Committee approves framework to map neighborhood climate vulnerabilities and guide adaptation

The Mountain View Climate Sustainability Committee voted unanimously to approve a framework for a Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) that staff said will identify neighborhood-level exposures, sensitivities and adaptive capacity for hazards such as extreme heat, wildfire and flooding and recommend actions to improve community resilience.

Sustainability staff said the city contracted Cascadia Consulting Group to perform the assessment, which will use established scientific approaches (examining exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity) and will produce deliverables to inform other city planning efforts, including the biodiversity and urban-forest plan and sea-level-rise planning.

Scope and focus areas: the CVA will examine four core areas: buildings and infrastructure (single- and multi-family residences, critical facilities), transportation (roads, services and access), emergency management (public-safety response and community preparedness) and economic and health impacts (productivity, mental and physical health effects). Staff emphasized the CVA will drill down from county-level data to neighborhood-specific vulnerabilities.

Process and partners: staff said the effort will include consultation with the county, public-safety departments, Community Services Agency and community-based organizations. Staff noted that the assessment will consider heat vulnerability (including canopy coverage), impacts to people living in apartments and coordination of cooling centers and community preparedness resources.

Timeline and next steps: staff recommended approval of the framework and said they will return to the committee with a draft assessment this fall and anticipate bringing the final assessment to City Council by the end of the year or early next year, subject to the consultant schedule and committee feedback.

Public comments and committee input: members of the public and committee asked that the assessment explicitly address cooling centers and coordination with CERT/community preparedness programs, and to examine apartment-building HVAC and vulnerability of residents who lack home cooling. Committee members emphasized working with county public-health and hospital partners, and incorporating equitable outreach to older adults and other vulnerable populations.

Action: The committee approved the proposed framework and deliverables and directed staff to proceed with the consultant scope, with additional neighborhood-level outreach and coordination with emergency-preparedness partners.