Agency Response to Grand Jury Report Report Title: Climate Change: How Will Marin Adapt?*

Climate change mitigation efforts by Marin governments have been notably effective in meeting their goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Agree. The Town has been an active participant in the countywide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the Town prepared a Climate Action Plan in 2016 that was adopted by the Council in December 2018, and is in the process of updating it further. A Climate Action Committee was formed in early 2020 with the goal to lessen greenhouse gas emissions and further the goals addressed by State climate goals and the Town's Climate Action Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan and fully implementing the programs outlined in both. To date the Town has leased three electric vehicles; purchased an electric bicycle; installed one electric vehicle charging station at Town Hall, is in the process of considering the implementation of green building reach codes for development projects; has implemented sustainable construction methods and materials on Town projects; and has applied for numerous grants with the intent to implement further green and sustainable infrastructure. The updated Climate Action Plan states that community greenhouse gas emissions totaled 121,068 metric tons in 2005 and 76,926 metric tons in 2018, falling 36 percent, or 44,142 metric tons CO2e. Reductions occurred in all inventoried sectors. The largest decline occurred in the Non-Residential sector, primarily due to the closing of the WinCup factory. Emissions declined 77 percent in this sector and 25,243 metric tons. Addressing government operations, in 2018, the Marin Climate & Energy Partnership prepared a Local Government Operations Greenhouse Gas Inventory report for Corte Madera comparing emissions between the baseline 2005 year and 2015. The inventory shows that local government operations emitted an estimated total of 777 metric tons CO2e in 2015, down 9 percent from 2005 levels. The greatest reduction occurred in the vehicle fleet sector, where emissions dropped 54 metric tons CO2e, or 22 percent. Other significant reductions occurred in the water delivery sector (37 metric tons) and the buildings and facilities sector (32 metric tons). Furthermore, The Local Government Operation GHG Inventory does not reflect the Town's decision in 2017 to begin purchasing 100 percent renewable energy for municipal operations. If this action is factored in, emissions from government operations would be 622 metric tons CO2e and 27 percent below 2005 levels.

Adaptation planning is essential to protect local public utility and transportation infrastructure as well as private property interests, and to enable Marin's citizens to maintain their current standards of living. Agree. The Town initiated a Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP) effort in the fall of 2018 and is on schedule to adopt the CAP in early 2021. This plan will act as a road map to assist Town decision makers in the prioritization and implementation of its Capital Improvement Plan and other policies and infrastructure improvements to reduce the Town's vulnerabilities to climate change to the fullest extent based on available funds and resources.

With the BayWAVE and C-SMART initial vulnerability assessments completed, the county is now well-positioned to focus on adaptation planning and policies related to sea level rise. Agree. In addition, our Town of Corte Madera updated Climate Action Plan and 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan also position the Town well to focus on adaptation planning and policies related to sea level rise, and also implementation of its developed strategies. These will require coordination with all neighboring jurisdictions taking similar actions, as sea level rise does not respect City and Town boundaries.

The existing adaptation efforts across the county pay insufficient attention to the other potential effects of climate change, including impacts on public health, ecosystems, and social equity. Partially Disagree. Town elected officials and staff have been active participants in the countywide working group" and Drawdown: Marin efforts as well as the Marin Climate and Energy Partnership for many years. In addition, the working draft of the Town's Climate Adaptation Plan established an over-arching goal to "incorporate resilience and equity into all of the Town's plans, polices and projects." Furthermore, the Town has hired the San Francisco Estuary Institute to assist with prioritizing the development of nature based solutions as part of its shoreline and sea level rise infrastructure strategies. However, there could be opportunities to do more in the areas of public health and social equity.

There are insufficient staff and financial resources devoted to climate change adaptation efforts across county government as well as in the cities, towns, and other agencies, and many of the existing efforts are highly dependent on grant funding. Agree. However, not all government agencies perceive the same level of vulnerabilities to climate change. We observe that the shortfall of staffing and financial resources to address climate change adaptation varies significantly by jurisdiction and agency. Enhanced cooperation across the County to obtain appropriate resources could prove productive.

Cross-jurisdictional collaboration and coordination will be required for successful adaptation efforts, but Marin lacks any overarching organizational or governance structure to facilitate this." Although we agree there is no single overarching government entity directing the work of these valuable collaborative and interjurisdictional efforts, such as but not limited to; BayWAVE; Drawdown: Marin; the Marin Climate & Energy Partnership (MCEP); Environmental Justice and Safety Elements for each General Plan and Marin Wildfire Prevent Authority (MWPA). Similarly, the Town led Climate Action Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan have been developed effectively without an overarching interjurisdictional entity. Therefore, it is unclear if individual jurisdictions or the county as whole would benefit from empowering one of these on-going interjurisdictional collaborations or a completely new government entity with overarching responsibilities and authority. TOWN OF CORTE MADERA – RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY RECOMMENDATIONS TIMEFRAME & NEXT STEPS