan Equity Focus
1 Next 3.2 June Meet with Resource Mangagement. Need to
assess current level of engagment with
proposed engagment. Determine how to tailor
it with equity in mind. Expand opportunities
with local businesses. Tie into carbon
sequestration project. Develop unit for climate
ambassadors that focuses on waste.
Focus is reliant upon meetings with staff, current efforts,
working Equity Working Group, equity report,
translations services available, and outcomes from
Communications strategy.
2 Next 3.3 July Meet with Resource Management to assess
current materials that have been developed.
Coordinate with Neighboorhood Planner.
Focus reliant upon meetings with staff, current efforts,
working Equity Working Gorup, equity report,
translations services available, and outcomes from
Communications strategy.
1 New 3.5 June Reconvene staff working on this project and
finalize project details. Community education,
possible stakeholder review.
New requirements may impact equity groups. Working
Group recommendations needed.
1 Next 3.7-3.8 May Report presented at of May. Staff will
determine next steps.
New/
Next
Step
Plan
Alignment
Month to
Initiate Workplan Equity Focus
1 New 4.2 May Program is in development. Modules
developed over the summer to be launched in
the fall. Will coordinate with Outreach and
Equity Working Groups and Communications
staff.
Development of program includes application process
not reliant upon technology to participate. If tech is
necessary, will purchase tablets or other device to loan
to ambassador participants for training activities. Special
attention paid to connection with local groups that can
recommend ambassador applicants.
Transportation: Policy
Establish an Electric and Fuel-
Efficient Vehicle Purchasing
Policy
Track Adherence to City Idling
Policy
Public Projects
Complete the Transit Study
and Implement
Recommendations to Bolster
Service and Increase Ridership
Develop Climate Amassador
Team
Engage the Public to Compost
Organic Waste
Action
Waste: Education
Education Campaigns for
Neighborhoods to Reduce
Waste/Consumption at the
Source
Waste: City Policy
Require All Park/Public Space
Rentals to Recycle and Use
"Green" Event Best Practices.
Waste: Projects
Initiate a Methane Feasibility
Study
Action
Adaptation: Education
2 Next 4.3 October Outreach meetings with Johnson Co. Public
Health, University of Iowa, etc.
Equity reach will become more clear with agency
coordination and partnering. Can use equity
scale/report to identify starting agency discussions.
1 New 4.6 July Schedule meeting to revisit ideas discussed last
year. Education and promotional campaign
development will be needed.
Need more information about plans from Project Green
to better define how equitable dispersion or availability
of trees will be possible. Post- meetings with PG, explore
development/expansion of program rollout.
Commission and Working Group recommendations and
feedback appreciated.
1 Next 4.6 August NDS will draft ordinance. Outreach and
communication needed to educate the public,
make aware.
New Ordinance will apply to new developments.
1 Next 4.5 June Met with Stormwater Team. Collect and review
current volunteer lists. Assess if we need to
promote existing program. Assess creek clean
up volunteer process.
Involving various community groups dependent on
makeup of existing volunteer listing and schedules.
Review equity report to verify benefits and participation
equitable.
2 New 4.5-4.6 May Work agreement executed with AES in May.
Significant follow up with neighborhoods
required during process. Planned
concentration on intensive maintenance in
neighborhood park prairies. Education needed
about purpose, need and care for natural
areas; build community partnerships with
advocacy groups. Explore possibility of
extended community education accompanying
prairie plantings. Proposal drafted and in staff
review.
Geographic distribution, education variables dependent
on groups impacted. Engage natural area advocacy
groups that can assist with public education.
3 Next 4.6 September Report our proposed planting for upcoming
year for municipal tree management. Identify
stumbling blocks ahead of new plantings.
Possible small group discussion with impacted
groups - residents, landlords, City staff,
businesses or development groups. Address
negative perceptions through modifcations or
education.
Review inventory maps, locate areas in need, target
workplan outreach accordingly. Emphasis on benefits of
tree canopy in low-mod neighborhoods.
