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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 26 - Santa Ana Climate and Public Health Emergency ResolutionC hispa ELI C A M P A I G N -o'x � r. S G s� C9 F OSSI�F �EE' Z O ,POZ/FER AI`O� _,GAGED IN Ey G.R.E.E.N. Madison Park Neighborhood Assoieiation (MPNA) STAND .earth SAFE Cities Health, Safety, Equity, Climate The Climate Reality Project ORA UE COUNTY, CA CHAi?I1 Eli h A. * ! !4*4 AA V* Global �Children s' Campaig� Santa Ana Climate and Public Health Emergency Resolution of 2021 A RESOLUTION DECLARING A CLIMATE AND PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, COMMITTING TO POLICIES OPPOSING FOSSIL FUEL EXPANSION AND ACCELERATING THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION AS PART OF THE SAFE CITIES MOVEMENT, COMMITTING TO POLICIES THAT WILL REDUCE BOTH NEW AND EXISTING LEAD CONTAMINATION, AND ENDORSING THE CALL FOR A GLOBAL FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY. WHEREAS, communities across the City of Santa Ana are impacted by the health and safety risks of fossil fuels, climate change, lack of access to safe and open spaces and parks, lead, and other environmental toxins; and WHEREAS these risks can be exacerbated by zoning and land use decisions as well as urban development. Urban development on a grand scale has threatened residents with increased traffic and emissions, and thus may foster an increased heat island effect, elevating heat temperatures, incurring the threat of wildfires and additional health disparities such as asthma, obesity, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and WHEREAS, these health and safety risks disproportionately impact those who also face environmental justice and socioeconomic and health inequities, including youth, elders, Indigenous people, people of color, low-income people, migrant communities, those experiencing mental and physical disabilities, those experiencing houselessness, and people with health conditions; and WHEREAS, the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure and expanded reliance on fossil fuels exposes communities to substantial risks to the public's health and safety at the local and global levels; and WHEREAS, human exposure to lead via soil and other sources has been directly linked in children to a number of neurological issues, including smaller brain volume, lower working memory and processing speed, more limited perceptual reasoning, poor school performance, and asthma, and in adults to cardiovascular issues, renal problems, osteoporosis, and cognitive deficiencies; and WHEREAS, lead levels higher than safely permitted by the state of California and recommended by experts have been found throughout Santa Ana neighborhoods'; and WHEREAS, climate change exacerbates prolonged drought punctuated by unpredictable atmospheric river behavior and flooding, more frequent extreme heat events, wildfires, stronger Santa Ana winds, and warmer water temperatures that can result in increased circulation of lead in local environments'; and 'ThinkProgress. "The Toxic Legacy of Lead Storymap." <https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=05dd9a8ec7004882bl l3714e7fe5ee3a> 2 "The State of Public Health Lead Policies: Implications for Urban Health Inequities and Recommendations for Health Equity"<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6466291/> WHEREAS, only 4% of the City of Santa Ana's land is dedicated for parks and recreation,' and the City of Santa Ana ranks 85th out of 100 US cities due to lack of access to parks, amenities and acreage. WHEREAS the City of Santa Ana's Open Space Element Policy 1.3 calls for the City to achieve a minimum park standard of two acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. The City currently does not meet this per -resident standard, and the parkland deficiency is projected to increase further: the total "parkland deficiency" would increase from 107.56 acres to 299.48 acres with increased development projected in the General Plan Update. WHEREAS parks, playgrounds, greenways, trails, community open spaces and community gardens help keep people and their communities healthy. Exposure to nature in parks, gardens, and natural areas can improve psychological and social health. Parks provide children with opportunities for play, critical in the development of muscle strength and coordination, language, and cognitive abilities. Parks build healthy communities by creating stable neighborhoods and strengthening community development.4 WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana is committed to providing and upkeeping access to clean water and cooling centers to the whole community — and especially to those experiencing houselessness to stop preventable deaths due to heatwaves; and WHEREAS, a study from the University of Notre Dame found that the City of Santa Ana was the city with the highest climate change risks and one of the lowest climate change readiness in the United States5; and WHEREAS, the economic and job opportunities presented by a clean energy transition far outweigh the opportunities presented by an economy supported by expanding fossil fuel use and extraction; and WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana government recognizes the importance of any measures taken to decarbonize the local economy and uplift frontline communities being permanent, long term solutions; and WHEREAS, our community is committed to an equitable and just energy transition, environmental remediation projects to reduce exposure to lead and other environmental toxins, and to appropriate investments that offset the impacts of evolving industries and employment, as well as ambitious investments in green infrastructure and industries that will create jobs, decarbonize our economy, halt and reverse lead proliferation, and reduce future climate change; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the general police powers granted to the City of Santa Ana empower and authorize the City of Santa Ana to adopt land use controls to provide for the regulation of land uses within the City of Santa Ana and to provide that such uses shall be consistent with s Trust for Public Land Park Score. TPL 2020 Park Score. www.tpl.org a Gies, Erica. The Health Benefits of Parks: How Parks Help Keep Americans Fit and Healthy https://www.tpl.org/sites/default/files/cloud.tpl.org/pubs/benefits_HeaIthBenefitsReport.pdf 