Encinitas staff previews draft Climate Action Plan; commissioners press for cost analysis

Ryan Lampkin, the City of Encinitas Sustainability Management Analyst, presented the draft update to the city’s Climate Action Plan to the Senior Citizen Commission on March 18, describing the plan’s targets, strategies and schedule for final adoption.

Lampkin said the draft uses 2016 as the baseline year and reports a communitywide inventory of about 381,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2016, with on‑road transportation identified as the largest emission source. He said the draft retains the plan’s existing 2030 target and adds a longer‑range 2045 goal; the proposal sets the 2030 target at 40% below the 2016 baseline and a 2045 target at 85% below the 2016 baseline.

The draft lays out high‑level emission‑reduction strategies, Lampkin said, including building decarbonization, renewable energy, water efficiency, cleaner transportation, zero‑emission equipment, waste reduction and carbon sequestration. Each measure in the draft is quantified with projected greenhouse‑gas reductions for 2030 and 2045 if fully implemented and if community participation meets projections, Lampkin said.

Commissioners asked how the plan’s financial impacts would be analyzed and when cost information would be available. Commissioner Gaber asked whether the implementation cost analysis would be available before the council hearing; Lampkin said it would not be ready for the draft’s go‑to council but “will be available before the final version of the document is adopted by the council.” He added staff plans to internally review the cost analysis before presenting it to the deciding bodies.

Lampkin also reviewed climate vulnerability and adaptation material drawn from the city’s recent safety‑element update, noting risks the city could face by the end of the century — increased extreme heat, stronger storms, drought, wildfire risk, coastal flooding, bluff erosion and landslides — and listed existing adaptation efforts cited in the plan, including the multi‑jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan, local water‑district conservation work, the Cardiff Living Shoreline and coastal‑management projects mentioned in the draft.

He summarized implementation matters: the plan will require cross‑departmental administration and staffing, financing and budgeting, monitoring and public reporting, and continued public participation. Lampkin said the city is developing an implementation cost analysis to accompany the plan; the draft is available for public review, the final public comment period runs through April 11, a public workshop is set for April 8, the draft will be taken to city council April 16, the environmental commission will be asked for its recommendation May 8, and council adoption is tentatively scheduled for May 28.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the plan at the meeting. Lampkin invited commissioners and residents to submit written comments during the public comment period and attend the April workshop.