Dear City Council Members,
As you are likely aware, I’m a long-time (30+ year) Menlo Park resident, living in the Willows, and a long-time (18+ years) climate advocate. I was among the leaders who prepared the November 2007 Green Ribbon Citizens’ Committee (GRCC) Report to City Council and subsequently served on the Environmental Quality Commission for 8 years. During that time the EQC worked closely with City staff and City Council to develop a succession of climate action plans as well as recommendations for the City’s original greenhouse gas (GHG reduction target) of 27% reduction by 2020, which was indeed attained.
City Council subsequently adopted the more aggressive GHG reduction target of climate neutrality by 2030, which was advocated by the GRCC and EQC.
The underlying vision for all of this effort was for Menlo Park to became one of the leading cities in the USA in addressing climate change. This was both due to our reputation as a center of innovation (Sand Hill Road, SRI, Stanford, Facebook/Meta, etc.) as well as an understanding that during times in which aggressive national and even state action becomes political infeasible, there is still a great opportunity to make substantial progress at the local level, collaborate with and influence scores of other communities, and inspire broader action.
When Menlo Park’s initial efforts in advocating for Peninsula Clean Energy to commit to procuring energy from 100% carbon-free sources within 5 years of inception was adopted by their Board, this resulted in substantial GHG reductions for all communities in San Mateo County. When Menlo Park adopted new construction Reach Codes it inspired a wave of communities (50 or more in California) who adopted “Menlo-style" Reach codes.
City Council’s adoption of the current GHG reduction targets has also inspired and contributed to many other communities adopting aggressive targets.
We are once again facing a time in which climate action at the national level is being shut down and even rolled back, and climate action at the state level impacted by budget and political constraints, as well as the recent passage of AB130. The only recourse for aggressive action will be at the local and regional level over the next several years. Such action will ease the way for hoped-for state and national resumption of aggressive action. Without any movement during this time, the ability to blunt the worst impacts of climate change will be further impaired and human beings will needlessly suffer in the coming years and the coming generations.
For this study session the EQC has recommended that Menlo Park move forward aggressively with all available means to address GHG emissions in buildings of all types. Without these measures, new construction and major remodels will continue perpetuating the use of methane gas for heating and cooling air and water. While this is branded or green-washed as “natural” gas, it is among the most potent contributors to climate change and also has associated indoor air quality health risks.
I urge you to instruct staff to move forward with each of the EQC recommendations and bring them back to Council for a timely vote in advance of the 6-year ban on such initiatives imposed by AB130 that will come into effect after Sept. 30. These are the key EQC recommendations that I favor:
• Air condition to heat pump ordinance requiring a heat pump whenever an air conditioner is installed;
• Flex path ordinance for major remodels of existing buildings;
• Energy performance ordinance for new construction;
• Enhanced pre-wiring ordinance; and
• Building performance standards and building energy savings ordinance after adopting amendments to the 2025 code.
While I am aware that staff has concerns about the potential complexity of at least one of these measures, it is likely that model ordinances and/or implementations of similar codes by other climate leading cities can be identified and used to reduce the amount of time needed for this work. At the very least, please direct staff to use a good faith effort to locate such model ordinances and existing codes.
I continue to appreciate your efforts and am grateful for all that you shoulder on behalf of the residents and business of our Menlo Park community.
Mitch Slomiak
Willows Resident
Chair & Co-Founder
Menlo Spark
