SOLANA BEACH — City leaders unanimously approved an updated Climate Action Plan on Wednesday outlining a new series of goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pursuing environmentally sustainable practices.
The updated plan builds on Solana Beach’s original 2017 Climate Action Plan, or CAP, which was scheduled to be updated every five years to account for new legislation, improved technology and new research regarding best practices for addressing climate change.
City staff began the update process in 2022, gathering input from the city’s Climate Action Commission and from residents at public workshops. Solana Beach also utilized technical analysis by Ascent Environmental and UC San Diego’s Energy Policy Initiatives Center, or EPIC.
The updated CAP sets new emission reduction targets to be consistent with legislation such as Senate Bill 32 and Assembly Bill 1279. New goals include lowering the city’s emissions to 50% below 2016 levels by 2035 and 85% below 2016 levels by 2045.
An inventory of 2016 greenhouse gas emissions found around 102,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which includes carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, emitted by communitywide sources. On-road transportation was the largest contributor, making up 64% of emissions, followed by electricity at 19% and natural gas at 12%.
“Most updates in this CAP are around transportation and building electricity, as they account for the most emissions in the city,” said Senior Management Analyst Nicole Grucky.
Solana Beach is starting this next CAP cycle on a strong note, having successfully met one of its main short-term emission reduction goals from the 2017 plan. The city was tasked with decreasing emissions to 15 percent below 2010 levels by 2020, or 118,334 metric tons, which they did.
The updated CAP includes 42 actions to be taken in the next five years to help meet the city’s climate goals. These actions fall under five different “pathways,” including decarbonizing transportation, decarbonizing electricity supply, decarbonizing buildings, land use and natural climate solutions, and food systems and the circular economy.
Examples of proposed actions include:
- Allow city employees to work partially from home to reduce transportation emissions
- Expand local transportation options such as e-shuttles, including for schools
- Increase electric vehicle charging infrastructure
- Promote incentives for residents and businesses to electrify gas appliances
- Achieve 97% participation in the Clean Energy Alliance’s default option among residents, organizations and businesses by 2035
- Identify opportunities to install renewable energy generation and energy storage projects at municipal facilities
- Divert 90% of current solid waste levels from the landfill by 2045
The city will have to identify funding sources such as grants, partnerships and budget resources to implement many elements of the CAP. However, $100,000 in city funds have been set aside for specific efforts, including developing a Building Performance Standards ordinance and increasing local EV chargers.
Assistant City Manager Dan King said there are also many other ongoing city projects that promote sustainability and are not explicitly mentioned in the CAP. For example, next month, the City Council will be asked to approve spending on a new EV vehicle for the Parks and Recreation Department.
“While $100,000 is earmarked for CAP implementation, there are many areas where, if we did an evaluation of our budget, we are using it to do things differently, more sustainably. We’ll see that in the Marine Safety Facility, when we build that facility, and we’ll see that in any improvements at La Colonia Park, and we’ll see that in our vehicle asset acquisition,” King said.
Councilmember Jill MacDonald said more education is needed for the city to meet some of these goals, observing that many folks are still sending their food waste to the landfill rather than placing it in their green waste bin.
MacDonald and Mayor Lesa Heebner also noted that switching out gas appliances for electric ones can be daunting and require significant effort and money for individual homeowners. MacDonald said a guide outlining which businesses to call to help with installation and the steps involved in switching to electric would be helpful.
“I know every single homeowner in a single-family home is facing the same issue,” MacDonald said.
Councilmember Kristi Becker also noted that installing solar panels can be too expensive for individual homeowners.
However, she added that around eight households in Solan Beach have started participating in CEA’s Solar Plus Program, which installs Tesla Solar and Tesla Powerwall battery systems at participating homes at no upfront cost.
Several Climate Action commissioners involved in the CAP update encouraged the city to approve it. Commissioner Michelle Buchanan commended the city for doing their part to reduce negative impacts on the environment.
“Solana Beach has a history of environmental stewardship, and I’m proud to be a resident of a city that has taken a leadership position in fighting climate change,” Buchanan said. “There’s only so much individuals can do, so it’s incumbent on governments at all levels to take actions and make changes that only governments can.”
Solana Beach was one of the first cities to adopt a CAP in 2017 and the first to launch a Community Choice Aggregation program in 2018. The city was also one of three founding municipalities of the Clean Energy Alliance in 2019, and several other North County cities are now joining the community choice program.
At the same meeting, the City Council also unanimously approved monthly salary increases for council members to go into effect at the end of the year following the upcoming election.
Solana Beach last updated its council salaries in 2019. The mayor earns $960 per month, and council members earn $860 per month.
Salary increases were calculated by taking 5% of the current salary rate and multiplying it by the number of years since the last update. This results in increased monthly salaries of $1,032 for council members and $1,152 for the mayor.