4 Next 4.1-4.2 May Equity Working Group will review Equity
Report and determine further action.
Commission review of project equity review
tool for City and other community climate
projects.
Emphasis on highly impacted groups, targeted outreach
and collaboration for development and implementation
of each climate action.
New/
Next
Step
Plan
Alignment
Month to
Initiate Workplan Equity Focus
Sustainable Lifestyle: Education
Educate and Coordinate with
Local Agencies on Health
Impacts
Adaptation: Incentives
Partner with Project Green on
a Tree Planting Partnership;
Incentives for Private Tree
Planting
Adaptation: Regulation
Street Tree Ordinance
Adaptation: Projects
Flood Mitigation and
Stormwater Management
Programs/Projects; Buyouts
Continue Implemenation of
the Natural Areas
Management Plan
Expand Public Tree Planting
Equity Review of
Neighborhood and Population
Outreach; Develop Outreach
Plan for Populations Highlty
Impacted by Climate Change
Action
1 Next 5.5 September Climate Festival is in planning stages for an
online event to be launched in September.
Activities include digital and written
storytelling, coordinated indvidual/community
acivities, and expanded local partnerships.
Planning in May, outreach in June/July,
finalizing steps in August, gear up for
promotion late August - Festival in Sept.
Intentional outreach with underserved groups to ensure
access to awareness, education, and participation. Staff,
planning committee, and CAC Working Group to
connect with local ogranizations willing to partner on
activities, promotion, or hosting remote event. Efforts
underway to include translated festival materials in
digital and print formats.
2 Next 5.5 June Pilot program initiated but reboot with a
modified structure (awards/recognition
program) in the works. Three businesses with
current interest in energy data tracking. This
elevated work load requires staff to work
closely with businesses to enter energy
information into Portfolio Manager. Will
eventually use feedback from businesses to
develop framework for future benchmarking
program and business incentives.
Initial program relies heavily on voluntary participation.
Potential for granted funding tied to participation. Will
need to make a greater effort to identify and work with
businesses with less access to resources. Geographic
access and type of business should also be taken into
account. Will map geographic participation. Need
assistance from Economic Development staff, Equity &
Outreach Working Groups, and other econ dev and
small business assistance groups.
1 Next 5.4 November Consider adding non-profit and business
categories and define what the new program
will look like next year. Identify how grant
program ties into other City funding initiatives.
Could move project earlier in the year to
address direct and coorinated support for
Covid-19 recovery.
Follow Equity Report recommendations to identify and
connect with preferred applicant agencies from first tier
needs. Community organizations geared towards
underserved and disadvantaged groups could also fall
into this expansion or, the next year's funding could be
introduced specifically to certain groups from equity
report and an info session can be held by invitation for
these groups, like HRC and HCDC have done.
1 Next 5.5 September Working with Parks Department to see if there
are plans for additional community garden
areas.
Equity mapping for plot rentals exists. Need to review
2020 rentals, identify gaps in geo coverage and gaps in
possible access for certain groups. Need focused
outreach to see where needs might be to connect
unresourced individulals with plot availability in
upcoming years; will assist in identifying needs/potential
for pocket gardens in ROW.
2 Next 5.5 June Build RFP for consultant to develop marketing
plan; CMO drafting, will review with
Communications and Legal. Plan will be
focused on Iowa City attributes, alignment with
current initiatives, focused attention to
branding, models for promotional rollout
schedules, template materials for modification
by project or program, equity and "language"
for how to frame climate activities as broadly
appealing content.
Encourage selection of firm to develop this
plan/materials. Application of equity priniciples will be
part of process. Feedback from Commission welcome
prior to release of RFP.
Develop a Climate Action
Strategic Communications Plan
Host Sustainability Forum and
Events
Launch a Green Business
Program: "Climate Action at
Work"
Buildings: Incentives
Expand Community Climate
Grants
Public Projects
Community Garden
Expansion/Additions