Planning Commission takes a look at climate change

||| BY STEVE BERNHEIM, ORCASONIAN REPORTER |||

If you are concerned that San Juan County government is not doing enough to reduce the county’s carbon footprint, you should know the Planning Commission just received a briefing at its Feb. 19 monthly meeting on how climate change and its consequences for water supplies, fire, ocean acidification and temperature extremes are reflected in the various drafts of the County’s future comprehensive plan, now being written.

The County’s current comprehensive plan mentions climate change only in its 2018 “Vision Statement” since the rest of the plan was written for the most part decades ago: for example, the Governance plan was written in 2001, and the Introduction and Water Resources sections were last revised in 2010. Even the current Transportation element (revised in 2016), the Land Use element (last revised in 2019) and the Shoreline Master Plan element (adopted last month) do not mention climate change.

But by June 2018, the County Council had added a new section to the County’s vision statement to say:

Our community sets an example with its response to climate change. We prepare to address the negative effects in advance before they become crises. Our community encourages voluntary efforts and enacts incentives and regulations if necessary to reduce our carbon footprint. (Resolution 27-2018).

And only two years later, June 2020, the County Council declared its clear-sighted intention in Resolution 20-2020 1) to take a leadership role on climate action and adaption and 2) to “incentivize” residents, businesses and visitors “to take individual action on climate change.”

Now the Planning Commission is deciding if more can be done and hence called for briefing. Staff began by showing the role of climate change in current drafts, reviewing the 10 draft Elements one-by-one.

Admittedly, some of the current drafts of the 10 Elements do not contain any goals or policies directly tied to climate change: the current drafts of Governance (Element 1), Land Use and Rural (2), Shoreline Master Plan (3), Water Resources (4), and Historical and Archaeological Preservation (9)) do not mention climate change.

But others do.

The draft Housing (5) Element proposes the goal of promoting climate resiliency by minimizing the environmental impacts of the housing stock.

The draft Transportation (6) Element includes a goal to develop a transportation system that encourages “greenhouse gas emission reductions … when physically and economically feasible” and to establish a planning process “for transportation infrastructure to evaluate actions to increase community and environmental resilience to climate change.” Draft goals also include abandoning infrastructure actually impacted by climate change and supporting ferry electrification.

The draft Capital Facilities (7) element, which concerns County infrastructure and fleet equipment, includes a goal of operating infrastructure and equipment that have “reduced environmental impact” and are “resilient to climate change.”

The draft Utilities (8) element contains new goals to “minimize the environmental impacts of electricity production and use while promoting energy independence,” and to collaborate with Orcas Power and Light Co-operative in achieving its goals for “local energy resiliency.”

Last but not least, the draft Economic Development (10) element of the plan includes “eleven goals, policies and actions for adapting to and reducing” the actual effects of climate change for the next 15 years, as follows:

• Support workers who “need to continually hone their skills to adapt to changes in … climate”
• “Improve and maintain infrastructure …, particularly in support of … the enhancement of … environmental … resilience, and to protect environmental services … as consistent with rural character.”
• Encourage improvement in efficiency of the ferry service.
• Create a long-term, sustainable energy plan “to offset increases in electric rates and promote energy independence and resilience.”
• “Adopt a standard for valuation of natural capital and assets, ecosystem services, and rural character to support prioritizing resource allocation, and balancing community, environmental, and commercial interests.”
• “Enhance economic resilience to natural … disruptions.”
• “Encourage the reduction … of fossil fuel consumption to reduce the competitive handicap suffered by businesses and work force alike due to the cost of importing such fuels”
• “Encourage … action regarding negative impacts from climate change.”
• Enact land use regulations “to encourage the use of electric energy from local providers as an economically favorable alternative to fossil fuels.”
• Continue county acquisition of electric vehicles “as and when financially advantageous” and
• Promote “agricultural best management practices that build resilience in the face of climate change.”

Following the update, the Planning Commissioners asked each other whether more could be done:

• Should more climate goals or policies be added to any of the Elements ?
• Should the 2036 comprehensive plan contain a separate Element devoted solely to climate change ?
• Should there be a county Climate Czar ?
• Should there be a citizen task force to make climate change recommendations to the county council ?
• Can county staff complete the comprehensive plan on time if climate change becomes a focus of attention ?
• Is it time to revise the 2018 vision statement ?

No one mentioned taking an inventory of emissions, or targeting specific reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, but after raising other questions for over an hour, the Commissioners decided by consensus to “instruct the [county] staff to modify [the current drafts of] the Elements to include extended discussion of climate change.”
Once the staff returns with “beefed-up” climate change goals and policies the Planning Commission again will take up planning for climate changes through 2036.

If you have suggestions for the Planning Commission on goals or policies relating to climate change, you should email them sooner than later to compplancomments@sanjuanco.com.

If you have comments about Planning Commission not related to the comprehensive plan, email lyndag@sanjuanco.com.

The next Planning Commission meeting will be Friday, March 19 at 8:30 a.m.; access livestream links here: Planning Commission | San Juan County, WA.