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Milwaukie details climate work: EV chargers, building decarbonization planning and resilience mapping
Summary
City climate staff reported an EV‑charger installation at Milwaukie Marketplace, outreach to commercial buildings ahead of Oregon's building performance standards, and resilience initiatives including CERT expansion and a resilience mapping survey; the Climate Action Committee said it will present building‑decarbonization options this fall.
Milwaukie’s climate and natural resources division on July 20 outlined ongoing work across transportation electrification, building decarbonization, emergency preparedness and urban forestry, and the Climate Action Committee (CAC) described its first six months of activity and near‑term priorities.
Katie Gavares, the city’s climate and natural resources manager, said the city helped enable eight new level‑2 EV charging ports at Milwaukie Marketplace; transformer upgrades completed in July will allow charger installation in August and a public opening in September. She said the chargers will be paid charging, within PGE program pricing caps during the first decade, and that the city will share details about rates and the charger provider when available.
Staff said they are supporting commercial building owners' preparations for Oregon’s Building Performance Standards (HB 30409) and have identified about 65 tier‑1 buildings in Milwaukie for outreach; 15 businesses were engaged directly in energy‑efficiency planning. Gavares noted the city’s target of net‑zero building fuel emissions by 2035 and recommended staff and the CAC focus on policy options now to meet upcoming compliance windows (larger‑building compliance phases beginning 2028–2030 depending on size).
On resilience, staff described expanding the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to more than 60 members, adding wildfire‑smoke protocols to cooling‑center activations, and preparing a “mapping resilience” public survey to identify trusted places and people that serve as informal community infrastructure during emergencies.
CAC chair Greer Ryan and vice chair Brad said the CAC adopted bylaws, formed a task force to dig into building‑decarbonization policy options, prioritized community resilience and tree‑canopy coordination with the city tree board, and will bring actionable building policy recommendations to council this fall.
What’s next: Staff will continue outreach to businesses, report back on available state and utility incentive programs, and the CAC will review community engagement findings and present policy options to council in the fall. Gavares said the city is also supporting Community Energy Project efforts to bring free in‑home energy upgrades to low‑income residents (up to $18,000 per home, with 20 project slots funded) and will follow up on outreach to increase take‑up in Milwaukie.
