Every Day is Earth Day: A Conversation with Elk Grove’s Climate Action Crew

How will Elk Grove cope with climate change? We’re sitting down with Carrie Whitlock, the City’s Strategic Planning and Innovation Program Manager, and Eugene Lee, one of Elk Grove's passionate Climate Ambassadors to learn more about Elk Grove's progress toward a more sustainable and resilient future. We’re finding out how the City will become cleaner and greener through the development of the Climate Compass, a visionary initiative that aims to guide future policies and decisions. Tune in to this enlightening conversation as we embark on a more sustainable future and learn how each of us can play a vital role in shaping a healthier planet for future generations.

Rate, review and subscribe to the Elk Grove Citycast to get more information about the people, programs, and services shaping the City. You can find the Elk Grove Citycast anywhere you get your podcasts or listen online at www.elkgrovecity.org/podcast. 

Transcript

Announcer: Welcome to Elk Grove CityCast, the podcast about Elk Grove. In each episode, we'll dive into hot topics, share what's happening in the city, and introduce you to some of the people making a difference in this place that we call home. 

John Hull: Hi everyone. I'm John Hull. Welcome to the Elk Grove CityCast. Joining me is the City of Elk Grove's public affairs manager, Kristen Laurence. Kristyn, great to be with you once again, as we talk about what's happening here in the city of Elk Grove. 

Kristyn Laurence: Hey, John, happy March. 

John Hull: Happy March. That's true. We are in oh, beautiful weather as we started March in the seventies and it's going to get warmer. So we've decided this episode will be called Everyday is Earth Day.

And so today's CityCast, we will deal with a very important yet little recognized role of the city of Elk Grove, its protection of the local environment. So tell us a little bit about that part of the city's operation, if you would. 

Kristyn Laurence: Sure. The city stance on the environment sends an important message to residents and Elk Grove's working hard to lead by example with a proactive climate action plan.

You know, local governments in general are on the front lines of enforcing regulations that protect air and water quality, waste management, noise pollution, and land use. Our work in land use planning, for instance, can protect natural habitats, promote sustainable development, and prioritize green infrastructure projects like parks and green spaces.

Our strategic planning and innovation team, the city's public work staff, and the development services unit all have worked on projects that are introducing new technologies on both small and large scales, like applying a white treatment to parking lots and trail segments to test out the effects we can have on mitigating the urban heat island effect, with projects like the rain garden plaza, our Special Waste Collection Center and District 56. Those were all constructed with green building techniques to create and conserve energy and harness the natural resources to make Elk Grove a cleaner, greener place to live. 

John Hull: Today we'll have two guests with us, Carrie Whitlock and Eugene Lee, in this episode of The CityCast.

However, before we get to them, Kristyn, would you tell us more about an important news item the city announced on February 22nd, about the much discussed and highly debated Oak Rose Apartments? 

Kristyn Laurence: Yeah, the city and the developer of the Oak Rose project, that's Excelerate Housing Group, they've settled out of court in a way that relocates the project out of the historic district to another city owned property that was previously identified for an affordable housing project.

The city's purchasing the property in Old Town from the developer and will transfer ownership of the property that the city owns at 8484 Elk Grove-Florin Road to Excelerate Housing Group. And that will give them the ability to build a larger project, able to provide more units than the original 67-unit plan.

The city is providing a 5 million grant to support the development of the new project, as well as damages and legal fees. The total cost for the settlement is estimated at about 8 million.

Unfortunately, the move doesn't resolve similar litigation against the city by the state of California. That case is still pending. But we're hopeful that this settlement with the developer will generate a reasonable resolution with the state soon. 

John Hull: And we'll have more questions about Elk Grove for Kristyn later in this episode of the CityCast. We encourage our listeners to contribute ideas for future Elk Grove CityCast topics. Email us at publicaffairs@elkgrovecity.org.  That's publicaffairs@elkgrovecity.org. 

