Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP): Community Outreach and Other Progress

(NASA)

By Flor Sanchez 

DAVIS — During Monday evening’s Natural Resource Committee meeting, Kerry Loux, the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) project manager, discussed the three “legs of input that comprise the CAAP and provided an update on the progress of the 2020 CAAP. 

Loux provided an update on the community outreach component by stating that there are many events planned in order to further enhance this component. For example, beginning April 6, an online survey will be available to the public for a month or more on the CAAP website. 

This survey hopes to provide an avenue for community members to provide feedback.

In addition, on Earth Day there will be a  “CAAP Community Workshop.” This event will take place via  Zoom on April 22, starting at 6:30 p.m. While this event is still being further developed and designed, a link will be made available on the CAAP website.

Community pop ups are also in the works, and have the potential to take the form of informational tables at local gathering places such as the Farmers Market. 

Loux stated that a short term working group has been formed to address the equity and inclusion components of community outreach, such as the “Meeting in a box” idea, which Loux said “can be done by staff or training people in community groups to go out and talk to people in their circle.” This working group will be having their first meeting this week.

An already established method to reach CAAP representatives is through the project management teams’ email or through their designated website for which Loux emphasized that  “[they] have made an effort to make this very informative and very transparent.”

As for the internal team component, Loux made it clear that CAAP is doing everything possible to receive input from various people from the community, including those in commissions. The internal team includes commissioners of the natural resource commission, other commissions with interest—such as the Bicycling, Transportation and Street Safety Commission (BTSSC), as well as the project management team and the consultant. 

Joining to provide input from the Bicycling, Transportation and Street Safety Commission (BTSSC) was Austin Brown, a commission member from BTSSC. Brown highlighted the fact that transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and should therefore not be overlooked. 

“Davis is obviously a leader in many simple transportation modes but we still have the largest source of emission from our personal vehicles.”

Brown hopes that the establishment of electric vehicles will take a priority when going forward with CAAP plans, as this would help alleviate greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside this, Brown emphasized other forms of transportation, such as bicycling and walking, that could also contribute to lessening gas emissions. 

Brown concluded by stating that Davis has the potential to lead other cities of similar size to a reduction in gas emissions through improved transportation methods.

In response to Brown, Loux stated that while there is a common goal between both CAAP and BTSSC there are still many components that are a work in progress, “Hopefully through your commission and your own personal participation we’ll continue to keep those elements alive and I certainly anticipate that all of those comments will make their way into the action priorities that are identified.”

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