Lake Forest Park committees review draft climate element required by state; public comment period set for June–July

Tree Board and Climate Action Committee members of Lake Forest Park met in joint session to review the draft climate element that the state legislature now requires be included in municipal comprehensive plans.

The draft, prepared by the city with consultant support, is being submitted in draft form to the Washington State Department of Commerce this month to meet the department’s timeline; city staff said the draft will return for local public comment, planning commission review and then City Council public hearings in the fall.

The draft climate element is organized into two required subelements: resilience and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. City presenters said the resilience subelement addresses projected local climate hazards — rising temperatures and extreme heat, wildfire smoke, changed precipitation and flooding, and drought and water‑supply stress — and includes vulnerability assessments that look both at community vulnerability and critical infrastructure exposure.

“The state legislature required that cities … include a climate element in their comprehensive plan,” said Sarah (staff member), who presented the draft and the process. She added that the city received a Department of Commerce grant to support development of the element and must submit a draft to Commerce in June to meet the grant timeline.

On greenhouse gases, the draft shows transportation is the single largest local source of emissions, accounting for roughly 61% of community‑wide emissions in 2023, with buildings and energy contributing about 29%. The consultants’ analysis also reported that the municipal vehicle fleet accounted for 71% of municipal emissions in 2023. The draft notes that a sizeable share of the transportation emissions allocation reflects interjurisdictional travel and air travel (Sea‑Tac airport) apportioned to jurisdictions, and the presenters recommended clarifying the chart to distinguish locally controllable emissions from allocations based on regional or national data.

Presenters described the required process: a public comment window (mid‑June through July), planning‑commission review and a City Council public hearing in the fall. Cascadia (the consultant team) prepared the draft and will submit the deliverable to Commerce; staff said an updated draft with last‑minute edits from the advisory team would be sent to boards and commissions after Commerce submission.

Committee members discussed specific policy areas where they expect to provide detailed comments during the local review period. Topics raised included: stronger, more specific language on urban canopy and heat‑island reduction (participants identified the town center parking area as a significant local heat sink), the role of tree canopy in both resilience and carbon sequestration, and clarifying how County, state and federal policies that reduce emissions (for example vehicle standards or transit investments) are reflected in the city’s emissions projections. Members also asked for clearer links between the high‑level policies in the climate element and the more detailed, actionable steps that appear in the city’s climate action plan and related code changes.

On emergency response and community preparedness, the draft includes policies about cooling centers and air‑quality response (smoke respite) and recommends aligning the climate element with the city’s comprehensive emergency management plan. Staff noted that King County or state air‑quality alerts would trigger community‑scale responses, but committee members emphasized the need to plan for vulnerabilities of specific populations who may need assistance before a citywide declaration is made.

Staff and committee members asked boards and commissions to review the draft during June and July and submit comments to city staff and the advisory team; staff said the draft that goes to Commerce represents an “actionable draft” and that further local changes would be possible after Commerce’s review and planning commission recommendations.

Why this matters: the climate element becomes part of the city’s comprehensive plan and gives City Council policy direction that can be used to draft code updates, capital projects and other implementation steps that affect resilience, trees and land use.

What’s next: mid‑June–July public comment; Planning Commission hearings and recommendations; City Council public hearings in the fall, followed by Commerce’s final review prior to adoption.