As we mentioned earlier, one key role the city of Elk Grove plays in governing our portion of Sacramento County is protecting our environment. Joining us today are Carrie Whitlock, Strategic Planning and Innovation Program Manager for the City of Elk Grove and Eugene Lee. who has a very unique role in the city is one of our climate ambassadors.

So Carrie and Eugene, welcome to the Elk Grove City cast.

Eugene Lee: Thank you. 

Carrie Whitlock: Yes. Thank you so much for inviting us. 

John Hull: Well, let's start with you, Eugene. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what is involved in being a climate ambassador? 

Eugene Lee: Well, I'm a proud resident since 1989 and a parent here in Elk Grove. My two children excelled and successfully graduated from the Elk Grove Unified School District. And they're professionally employed right now in environmental and engineering careers. And as I talk about myself, my environmental work is both professional and personal. Professionally, I'm now retired from the California Energy Commission. And over there, I led energy efficiency, building decarbonization, and clean energy equity policies.

And I also served as an assistant tribal liaison, supporting outreach to tribal organizations. I've worked as an energy inspector for an energy nonprofit organization in Sacramento County. And personally, I'm currently serving as a board treasurer at Sacramento Splash. It's a child environmental nonprofit in Sacramento County and what we do is lead and inspire and teach children the natural world. Environmental stewardship and climate careers. And I also add in my time just advising students at UC Davis and professionals through the Open Door Climate Network. It's a free nationwide climate career counseling resource.

John Hull: Okay. And so what is, I'm just curious, what is a climate ambassador then? 

Eugene Lee: Yes. To me, being a climate ambassador is really three things. Number one, it, it's, it's always learning. What are the climate issues? How is our environment and solutions changing? And how can we slow the change? Number two, you're sharing what you've learned to others. And number three, you're listening to the community's voices. And their climate priorities and concerns. 

John Hull: Okay. Now, Carrie, why is it so important for the city of Elk Grove to be focusing in on these environmental issues? 

Carrie Whitlock: So, there's a lot of reasons you know, for the city to focus on environmental issues. And, and to start with, I'll go back to our vision statement in our general plan for the city of Elk Grove, which talks about, you know, proactively making daily life, healthy and sustainable and considering the needs of future generations while protecting what's valued today. Right? So we really can't …rovide a healthy, sustainable community without ensuring that we're addressing the environment, right? We want, we're all part of a connected ecosystem, right? And in order for our residents to really be healthy and flourish, we need to provide a healthy environment for them. So. You know, just as you might focus on the economy and ensure you have really good quality jobs in Elk Grove, we also need to focus on the environment, ensure we have a good quality, healthy environment for our residents, you know, so really, we, you know, currently in the Sacramento region air quality is a big issue for the region. We have one of the poorest air quality ratings, actually, for metropolitan areas nationwide. And so we really need to do everything we can to help improve that, right? Air quality creates problems for vulnerable populations in our city, children, elderly, those with respiratory issues, but, you know, it's also for all of us. We want to improve the environment for everyone. So addressing emissions, making sure we are, you know, really improving our natural environment, you know, through activities like tree planting through native vegetation through restoring seasonal wetland, all of these things help provide better air quality. They help provide a cooler environment, you know, during a really hot summer month. You know, and, and one of the main impacts of climate change here for us in this region is going to be those hotter, more frequent heat waves during the summer. And so we really. want to focus on environmental issues to make sure we are providing that healthy and cooler environment for our residents.

John Hull: In these kind of conversations, there's a word that keeps cropping up when I'm reading news reports or the like. Is this word or the term, sustainability. So could either one of you please define that and tell us how the city of Elk Grove promotes these efforts? 

Carrie Whitlock: Yeah, Eugene, do you want to start? 

Eugene Lee: Well, you know, there's a terrific understanding from Native Americans. You know, when I served as an assistant tribal liaison for the state, Thank you I learned that sustainability is a condition of coexistence that meets two tests. Number one, it meets the needs of the people and the environment. And number two, it supports healthy lives for future generations. 

