Mill Valley commission advances draft climate plan update

Mill Valley hopes to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half by the end of the decade.

The goal is among a host of approaches spelled out in the city’s draft climate plan, which the Planning Commission recommended for approval on Tuesday.

The unanimous endorsement, with commissioner Jon Yolles absent, means the document will now head to the City Council for approval. The draft details the source of the city’s current greenhouse gas emissions, target emission reductions and key actions relating to transportation and building electrification to reach those goals.

“I’m very encouraged,” said Kevin Skiles, chair of the commission. “We are trending towards the goals we’ve set in the past, we’ve achieved some of the goals we’ve set long in the past, and we’ve set some ambitious goals for the future that seem realistic.”

As of 2020, 56% of the city’s emissions come from transportation, most of it from passenger vehicles. The built environment, which includes residential and commercial buildings that use natural gas, makes up 33% of the emissions.

“So those two are really big sectors and that’s what we focused a lot of the programs and our energy on, those two sectors, because that’s how we’re going to get the emission reductions that we need to meet our long-term goals,” said Christine O’Rourke, a consultant for the city and sustainability coordinator for the Marin Clean Energy Partnership.

The electricity, water, waste and off-road sectors make up a small portion of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The city’s climate plan was adopted in 2013. In 2022, the City Council put together an eight-person committee to review emission reduction policies and programs for the plan, which is based on state targets. The plan puts the city on track to reach new state goals of 40% reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2045.

By 2020, Mill Valley’s emissions were already 24% below its 1990 levels — an estimated 89,250 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent. The new plan aims to reduce emission by 47% below the 1990 emission level by 2030.

One way the city hopes to do this is by having 35% of registered passenger vehicles in Mill Valley and throughout Marin County be plug-in electric vehicles. O’Rourke said the transportation sector includes passenger cars, commercial vehicles and public transportation that are only traveling in Mill Valley.

“So we’re not including pass-through traffic,” O’Rourke said.

The climate plan also includes adopting ordinances that would require new homes and commercial buildings to be entirely electric and replacing natural gas appliances and equipment with high-efficient electric versions, including heat pump technology.

These moves would reduce energy emissions by 27%. Reducing organic waste from landfills through programs such as curbside composting and improving energy efficiency would lower emissions by another 27%.

Adopting the updated plan was delayed while city staff focused on the city’s housing element, according to a staff report. However, implementing policies and programs aimed at reducing emissions have continued to progress. For example, a reusable foodware ordinance was recently adopted, as well as the hiring of a part-time sustainability coordinator to help with implementing new state laws and requirements on organic composting.

Al Grumet, a member of the city’s climate committee, said he is involved with about environmental organizations. He said the plan is not meant to guide community members, but rather to influence policy makers.

“I’ve been trying to gain a perspective on how we can use city government to effectively address the parts of this big, unwieldy problem that’s climate change,” Grumet said. “Community members will not read the climate action plan, that’s just the reality. So I think our resources are better spent on things that city staff and city government can control.”

The City Council is expected to review the draft plan at its May 6 meeting.