MAC Meeting: Climate and Safety Plans Reviewed
Alameda County is updating its Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) and Safety Element (SE) for the first time in a decade.
The CCAP document is a roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The revisions include equity and environmental justice in climate planning.
The CCAP includes greenhouse gas emission forecasts, which create targets and strategies, and measures for improving emissions. The county’s most recent estimate is that 73 percent of emissions come from “on road transportation,” so strategies mainly involve getting cars off the road.
State law had set reduction targets to hit the objective of carbon neutrality by 2045.
One of the highest-scoring strategies in limiting greenhouse gasses is to eliminate gaps in the existing network of bicycle and pedestrian connections to transit, schools, parks, retail, and other community amenities.
And public speakers at Monday’s meeting said they appreciated the focus on pedestrians and bicycling.
“We really need to get people out of their cars,” said speaker Bruce Dughi. “We have great bones (infrastructure) in Castro Valley. A lot of stuff is very accessible.”
Speaker Rebecca Stanek-Rykoff said that the desire for more easily accessible and safe pedestrian and bicycle features is something almost everyone in town wants despite a reluctance to sacrifice parking spots for bike lanes. She said closing gaps in the pedestrian/ bike infrastructure would benefit everyone.
“This is both a low-hanging fruit and a popular fruit,” said Stanek-Rykoff. “It’s a win-win- it would make so many people in Castro Valley much happier and go a long way to achieving these goals.
The Safety Element addresses hazards to minimize deaths, property damage, and injury from earthquakes, fires, floods, and other disasters.
The final CCAP and SE are scheduled for final approval from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in March of next year. A copy of the documents is available at www.acgov.org/cda/planning/ccapsepublic-draft.htm. The public comment period is open through Wednesday, December 6.
Members of the MAC expressed frustration with what Member Ken Carbone called the “layers of government” inherent in such documents. The MAC added that they only received the lengthy 443-page CCAP draft and 176-page SE draft four days earlier and had little time to study them
The MAC also said that although the state mandates such a plan, there are no federal or state penalties for non-compliance, so there is no real sense of accountability.
MAC member Chuck Moore asked what other counties and states are doing and if the figures in the report have been independently verified. He also asked county staff how much the actual report cost to create ($213,000).
“If I have to go buy an electric car, I want to be sure people in Oregon are too because where there is a wildfire in Oregon, we get the smoke,” said Moore.
Moore also said that the realities of public transportation clash with the idea of a thriving system.
“If you’re asking us to take public transportation, you have to make public transportation safe,” said Moore. He added that he believes that physical safety is an overall priority for most people, even over more conceptual environmental concerns.
Also, at Monday night’s meeting, the MAC approved the continual use and operation of an existing cell phone tower at 3541 Quail Avenue. The tower, housed in a faux Italian Cypress tree, is authorized to continue operation for three years provided no further issues or complaints exist. Previously, some of the fake branches and greenery had fallen, but the issues have since been resolved. The area where the tree-tower is located is owned by the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District.
An agenda item to review exterior modifications to the Jack in the Box restaurant at 3035 Castro Valley Boulevard was continued to a future meeting.