Carrie Whitlock: And, and, you know, I think that that fits very well in with what, you know, I mentioned in our general plan, right? That we want to be able to provide for the needs of our current residents and not compromise the ability of our future generations to also flourish, right? And sustainability for us as a city is about making sure that we are balancing, you know, at this point, Three different components, right? Environment, economy, community, all together need to be balanced. You don't want to focus too much on one to the detriment of the others. And so the, the city is doing a lot of things in all three of these, these different components, right? If you look at what we are doing around economy, you know, some of our programs around why buy local, right? Really supporting our local stores and our local businesses to thrive and to flourish. Around the community, we actually have a staff network that provides. opportunities for city employees to serve community needs through volunteerism, right? So how can we provide for a stronger community? And then through, you know, a lot of things in the environment, our Climate Action Plan is one, but you know, we also promote sustainable building practices, you know, within our municipal facilities. We have a number of facilities, our District 56, the Center at District 56 and our Special Waste Collection Center, which are both what is termed LEED Gold Certified Buildings, so Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certified Buildings, and so really showing that you can provide healthy spaces even when you are building, you know, new buildings. So we're trying to balance all three of those with the sustainability work that we do in the city. 

John Hull: You just mentioned just a moment ago, the climate. The climate action plan. So, and I'm looking at it on the city website. Can you explain to us what that is all about? 

Carrie Whitlock: Yeah. So a climate action plan or a CAP as we, we tend to refer to it in shorthand, it's basically a roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, right? Greenhouse gas emissions are those that are impacting our environment and, and making, you know that changing the, the environment that we are used to. And so we're, we're reducing those emissions and the cap. It's not a specific requirement for state for California jurisdictions, but addressing climate change and addressing greenhouse gas emissions is related to all of these different elements that are required in our general plan. And so. A lot of jurisdictions, Elk Grove being one decide to undertake a climate action plan to really provide a very clear and detailed strategy and very specific actions on how we, as a community, can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. 

John Hull: Carrie, I'm looking at the 2021 Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. Something that I found on the city website. 56%! Of our greenhouse gas emissions here in Elk Grove is our on road transportation. So that must mean the cars and the trucks right that are going up and down the street? 

Carrie Whitlock: Yep. Our on road transportation has to be our biggest Emission sector. So yes, all of the vehicles that you see on the street, both the passenger vehicles and the big the bigger delivery trucks and all of those.

John Hull: Okay. Well, next to it, you have a…this is called the Climate Compass. So what is that and how does it fit with Elk Grove's CAP plan? 

Carrie Whitlock: So the Climate Compass is the city's latest update to our Climate Action Plan. So we first, the city first adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2013 and we then updated it five years later in 2019. And we are committed to a five year schedule for updates. So we're undertaking another more holistic update to it. So the climate compass will not just address reducing greenhouse gas emissions, right? How are we mitigating our greenhouse gas emissions, but we're also looking at what are needed adaptation strategies and resilience measures. How do we ensure that the city is prepared and able to respond to the future impacts of climate change? So the climate compass is sort of a broader… it's I sort of say that the cap plus right a climate action plan plus Because it has not just our emissions reduction strategies, but adaptation strategies as well 

John Hull: Well, this is quite a document and I'm just curious. How are you in the city informing residents about the development of a climate compass?

Carrie Whitlock: So we are trying to use every means we can to get the word out about the climate compass. We provided information in the bimonthly newsletter. We did that in the most recent one. And we also did one I think late last year and talked about the fact that we were going to be updating it. We have email mailing lists that we share out the information. We've done booths at various different city events to sort of talk to residents that, you know, come by. We've had a lot of meetings with different community groups and had presentations at city council and some of our other commission meetings. And then we're, we're going to be continuing to do outreach over the next you know, eight or nine months where we're hoping to get our climate compass finished and and to city council by the end of the year, but we'll continue to do outreach throughout that. And then we, we has, as mentioned earlier, our climate ambassador program, which is also really trying to do better outreach, more outreach to residents than just we as city staff can do.

