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Milwaukie staff update council on urban forestry, home energy pilot and proposed climate committee
Summary
City staff outlined a multi-part plan to advance urban forestry, launch a small home energy retrofit pilot for low-income homeowners and create a climate action advisory committee; council members raised capacity and composition concerns and asked staff to return with more detail.
Milwaukie — City staff presented updates to the council on Monday about urban forestry goals, a home energy‑efficiency pilot, new outreach tools and a proposed Climate Action Committee intended to track implementation of the city’s Climate Action Plan.
The presentation, led by Katie Gubares, Climate and Natural Resources Manager, and Gabriela Sombay Gutierrez, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator, described near‑term steps to center equity in climate work and to expand community engagement. "We want our community to hear this from us loud and clear. We see you, we support you, and we will continue to stand up for justice, inclusion, and dignity for all," Sombay Gutierrez told the council.
The update focused on three program areas staff selected for 2025: urban forestry, the city’s Home Energy Score program and broader outreach and engagement activities. For urban forestry, staff said they will work with the Tree Board and the city’s urban forester to pursue an equity implementation plan and to update the city’s Branch Out Milwaukie map with newer LiDAR and canopy layers. The city’s stated canopy target, staff said, is to equitably reach 40 percent tree canopy by 2040. Staff described a phased public engagement effort — a “listening and learning” phase planned June through September followed by recommendation development in October–January and publication of an equity implementation plan by May 2026.
On home energy scores, staff described a pilot that pairs Community Energy Project with city funds and multiple state funding streams to cover both the energy assessment and implementation of priority measures. "We are able to do this with the funds we have for about 20 different homes in Milwaukie," Gubares said, adding the pilot will prioritize units lacking adequate heat and insulation, often manufactured (mobile) homes. Staff said the program can deliver roughly $18,000 in combined incentives per household for selected retrofits.
Staff also proposed new communications and engagement tools: a quarterly Climate & Natural Resources newsletter (first issue in June), expanded social media outreach and two subcommittees formed under the Equity Steering Committee — one to shape equitable engagement for urban forestry and another to analyze building decarbonization policy choices. Gubares said those policy options include city choices about building performance standards, a rental/home energy score program for multifamily housing, and a possible carbon impact fee on new or significantly remodeled residences that include high‑carbon appliances.
Finally, staff recommended creating a Climate Action Committee as an advisory body that would advise council and staff on the two largest greenhouse gas sectors — transportation and buildings — assist with the 2026 Climate Action Plan update and advise on greenhouse gas inventory follow‑up. Staff said recruitment would run over the summer with a likely launch in the fall; Gubares said she would serve as staff liaison.
Councilors welcomed the proposals but repeatedly raised capacity and structure concerns. Several members said nine seats seemed large for a new advisory body and cautioned about quorum and attendance problems; others urged that outreach and youth engagement be part of the committee’s charge. A number of councilors recommended tighter membership and clearer linkages between the proposed committee, the Transportation System Plan and existing advisory boards. Councilors also encouraged staff to return for either a focused work session or a follow‑up with additional detail.
Staff said they will return with more detail on the map update, the equity implementation plan timeline and the recruitment plan for the Climate Action Committee.
Less urgent items, including deeper building decarbonization modeling and a potential carbon impact fee, were described as next steps for the subcommittee work and future policy analysis; staff said they would coordinate those policy scoping efforts with the Equity Steering Committee and other existing boards.
