Bothell planning commission studies draft climate action plan; commissioners favor aligning with state targets

BOTHELL, Wash. — The Bothell Planning Commission held a study session July 2 to review a draft Climate Action Plan, hear results of new greenhouse gas inventories and advise staff on outreach and target-setting as the plan is revised over the summer.

Cameron Colvin, long range planner with the Community Development Department, told the commission the project is funded by a Department of Commerce planning grant and Washington Climate Commitment Act funds and that staff are seeking commissioner feedback “to guide additional outreach and plan revisions, before we come back in the fall.” Emily Nielsen, Civic Spark fellow, joined Colvin in presenting the draft and engagement results.

The plan includes two inventories: a community-wide inventory for 2022–23 and the city’s first municipal inventory. Colvin summarized that the municipal inventory found “a little over 2,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent” in 2023, equal to about 0.4% of Bothell’s community-wide emissions, with fleet vehicles, employee commutes and facility energy use among the largest municipal sources. The community inventory shows an overall 7% decrease in emissions between 2019 and 2023, Colvin said, attributing much of that decline to increased participation in utility green power and renewable-energy credit programs.

Commissioners focused much of their discussion on which greenhouse-gas reduction targets Bothell should adopt. Colvin outlined statewide targets cited in the plan — reductions of roughly 45% by 2030, 70% by 2040 and near‑net‑zero by 2050 relative to 1990 levels — and an alternative regional framework from the King County cities consortium (K4C) with somewhat more aggressive midpoints. He said outreach so far shows roughly equal support for adopting state-aligned targets and for choosing more aggressive local goals.

Commissioner Sills said she would “align with that” state approach while pursuing targeted, low-cost pilots: “maybe there are some opportunities there to get creative with, low dollar projects that might yield a strong result or impact.” Commissioner Robson and Commissioner Westerbeck echoed support for following state or regional consistency rather than setting local targets that might be difficult to meet, with Robson saying the state goals were “very admirable.” Commissioner Gustafson urged publicizing actions that already have high community support and tracking progress.

The commission also discussed outreach tactics for a summer engagement push. Staff reported a 23-member volunteer advisory committee, two workshops held in May (on building electrification and transportation), an open second public survey to prioritize actions, and plans to post the full draft on the project web page the week of July 21. Commissioners suggested targeted, place-based outreach — for example, linking local climate impacts (flooding, heat) to nearby neighborhoods — as well as using existing captive audiences (city employees, schools, churches, camps), visible signs and QR codes at bus stops and pickup locations, and focused messaging at events rather than presenting all topics at every outreach table.

Colvin said staff will present a similar briefing to the City Council on July 15, post the full draft for public comment the week of July 21 and return to the commission in the fall after summer outreach and any needed focus groups.

No motions were made to adopt the plan or set targets at the July 2 meeting. The commission approved routine minutes and adjourned; the study session was advisory only.

The commission’s discussion highlighted several technical and policy clarifications included in the draft: it separates community-wide emissions (residents and visitors within city limits) from municipal emissions (city operations such as fleet, buildings and water/waste infrastructure); it shows transportation and building energy as the largest community emission sectors; and it notes that state and regional policies — including utility clean-energy transitions and clean-fuels and clean-building policies — are expected to carry a large share of emissions reductions, with a remaining portion to be addressed through local actions.

Staff requested and received commissioner guidance, not a decision, on whether to pursue state-aligned or more aggressive targets; the prevailing view among speakers was to align with regional/state frameworks while pursuing opportunistic local measures and pilots that can be implemented at relatively low cost.

Colvin and Nielsen asked commissioners to help amplify summer outreach by sharing survey links with their networks; commissioners volunteered specific outreach venues and audiences to reach underrepresented groups, including lower-income neighborhoods that can be disproportionately affected by heat and flooding.

The commission’s next regular meeting is July 16, when staff will present a separate required update to the city’s critical areas ordinance and related SEPA procedure changes.