John Hull: Yeah, and Eugene, that's what I was going to ask you is this idea of a climate ambassador program. Eugene, what's the purpose of it and how can they help Elk Grove achieve its sustainability goals? 

Eugene Lee: Well, being a climate ambassador means allowing our community, residents, organizations, and businesses to literally hold the compass in their hands. It, it allows them to tell us their perspectives on the direction to point and why. And you know, creating sustainable communities means considering the needs and the perspectives of others. There is no community without unity and do we all have to agree? No. That's not the point. But, the important thing is that everyone that works and lives in Elk Grove deserves that kind of consideration and respect and how we prepare for its future. It's a lot of listening. 

John Hull: Yeah, that's, that's excellent. In fact, I've noticing that you have a actual timeline in which you are educating the people at this time. And then it looks like later this summer, maybe later this spring, you actually have a strategy development and a prioritization, a prioritization period of time with the idea, and tell me if I'm wrong here, that you'll come up with a draft climate compass and then eventually a final one that you'll present to city council. What later this year is this, what's your timeline is?

Carrie Whitlock: We, we are hoping to get it to city council by the end of this calendar year is our goal. So we, we do plan to have a draft. We're, we're trying to get a lot of input, even before we get to the draft, right? We really want residents to be able to say, these are where our priorities lie. And these are, are how we…we want to see change happen. The climate compass isn't really going to be successful unless our residents really are, you know, involved and engaged and willing to make changes. So we're really trying to get a lot of involvement from them, even before there's a draft, but then allowing that draft time for them to see and view and have input on as well before we finally take it to city council.

John Hull: So for either one of you, how can residents get involved in all these efforts? 

Eugene Lee: I believe, you know residents can get involved both individually and in groups. Since being showcased in the current Elk Grove newsletter, for example, my friends have reached out to me with their city ideas and home utility experiences and already I've participated in a church youth group brainstorming session, and it was really inspiring listening to the youth and their poster board ideas of what they want to see our environment here in Elk Grove to be, and what kind of specific things they would be willing to do to get there.

I know other climate ambassadors are engaged in their own HOA meetings, and I'm currently engaged with a high school teacher who wants to kind of bring me into her classroom and have this kind of discussion about climate awareness here in Elk Grove. 

Carrie Whitlock: We also you know, we have our our city website.

And so at www.elkgrovecity.org/CAP  you know, you can go on. There's a lot of information there. There's a place if you want to receive email updates, you can put in your email address and, and we will be sending out future information. You know, we will be going to future city events and we'll have booths and, and we'll be doing additional, you know, in person or virtual community dialogues around this and, and people can always reach out to me. And, and my email address is on the climate action plan website. And so people can reach out to me and email me if they have, you know, if they're interested in having somebody come and speak to a group, you know, we are happy to do that. If they have ideas that they want to filter into me, I'm always happy to listen to those as well. So, yeah, we really are open to, you know, any people who want to contact and hear what's going on. And we're happy to answer those questions. 

Eugene Lee: Yeah, people can email me at eugeneenergy22@gmail.com. 

John Hull: Eugene Energy is that one word, 22, all that one word on the email?

Eugene Lee: Yes. 

John Hull: Okay. Okay. Email eugeneenergy22@gmail.com.

Okay. Right? Yes. And now I have a final question for, it's for both of you. And we have Earth Day coming up. We're heading into April here pretty soon. What, though, is one specific thing you could advise residents to start doing that could make a positive impact on our future, short of selling their gas-powered automobile? I mean, or is that a start? So you tell me. 

Carrie Whitlock: I am always happy to see more electric vehicles on our roads and there are many options out there. But, you know, there are also a lot of really much less expensive ways for people to also think about, you know, having an impact, right? And, and I think one of the big ones for me is, is thinking a little bit more carefully when you're purchasing, right? You know, thinking about your purchases more. Are you purchasing things maybe that are more locally made? Are you purchasing things that, you know, have a longer life span and so maybe it'll be, you know, around for a longer period of time and, and you can use it more. Is it something you really need? And then when it is time to get rid of it. Is it something somebody else can use and you can donate it to the food bank or to the Goodwill, or you know, is it something that can be recycled? Can you take it to the Special Waste Collection Center? Right. That accepts a lot of different things so they don't end up in the landfall landfill. So really just thinking about that lifecycle of products a little bit more. 

