County supervisors adopt Climate Action Plan update and certify supplemental EIR; smart‑growth analysis advanced

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to adopt the county's Climate Action Plan Update and to certify its supplemental environmental impact report, a staff presentation said would set a local path to reach net‑zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and provide CEQA streamlining for discretionary development.

The action adopted the CAP update, certified the SEIR and related CEQA findings, approved a greenhouse‑gas threshold of significance and a CAP consistency review checklist intended to streamline CEQA review for projects consistent with the general plan, and directed staff to pursue further analysis of the Fire Safe and VMT (vehicle miles traveled) Efficient smart‑growth alternative as part of ongoing land‑use work. Chairwoman Vargas moved the measure; Vice Chair Lawson Reamer seconded it. The measure passed with Supervisors Vargas, Reamer and Montgomery Smith voting yes and Supervisors Anderson and Desmond voting no.

County planning staff told the board the CAP Update is a community‑driven plan combining a greenhouse‑gas inventory, reduction targets and a set of measures across five sectors to reduce emissions. The staff presentation said measures include actions for the built environment and transportation, energy, solid waste, water and wastewater, and agriculture and conservation, and that the CAP is designed to meet 2030 interim targets and a goal of net zero by 2045 without using carbon offsets. The presentation said nine county departments would implement measures and that the county's five‑year implementation cost is estimated at $650,000,000, with about 76 percent tied to existing programs and 24 percent to expanded or new programs.

Staff said the update would not immediately change local building codes; any code updates would be developed later and brought back to the board (staff indicated code updates would be scoped in 2026 and coordinated with anticipated state code changes). Staff also described a CAP checklist that projects consistent with the general plan could use to streamline CEQA greenhouse‑gas review; projects that do not use the checklist would need to rely on other CEQA thresholds.

The CAP divides emissions reductions roughly as follows for 2030: the built environment and transportation sector accounts for about 36 percent of reductions, the energy sector about 45 percent, solid waste about 6 percent, water and wastewater about 1 percent, and agriculture and conservation about 12 percent, according to staff slides presented to the board.

Public commenters were largely supportive of the plan while many urged the board to adopt the Fire Safe and VMT Efficient smart‑growth alternative analyzed in the SEIR. "This alternative will direct development away from high and very high wildfire zones, reduce green pollution, decrease traffic, and preserve wildlands and endangered species," said Dr. Peter Anderson, volunteer officer of the Sierra Club, during public comment. Multiple environmental groups and union representatives testified in favor of the CAP and of directing further work on the Fire Safe and VMT Efficient concept.

Developers and building industry representatives supported adoption of a legally compliant CAP but warned that selecting a single smart‑growth alternative now could conflict with other ongoing county land‑use efforts and would raise feasibility concerns. "This Fire Safe and VMT Efficient is no growth," said John Kilkenny, co‑founder and partner at Nolan Communities. "That's not a zoning overlay. That's a general plan amendment because you cannot increase densities through zoning." He and other industry speakers asked the board to allow the county's sustainable land‑use framework and development feasibility work to proceed before adopting any mandatory land‑use changes.

Chairwoman Vargas framed the board action around equity and implementation. "In order to really implement this plan effectively, the Climate Action Plan, we must fully prioritize equity, especially for our frontline communities as we transition into a greener future," she said during the meeting while introducing a motion that included directing staff to convene the county's environmental justice working group and to incorporate equity indicators and monitoring into CAP implementation. The motion also directed staff to pursue integration of smart‑growth concepts into the ongoing sustainable land‑use framework and to evaluate implementation options such as overlays, incentives for development within smart‑growth areas, infrastructure studies, and potential zoning or land‑use changes before any formal land‑use amendments.

The board's adopted motion included specific implementation elements discussed by staff: annual CAP monitoring reports, emissions inventory updates at least every two years, CAP updates at least every five years, and development of an equity implementation framework that staff said would guide prioritized investments and track outcomes. Staff told the board the CAP update was prepared to satisfy mitigation requirements in the 2011 General Plan programmatic EIR and to address deficiencies cited in the 2018 court ruling on the county's earlier CAP. The staff presentation referenced state requirements such as SB 32 and regional planning materials including SANDAG's 2021 regional plan as background to the smart‑growth alternatives.

The motion passed 3-2. Supervisors Anderson and Desmond voted no and expressed concerns that selecting the Fire Safe and VMT Efficient alternative now could constrain housing capacity in unincorporated areas and that additional feasibility work is needed. Supervisors who voted for the motion said it adopts the CAP and its SEIR while directing additional analysis and community‑focused implementation steps, not immediate land‑use changes.

Next steps listed by staff include beginning the local code update process in coordination with anticipated 2025 state code changes, preparing detailed cost studies, and advancing any chosen smart growth alternative for further technical and CEQA analysis before any zoning or general plan amendments are made.

Votes at a glance: the board adopted the CAP Update and certified the supplemental EIR; the vote was 3 yes (Chairwoman Vargas; Vice Chair Lawson Reamer; Supervisor Montgomery Smith), 2 no (Supervisor Anderson; Supervisor Desmond).