5 University of Notre Dame, "Climate Vulnerability of UAA Cities." <https://gain-uaa.nd.edu/matrix/> applicable law; and WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana government fully recognizes the limits to its authority over fossil fuel transport imposed by the federal government, and finds that this action is within the City's authority; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City of Santa Ana declares that a climate, environmental justice, public health, and ecological emergency threatens our city, region, state, nation, humanity and the natural world; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana endorses the call for a global Fossil Fuel Non -Proliferation Treaty6 that will end new fossil fuel exploration and expansion, phase out existing production in line with the global commitment to limit warming below 1.5°C above pre -industrial levels, and accelerate just and equitable energy transition plans; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana urges the State of California and the United States Federal Government to support the initiative for a Fossil Fuel Non -Proliferation Treaty; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana commits to investigate and implement policies limiting or preventing fossil fuel expansion as part of the SAFE Cities movement because of the inherent dangers to the public's health and safety in extraction, production, transport, storage, and combustion of fossil fuels; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana intends to investigate and implement policies limiting or preventing exposure to lead and other environmental toxins from new and existing sources and implementing policies to remediate lead and other environmental toxins, in tandem with renter protections to ensure that remediated households are not displaced as a result of environmental clean up efforts; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana, in their commitment to environmental justice and in reducing the impact of climate change on low-income communities and communities of color, support land use that will accommodate more park space that would mitigate environmental pollution including carbon emissions, especially in areas where open space is threatened to be eliminated due to urban development. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana will investigate and implement policies promoting decarbonization and electrification of buildings and transportation, and other development to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and achieve maximum energy efficiency, water efficiency, and safety, including the use of Reach Codes,and; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Santa Ana will achieve 100 percent of electricity power supply for municipal use plus offer the same to all residents and businesses through clean, renewable, and zero carbon emission energy sources before the year 2025; and 6Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty. Fossilfueltreaty.ora BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Santa Ana will investigate the feasibility of building microgrids to ensure safe and reliable access to electricity, providing community renewable energy programs to expand access to the benefits of renewable energy (such as solar panels) to low-income and renter households and frontline and vulnerable communities; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the city of Santa Ana intends to continue to investigate Community Choice Aggregation and the Orange County Power Authority as a means to meet the city's 100% clean, renewable zero -emission equitable electricity by 2025 goals; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Santa Ana will explore how to achieve a just transition through job creation goals centering frontline and vulnerable communities, including labor strengthening projects, education, and job retraining programs to spur clean energy investment, decarbonize the City of Santa Ana's local economy, benefit local ecosystems, access to nature, boost biodiversity, end poverty, and tackle systemic injustices; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, during the just transition to a decarbonized economy, the City of Santa Ana will support the rights of workers to organize, unionize, and collectively bargain free of coercion, intimidation, and harassment, and strengthen workplace health and safety protections, anti -discrimination protections, and wage and hour standards across all employers, industries, and sectors; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana will work with the labor and business communities to investigate how to achieve a just climate transition and zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 across all industries, sectors, and communities; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana's 2015 Climate Action Plan be updated, improved, and expanded by the end of 2022 to maximize our city's public and private contributions to reaching zero emissions as soon and as socially equitable and possible; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that city staff are directed to explore, develop, and incorporate policies that will lead to a just transition, limit fossil fuel infrastructure expansion (SAFE Cities policies'), promote electrification, begin lead remediation, and create a clean energy future in order to protect public health and safety as part of the General Plan Update process; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Santa Ana will empower the Environmental and Transportation Advisory Committee to carry forward the commitments of this resolution; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Santa Ana, in their commitment to transparency, will make any and all findings of such a body publicly available, as well as the actions they are planning to take in response to such findings, and; BE IT FINALLY FURTHER RESOLVED, in furtherance of this resolution, the City of Santa Ana shall submit a certified copy of this resolution to federal, state, regional, county, city, tribal and 'Stand.earth. "SAFE Cities Binder of Resources for Elected Officials and Staff," pg. 4-7 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1 Y73aR-vElfMatkXc45He6ZvuYwftgNzJgMMd-8Yn4as/edit?usp=sh aring other relevant agencies and request that all relevant support and assistance in effectuating this resolution be provided.