John Hull: Eugene, anything else you want to add to that? 

Eugene Lee: I'd love to add, you know, being a smarter shopper. Buying more product and less packaging, you know, we know plastic is everywhere in, in stores and supermarkets, and I would urge people to consider how to shop smarter and reduce how much single use plastic wrappers that you're buying and just throwing away. Buy paper or recyclable plastic if you have a choice. Because you can recycle clean plastic containers number 1-7 in your blue garbage can, not your black garbage can. I would love to see a city where you have blue garbage cans just in abundance and smaller and less black garbage cans.

John Hull: That's a, that's a great idea and you need to really right on, you know, we were talking about eliminating some things from our house because our house was starting to get a little too cluttered and instead we, yeah, we could have put it out for special waste collection next week, but we decided let's give it away. And we ended up passing on a lot of our some of our furniture and, you know, that way it, it doesn't end up in the landfill someplace. And you know, we've done programs here on the Citycast along these lines of, of proper waste reduction and, you know, recycling and, and, and all that we do at our special waste collection center here in Elk Grove, right off of Grant Line Road. But. You're all, this is all terrific. It's, it's very practical things. And if every one of us does it, it, it's, it works for the greater good. Right guys? 

Carrie Whitlock: Right. Yep. Absolutely. 

John Hull: Okay. Well, Carrie Whitlock, Eugene Lee, it's been great meeting you here on the Elk Grove CityCast and we wish our blessings upon you as you continue this excellent work. Thank you. 

Carrie Whitlock: Thank you for having us. 

Eugene Lee: Yes, thank you for the time. 

John Hull: In this portion of the Elk Grove CityCast, we call it our rapid fire segment, where I put Kristyn on the spot with questions about Elk Grove. Now, if you have a question you want to hear answers for, please email us at publicaffairs@elkgrovecity.org. That's publicaffairs@elkgrovecity.org. Okay, Kristyn, later this month, the 29th to be exact, Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen will give her annual State of the City Address. So, could you talk about that event and how residents might be able to attend? 

Kristyn Laurence: Sure, you know, Mayor Singh Allen's preparing to deliver her fourth State of the City address during the Chamber's annual luncheon. And again, that's on Friday, March 29th at District 56. And this event provides a neat opportunity to connect with the community and reflect on what we've accomplished as a city over the past year. And then look ahead to what's on the horizon. There's a lot going on in Elk Grove and there are some significant projects in the pipeline. I think our listeners got a sense for that when we spoke with the city manager in January and now we'll get the mayor's perspective. She's excited. The theme of her speech is “Mission:Possible” and she's got some great things to share. Residents can be a part of the event. part of the event by purchasing tickets to attend the lunch on the chamber's website. I believe the cost to attend is $55 a person but the free option is that you can tune in to the live stream absolutely free on the city's website on the 29th starting around 12 30 and that would be at www.elkgrovecity.org/stateofthecity. 

John Hull: Okay. Very good. Here's our second rapid fire question for you. You know, we talk about this topic in the past, but with spring months now upon us, we need to remind homeowners about yard and home maintenance, such as cutting the grass. So Kristyn, if a resident has an issue with upkeep, is there anything that the city or local organizations, how can they maybe get involved to help this person out?

Kristyn Laurence: Well, the city honestly doesn't tend to get involved with a lot of private property maintenance unless it presents a safety hazard to others. But in those instances, when there is a safety concern or potential code violation, residents should start by reaching out to their neighbors or their homeowners association first to see if they can remedy the situation that way. But if those avenues aren't available or they're not successful, these issues can be reported to our code enforcement unit through the See Click Fix mobile app or online on our website at www.elkgrovecity. org. These resources allow you the opportunity to provide a description of what's going on and even attach some photos. It'll start the process for a code enforcement investigation. which could still take some time to resolve, honestly. Once a report's placed and notification is sent to a private property owner, they have up to 15 days to address the issue before a second inspection is scheduled. So that really depends on when the city is made aware of a problem. It could still be there for a while, and I think residents should know that up front. Updates are entered into the mobile app, so you can review the status of open cases you've reported or your neighbors have reported. So it's kind of a useful tool. But really we ask people to be patient, reach out to our code enforcement team if they do have questions.

