McCall discusses Climate Action Plan strategies, prioritizes transportation and destination management

McCall city officials and consultants reviewed a draft Climate Action Plan during a council work session, highlighting 25 prioritized strategies built from technical analysis and more than 2,000 public survey responses.

The plan presentation, led by Lotus Sustainability project manager Grace Sullivan and City Planner Meredith Todd, laid out strategy selection and next steps for modeling the top three to five measures so the city can estimate greenhouse gas reductions and other co‑benefits. "Each strategy is defensible by data and defensible by community engagement," Sullivan said during the presentation.

Why it matters: council members repeatedly noted the plan's links to urgent local concerns — wildfire risk, water management and the health of Payette Lake — and emphasized that transportation choices and destination management are likely to produce the largest near‑term benefits both for emissions and local quality of life.

What was presented and discussed - Process and public input: Sullivan said the draft draws on background research, a greenhouse gas inventory and extensive outreach, noting that "more than 2,000 people participated in our surveys." Meredith Todd introduced the City team and steering‑committee members who helped shape the plan. The consultants said they screened more than 100 possible strategies and prioritized those scoring highest on environmental impact, feasibility, greenhouse‑gas reductions and co‑benefits.

- Key strategy areas: Presenters grouped strategies in sectors including transportation, buildings and energy, health and resilience, water and destination management. Examples shown to council included parking management to encourage non‑vehicular trips; pilot bike/ebike‑share programs; making electric‑vehicle charging more accessible; integrating sustainability into local option tax spending; and a destination management plan to guide tourism development and marketing.

- Council discussion: Members expressed broad support for the approach while pressing for clarity on implementation. Council member Munoz asked whether the plan would give the city "teeth" on difficult topics such as wildfire‑wise building standards and protection of the lake. Multiple council members and staff emphasized the need for the plan to be seen as community‑driven rather than council‑driven. Council members pointed to transportation and destination management as two priorities that create many co‑benefits (reduced vehicle miles traveled, improved air quality, reduced noise and increased public safety for active transportation).

- Leading by example and legal limits: Consultants and staff repeatedly urged the council to consider city operations as the first area to "lead by example" where the city can act without state preemption. The presenters noted some regulatory levers (for example, altering statewide building codes) are controlled by state statute and therefore outside the city's immediate authority; those items were placed on a separate list for advocacy with regional partners.

- Next steps, funding and modeling: Consultants said they will model the likely emissions reductions of the top 3–5 strategies to demonstrate what would happen "if we act" versus "if we do nothing," and will pursue a funding strategy that includes grants and partner contributions. Delta James, the city's economic development planner and the project manager for the CAP effort, and other staff said the work will move toward a draft plan for adoption in the fall.

Votes and formal actions The only recorded formal motion in the transcript was to adjourn the meeting. A motion to adjourn was made and seconded and adopted by voice vote.

Ending Council members thanked staff and consultants for the presentation and for the depth of public engagement that informed the draft. Staff said they will return with modeled outcomes for the top strategies, funding options and a final draft for council consideration in the fall.