San Mateo City Council hears climate-action progress; staff says GHG inventory overdue, reach codes await state sign-off

San Mateo City Council on June 1 received an annual progress report on the city’s Climate Action Plan, with staff highlighting building-electrification steps, a newly installed solar carport and municipal fleet electrification while acknowledging the city is overdue for a comprehensive greenhouse‑gas (GHG) inventory.

Sustainability analyst Andrea Chow told the council she led the city’s climate action implementation and that the city concluded a multiyear effort to develop the “Electrify San Mateo” sustainable building strategy. Chow said the city adopted energy performance reach codes in early 2025 and later adopted an ordinance in March intended to expand reach-code measures; she added that the reach-code ordinance “still requires state approvals” from the California Building Commission and the California Energy Commission.

Chow described a city solar project in partnership with Peninsula Clean Energy: “The solar carports installed at the parking lot adjacent to the community garden at the Beresford Park were installed in partnership with Peninsula Clean Energy … through a power purchase agreement,” she said, adding the system is a 79.2 kW installation expected to produce about 120,000 kWh in its first year and sized to offset the recreation center’s historical annual usage.

On municipal operations, staff said the city will develop an electric‑first policy for facilities while allowing exceptions for public safety and life‑cycle costs, and that the city is participating in a PG&E EV fleet program that installs to‑the‑meter infrastructure; construction at the corporation yard was expected this summer and the project will provide 12 Level 2 charging ports to support the city’s green-fleet transition. Chow also listed recent municipal procurements, saying the city purchased an electric irrigation truck, an electric Ford Lightning and an electric motorcycle and expects delivery of an electric street sweeper this year.

Chow outlined the city’s policy work on landscape equipment, noting the council in March adopted an ordinance prohibiting gas leaf blowers effective 01/01/2027 and that staff are focusing on outreach and rebates to support landscaping businesses and residents through the transition.

Public comment and council questions centered on measurement and priorities. In chambers, Mike Swireup urged more quantitative tracking: “Did we actually see are we generating less GHGs? I mean, that is the goal, and I didn't see it in the packet,” he said, pressing the council to track vehicle‑miles‑traveled (VMT) because transportation is a large share of county emissions. Chow acknowledged the concern and said an inventory was not included in the current report because a GHG emissions inventory is resource intensive; she said the city is overdue for one and staff intend to provide a 2025 inventory with the next annual report.

Council members asked about outreach and next steps. A councilor asked whether the Beresford carport program could be expanded; Chow said Peninsula Clean Energy intends to roll out similar programs and that staff will evaluate future sites when program details are available. On sea‑level rise, Chow said the adaptation plan work kicked off last year and noted it is funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Planning grant; community engagement and an existing‑conditions analysis are underway.

Chow also reported permit and adoption data for distributed energy: staff said there were 485 solar permits and 407 battery‑storage permits in 2025 (data may overlap where battery installs accompany solar) and that the city has seen growth in publicly available charging infrastructure from 174 pins in 2023 to 329 in 2025.

The council did not take formal action on this report; staff committed to deliver a GHG inventory with the next annual report, continue community outreach on the leaf‑blower ban and proceed with facility evaluations and planned EV fleet infrastructure work.