As far as additional assistance, I know we've heard some resources may be out there. Through service organizations or faith-based organizations in the community I would encourage people to, to, to ask around, ask their neighbors, ask their their, churches if there are resources available to help out. If, if trying to keep up with the landscaping is not something that they can do themselves and maybe lack the funds to provide that kind of service, you know, commercially but, but the city's reporting and stuff is really tends to be a last resort. I think there might be some resources available in the community to help out when, when it's needed. 

John Hull: Okay, very good. And again, Code enforcement people are very very helpful in in it, you know, whenever you have an issue like that And they can contact code enforcement directly, correct? If they have a question…

Kristyn Laurence: Yeah, I know that some of the issues or concerns I've heard before is it could be like an ongoing problem like trouble spot within their neighborhood and they see it every day and they might get really frustrated about it. Honestly, until the city is made aware of the situation, we really can't act on it. And once we do act, it's sometimes take sometimes takes longer than than a resident might expect, but it has to go through a certain due process, if you will to try and resolve it. So, it can take a little longer than most people would like, but getting the city aware of the problem is kind of the, the first major hurdle to, to get through it. So, if we don't know about it, we can't, we can't support it or help resolve it. 

John Hull: Excellent. If you have any questions for Kristyn, please email them to us at publicaffairs at elkgrovescity. org. Now, Kristyn, let's remind our regular listeners about April CityCasts. That's right, CityCasts, because next month we will produce two CityCasts. So tell us what, what, what's coming up. 

Kristyn Laurence: Yeah, so we're excited about the state of the city and the mayor's address that's coming at the end of March, and so we are going to connect with Mayor Singh-Allen for our usual, like, regularly scheduled April podcast, and she's going to be giving us kind of a recap of that speech and the messaging and major issues that are brought up in that speech. So I think that's a great opportunity to kind of go over that if people don't have a chance to listen in on the day of, but it's kind of the playback, if you will. But we're also going to be doing a bonus episode in April that's going to be all about the new zoo project that's being proposed. I know that that is one of the city's largest proposed capital projects to date and we're going to be bringing on Christopher Jordan who's the director of strategic planning and innovation. He's been leading the project for the city, but there are a lot of smart people and perspectives behind that. That project is going to be coming to the Planning Commission and the City Council very soon. And so getting people aware of the project and, and informed will give them an opportunity to participate in those meetings.

John Hull: And, you know, for all the talk of the last couple of years about the Sacramento Zoo moving to Elk Grove, it sounds like, if I'm understanding you correctly, this is something that we will know definitely on within the next 60 days, roughly, correct? 

Kristyn Laurence: Yeah, there's a, there's a tentative schedule that it looks like this project is going to be moving forward to the planning commission on April 4th and, and we're waiting for confirmation of that. But, We also believe that if, if that schedule holds as it should, then that will be coming to the city council as part of kind of the last vote in this process to consider it from being a concept to potentially a reality and going to a council vote at the first meeting in May. So that, that would be like on or around, I think it's May 8th is the city council meeting. There's a chance always that it can get delayed by a meeting, but we're, we're talking about, you know, significant deliberation and potential actions on this particular project happening within the next couple months.

John Hull: Okay, this is excellent. Thank you so much, Kristyn. And again, stay tuned to our Elk Grove CityCast where we'll keep you updated on this and of course, everything else going on here in the city of Elk Grove. Again, any questions, comments? Email us at publicaffairs@elkgrovecity.org. For Kristyn Laurence, I’m John Hull. Thank you for tuning in

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