Bend environmental committee recommends City Council adopt updated climate action priorities and implementation plan

The Bend Environmental and Climate Committee voted to recommend that the Bend City Council adopt an updated set of Climate and Community Action Plan (CCAP) actions, a set of biennium priorities and implementation recommendations, the committee decided after discussion and public comment.

The committee's recommendations, presented by staff, are intended to guide city work on emissions reductions and climate resilience over the next three to five years and to identify specific projects the committee wants prioritized in the coming biennium. Committee members said the document should serve as a high-level agenda from which more detailed work plans and measurable targets will be developed.

Staff described the three items the committee considered as: (1) the CCAP action list (a catalogue of strategies and suggested actions across sectors such as energy, buildings, transportation, waste and materials), (2) a set of priorities the committee recommends the council treat as biennium-level work items, and (3) implementation recommendations that include creating a dedicated funding source for CCAP work and launching a Community Partner Grant Program to fund local organizations to deliver programs tied to CCAP goals. "We would like to be doing that," a staff member said while outlining the implementation recommendations.

Committee members discussed a new column in the action list that flags context and considerations — for example, energy cost and energy burden concerns related to electrification — and agreed the list should stand as a high-level agenda while staff and the council develop more specific, measurable work plans and targets. Several members said they wanted the CCAP priorities to guide the council's work plan and budget discussions later in the spring.

The committee voted in favor of three separate motions: to recommend council adopt the proposed CCAP actions as the 2025 CCAP update; to recommend the proposed CCAP priorities for the coming biennium; and to recommend the implementation recommendations that include establishing a funding mechanism and creating the Community Partner Grant Program. The committee chair and staff said the priorities will be presented to the council stewardship subcommittee in early April and could be scheduled for an April 16 council briefing.

Committee members also asked staff to continue work to define measurable targets for priority programs (for example, how many households the proposed energy navigator would serve) and to return with details later. Staff said detailed work plans and targets would be developed as part of the council goal-setting and budget process and that some items will be part of a separate biennial work plan.

The committee approved all three recommendations by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Next steps: staff will send the recommended priorities and implementation recommendations to the City Council and a stewardship subcommittee, and will return to the committee with further details — including the proposed Community Partner Grant Program and electrification policy next steps — as work proceeds.