Pacifica task force presents draft Climate Action and Adaptation Plan; seeks council feedback

The Climate Action and Adaptation Task Force presented a draft Climate Action and Adaptation Plan to the Pacifica City Council during a joint study session Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, asking council members for feedback on goals, implementation steps and next steps toward adoption.

The draft lays out greenhouse gas targets tied to a 1990 baseline that aim for a 45% reduction by 2030 (the task force noted the city’s 2005 baseline makes the target appear larger in comparative charts) and includes sector-by-sector goals, an implementation timeline, and recommended monitoring. Monica Maher, chair of the Climate Action and Adaptation Task Force, said, “This really was a group effort,” and credited task force subcommittees, youth contributors and county technical partners for shaping the draft.

Task force members said they used the county’s Regional Climate Action Planning Suite (RIcaps) template and worked with Rincon Consultants on the greenhouse gas inventory and technical analyses. The task force recommended hiring a sustainability coordinator and creating an environmental commission to shorten the gap between plan adoption and implementation. The draft also includes a Pacifica Youth Involvement section written by youth contributors; Calvin Chan, co‑chair of the youth climate committee, told the council, “I’m Calvin Chan. I’m a student at Terra Nova, a youth advisory board member and also the cochair of the youth climate action and adaptation task force.”

Council members and task force members discussed the plan’s structure and the implementation chapter during the presentation. Task force members noted that Rincon had provided suggested edits and that some sections may need additional technical consulting funded through the county’s RIcaps program. The task force also said it had already sought input from the Pacifica Land Trust and intends to update the resilience section after the Land Trust’s Pacific Coastal Resilience Opportunity Study is complete.

The task force announced a one‑month stakeholder feedback period for the draft and directed residents to planpacifica.org/caap to submit comments; members said they would also present the draft to stakeholder groups and incorporate feedback before returning to council in late spring for final consideration and adoption. No formal council vote or motion to adopt was recorded during the session.

Councilmembers and staff present thanked the task force for its work and noted the study session’s purpose was to solicit feedback rather than make final decisions. The task force emphasized that adoption and implementation are separate steps: the task force’s charge was to prepare the draft plan and seek its adoption; implementation, including staffing or commission formation, would require later council action and possible budget allocations.