On September 29, 2020, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring a climate crisis requiring an urgent and inclusive mobilization of countywide resources to initiate a just transition to an inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and resilient local economy while also supporting and advocating for regional, national, and international efforts necessary to reverse the climate, social justice, and economic crises (Resolution 20-114, provided as Attachment A). The emergency resolution called for a future advisory body to include representation from vulnerable, marginalized, and underrepresented communities, from cities and other appropriate jurisdictions, from community organizations and from experts in the field of climate change and that the group would be charged with engaging the broader Yolo County community to ensure inclusivity and to advise Yolo County and its partners on the implementation of the Yolo County Climate Action Plan.
Following the climate emergency resolution, staff, in consultation with the Board of Supervisors Subcommittee on Climate, analyzed potential compositions of the advisory body. This included a review of a number of existing climate action and sustainability advisory bodies, including local and non-local groups, to get a better understanding of what other municipal jurisdictions and community climate groups were doing to address climate change. Staff and the Board Subcommittee on Climate then considered the ability of the future group to best help the County and its partners to initiate an equitable climate mobilization without replicating any ongoing climate efforts by other local groups involved in sustainability and resiliency planning. Additionally, staff and the Board Subcommittee on Climate conferred with and received feedback from stakeholder groups with questions and recommendations regarding the draft group’s composition through two virtual public meetings held in March and April of this year. At the first meeting, staff discussed a number of other jurisdictions climate groups' compositions and returned to the second meeting with the Board Subcommittee on Climate and stakeholder feedback incorporated to discuss the recommended composition.
To achieve the goals listed in the resolution, staff and the Board Subcommittee on Climate incorporated best practices identified during the review of other jurisdictions and community groups, including number of members, organizational structure, and each groups’ charge. The proposed name of the body is the Yolo County Climate Action Commission (YCCAC), which is intended to distinguish the group from other advisory bodies, because at its core, this group would function as a working body and not simply as an advisory group that makes recommendations. Similarly, many advisory groups have a finite limit on membership, the proposed YCCAC has a finite limit on its voting members but does not include a membership limit for non-voting members that will participate in the process to update the Climate Action Plan.
The draft composition for the Yolo County Climate Action Commission is outlined in the table below.
| Category of Membership |
Number of members |
Appointment |
Voting Status |
| Supervisorial District Community Members |
5 |
Appointed by BOS |
Yes |
| At-large Community Members |
2 |
Appointed by 5 YCCAC members |
Yes |
| Technical Lead (Climate Scientists/Subject Matter Experts) |
1 |
Appointed by BOS with staff recommendation |
Yes |
| Climate Scientists/Subject Matter Experts |
2 |
Appointed by YCCAC |
Yes |
| Environmental Justice Lead |
1 |
Appointed by BOS with staff recommendation |
Yes |
| Total |
9 – 11 |
|
|
The eleven-member voting commission would receive administrative support from County staff and be supported by the Board Subcommittee on Climate, who would serve as non-voting liaisons between the commission and the remaining County Board of Supervisors. Additionally, one Ex-Officio non-voting member representative from the University of California, Davis would serve on the Commission. Upon implementation, there may be additional Ex-Officio members designated by the Board of Supervisors upon request by staff or the YCCAC.
County staff will recruit applicants to fill the Technical Lead and Environmental Justice Lead categories and will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. Up to two additional subject matter experts in the field of climate science or sustainability may be appointed by the YCCAC to serve as members upon creation of the group.
Each of the Board of Supervisors will work with their staff to nominate a representative from their district to serve as one of the five community members, and the five YCCAC members appointed by the Board will then appoint the remaining two at-large members with the intent of ensuring the composition of the commission reflects the demographics of the County, including representation and participation from groups including, but not limited to, historically under-represented and disproportionately impacted communities.
A non-exhaustive list of institutional partners that staff contemplates participating in the process without formal membership are listed below:
- Cities of Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento and Winters;
- Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG);
- Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation;
- Other local, regional, state, federal agencies whose mandates overlap with sustainability.
The YCCAC would be able to create project specific working groups to further components of the emergency resolution declaring a climate crisis, which outlined specific need for representation from and engagement to vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved communities, and the need to create a new Climate Action Plan to achieve a carbon negative footprint by 2030. The working groups would not require technical experience in the sense of needing to be formally educated on a topic to be considered a subject matter expert. While not an exhaustive list, staff contemplates that the working groups could include such topics as Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, Mobility, Agriculture, Energy, and Metrics. One the YCCAC is fully empaneled, the group would be able to create working groups as the need arises and projects are identified.
As described, staff envision the YCCAC as a working group that will require its members to participate on action items in between meetings and to report back on any progress at regularly scheduled advisory body meeting. Staff intend to use the group’s meetings to facilitate conversations between the group and other agencies involved in matters related to climate change and sustainability and to report on actions that Yolo County departments have planned or are currently involved in, so that engagement is embedded into the group’s processes.
Given the scope and scale of coordinating with the YCCAC, the Board may want to consider a dedicated position to support the implementation and ensure there is a dedicated point of contact to collect data from County departments who are involved with one or more of the eight sustainability elements, evaluate progress towards sustainability goals, coordinate with the future advisory committee and other stakeholders, and identify and apply for grants that could defray the cost of the position and advance implementation goals and objectives. The Board previously allocated $50,000 for staffing this initiative in the FY19-20 budget. Those funds have yet to be obligated and could be used to fund a position for the remainder of the fiscal year, following the creation of a classification that reflects the duties of the position. Absent a dedicated position, implementation will likely be spread across multiple FTEs in multiple departments, requiring additional internal coordination and administration.
Staff recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the proposed Yolo County Climate Action Commission and authorize staff to begin recruiting individuals to serve as members per the recommended composition. |