HomeMy WebLinkAboutClimate Action Subcommittee Report 11 June 2025 1
Meeting Report:
Standing Subcommittee
on Climate Action
SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING DATE: 11 June 2025 SUBMITTED BY: Roy Clark, Chair
SUBCOMMITTEE NAME: Standing Subcommittee on Climate Action DATE SUBMITTED: 17 June 2025
SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS: Roy Clark (P), Kathy Cohn (P),
Bernard Rottner (P), P = Present, N = Not Present
NEXT SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING: 9 July
2025
PRESENTED FOR COMMISSION MEETING DATE: 24 June 2025
Subcommittee Goal: Develop and recommend policies and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the City of
Palm Springs by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030. (Reference: Palm Springs Climate Action Roadmap, dated 28 October
2021) and develop and recommend policies and plans to assist Palm Springs residents adapt to ongoing climate change.
Summary of meeting
Staff present: LP McCloy, Benito Villa, Christian Wheeler
Guests: Kendall Balchan, Palm Springs Post (Zoom)
There were no public comments.
Staff Report (Director McCloy)
• The letter about AB 306 on behalf of the Commission was sent to the State Senate. It was acknowledged by
Senate Staff.
• Director McCloy is working with the City Council on their sending a similar letter. It may be tailored from the
Commission’s letter and not fully oppose AB 306.
Old Business
• Tree Ordinance (Specialist Wheeler)
• The ordinance is being reviewed by City departments.
• It will be presented to the Commission June 24.
• A rough draft of the tree species list has been received from West Coast Arborists. It includes height,
width, and water requirements, It also includes common name, botanical name, and maximum height and
width of trees.
• A Palm Springs Urban Forestry website is being developed. It will include tree benefits and an inventory
of City-owned trees.
• Energy Efficient Upgrade Ordinance (Director McCloy)
• David Freedman has reviewed an updated draft of the model ordinance that was discussed in the May
Subcommittee meeting.
• The Energy Efficient Upgrade Ordinance has become longer and has more detailed subtext.
▪ Raising cost thresholds to enable projects to meet points requirements is being considered.
• The Ordinance will be brought back to the Commission for discussion in the fall.
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• Heat and Shade Study (Director McCloy)
• Specialist Wheeler and the study team are reviewing wording of the RFP for consultants to support the
community engagement and analysis phase of the study.
▪ The RFP will be sent out in the summer.
▪ Responses should be received in time for the Council to approve consultants in September or
October.
• Key questions to be answered in the study are: “How do people modify (nor not modify) their travel
patterns because of heat?”; and “How should the study impact transportation CO2 reduction goals?”
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Director McCloy)
• CVAG is proceeding with their analysis and will provide options for modeling .
Recommendations/Requests to Subcommittee (not updated)
Continue to prioritize presentations to the subcommittee on organizations and on-going activities, internal and external to
the City
Airport expansion (Ref: Jan 25, 2024, City Council Meeting) (Airport General Manager)
Convention Center
Bicycle routes (Sustainability Specialist Wheeler and Engineering)
City fleet electrification (Director McCloy)
Sustainable transportation planning and EV charging
Parks Master Plan
New, as of March 13, 2024:
Energy-efficient construction, include LEED
Training to do energy audits, such as interface with the College of the Desert
Sustainability education program
Vehicle maintenance program with the College of the Desert
New as of May 8:
Commissioner Walker requested that the Office Sustainability look into potential community change grants under
the Inflation Reduction Act
Request To Commission Read this report and tell Subcommittee what you would like discussed
in more detail in Commission meeting
Request To Office of Sustainability Expand outreach and education to City Council, City staff, and other
commissions; meeting notices and written messaging; integrate
sustainability with other organizations
Support new activities:
Perform GHG inventory, 2020 update and new 2022 (CVAG and
PlaceWorks)
Identify the number of houses in the City with solar panels
Identify the number of electric vehicles registered in the City by
recent year
Survey how EV drivers in the City charge their vehicles
Investigate EV rideshare programs to serve disadvantaged areas
and Navigation Center
Potential Fiscal Impact/Request Unknown
Could be a lot of money required in the long term to implement
strategic activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions