Lake County hears draft climate action plan; consultants cite broad public support, outline next steps

At a morning work session the Lake County Board of County Commissioners received an update from consultants on a draft climate action plan that draws on a 199‑response community survey and greenhouse‑gas forecasting to 2050.

Jillian Goulet, senior sustainability analyst with Brendel Group, said the outreach included a survey (199 responses) and two in‑person events and that analysis of the county’s 2023 emissions baseline informed proposed strategies. “We had a community survey … had just out of 200 responses,” Goulet said, noting the responses skewed toward long‑term, full‑time residents.

The plan’s draft strategies center on five focus areas: transportation, buildings and energy, food and waste, natural environment and recreation, and administration (county operations and education). Goulet told the board the greenhouse‑gas forecast used population and economic projections from DOLA and illustrated how grid decarbonization, vehicle electrification and building efficiency would reduce emissions over time.

Why it matters: survey results show strong local concern about climate impacts and appetite for action. Brendel reported 74% of respondents said they had observed changes they associate with climate change, and 96% said they worried about at least one impact. Top survey concerns included wildfire risk, forest health and drought; survey respondents gave sustainability an average priority score of 78.9 out of 100.

Transport and charging: The consultants recommended increasing vehicle electrification where feasible, expanding public EV charging (which could also generate revenue), and supporting multimodal options. “It seems like there are a lot of supporters,” Goulet said of EV interest, while noting the consultant team used current EV adoption rates in its forecast rather than assuming rapid increases.

Cost and feasibility questions: Matt Bullock, a local builder, asked the board and consultants for a cost‑benefit analysis and raised practical barriers to home charging in historic downtown areas where residents lack garages. “A lot of people downtown have no way to charge their electric vehicles, especially if there's no garage,” Bullock said, adding that tighter building codes and electrification costs can conflict with affordable housing goals.

Goulet and Imogen (presenter for the consultant team) acknowledged those concerns and said a cost‑benefit analysis is underway and will be included in the final plan. “We are doing the cost analysis,” Imogen said, adding consultants plan to provide case studies and examples of likely household impacts from weatherization and efficiency upgrades.

Buildings, resilience and co‑benefits: Consultants emphasized weatherization and efficiency upgrades for existing housing to reduce bills and improve comfort, recommended aligning building‑code updates with state requirements, and proposed resilience measures such as cooling/warming centers and wildfire mitigation on county open space. They also highlighted co‑benefits including lower operating costs and improved indoor air quality.

Food, waste, water and natural areas: The draft plan recommends reducing waste to extend landfill life, supporting local food systems and gardening education, protecting water quality and promoting water conservation, and preserving natural areas and dark skies—respondents expressed particular interest in protecting wildlife and scenic values.

Next steps: Brendel Group will flesh out specific actions under each strategy, add cost estimates and grant recommendations, and meet with county staff and partners to make the plan implementable. Consultants told the board they plan to return for a final presentation in early February with the intention of moving toward adoption.

The board had no formal votes at the session; members asked for more demographic detail on survey respondents and for the consultants to supply the pending cost‑benefit analysis and examples to help evaluate tradeoffs.