Pamela Braff, director of climate programs, and Natalie Weiss, the city’s climate resilience coordinator, presented the draft Climate Action and Resilience chapter of the Olympia 2045 comprehensive plan on Oct. 14, explaining how the chapter addresses state requirements and how staff plan to integrate climate policies into each plan chapter.

What the chapter is and why the city updated it

Braff said the state’s HB 1181 requires jurisdictions that plan under the Growth Management Act to include a climate element; the Olympia 2045 draft organizes climate work into mitigation (emissions reduction) and resilience (adapting to impacts). “This is the first time that we’re including a climate element or a climate chapter as a part of the city's comprehensive plan,” Braff said, noting that the chapter’s policies will be integrated into other chapters, including land use, transportation, housing and public safety.

Projected climate exposures and risks

Climate staff summarized the city’s risk assessment for the 2045 planning horizon. Natalie Weiss described projected near‑term changes through the 2040s: more days above 90°F (increasing heat exposure), a higher frequency of extreme rainfall events that stress storm infrastructure, more regional wildfire smoke events, and sea level rise estimates staff are using for planning (a central estimate of about 1 foot and a high‑range scenario approaching 2 feet by 2050).

Staff said they used the climate risk and vulnerability assessment to prioritize the chapter’s policies. Braff told the council the city intends to focus on actions within local government authority — reducing vehicle miles traveled, improving building energy efficiency and electrification, supporting electric‑vehicle adoption where appropriate, and cutting solid‑waste generation.

Integration across the plan and next steps

Braff emphasized the chapter is not a stand‑alone document: staff will incorporate the climate goals and policies into each comprehensive‑plan chapter so that climate actions are embedded in transportation, housing, parks and other sections. She asked council for acceptance of the climate chapter so that staff can complete cross‑chapter integration ahead of formal adoption of the entire Olympia 2045 plan.

Speakers (attributed in reporting)

- Pamela Braff, Director of Climate Programs
- Natalie Weiss, Climate Resilience Coordinator

Clarifying details

- HB 1181 (state law) requires a climate and resiliency element for jurisdictions planning under the Growth Management Act (Braff)
- Sea level rise planning: staff used a central estimate near 1 foot by 2050, and a high‑range scenario approaching 2 feet by 2050; staff described these as planning assumptions (Weiss)
- Emissions priorities described: transportation (vehicle miles traveled) and building energy (residential/commercial) as primary local sources (Braff)

Authorities referenced

- HB 1181 (state statute requiring climate planning) — referenced by Pamela Braff
- Growth Management Act (framework for local comprehensive plans) — referenced by Pamela Braff

Provenance

- topicintro: {"block_id":"block_10752.05-10773.245","local_start":0,"local_end":1000,"evidence_excerpt":"Good evening, council. For the record, Pamela Braff, director of climate programs. Tonight, we are, going to talk about our Climate Action and Resilience chapter of the comprehensive plan.","reason_code":"topicintro"}
- topfinish: {"block_id":"block_12006.28-12026.74","local_start":0,"local_end":1000,"evidence_excerpt":"So just wanna talk about next steps because this chapter is a little bit different from all of the others. ... Once we bring this through city council acceptance, once we get that acceptance from council, we will then take the climate goals and policies that have been identified for the other chapters and then fully integrate them into those chapters.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}

Salience:{"overall":0.68,"overall_justification":"State law requires a climate element and the chapter integrates mitigation and resilience into the city’s long‑range plan; significant for long‑term city policy and capital planning."},

searchable_tags:["climate","HB1181","Olympia2045","resilience","mitigation","sea_level_rise","vehicle_miles_traveled"]