Belmont hopes to ramp up climate education

That’s due to a mix of regional, state and federal incentives and legislation. And even though Belmont has enacted some of its own initiatives, recent legislation and court rulings have limited local jurisdictions’ abilities to go beyond state mandates for all-electric construction.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals finalized a decision last year that led many cities, including Belmont, to suspend their reach codes — or energy codes that are stricter than the state-level code — to avoid legal challenges. And more recently, Assembly Bill 130 was recently signed into law this summer, which prohibits jurisdictions from passing new reach codes until 2031.

“We may not be driving the programs, but we have a really key role in educating our residents about what options are available to them so they are more likely to take advantage,” Assistant City Manager Kathy Kleinbaum said.

The city adopted a climate action plan in 2017, and, since then, several initiatives and policies have proved successful in the GHG reduction. Belmont is part of a plan with Peninsula Clean Energy — the county’s public electricity provider — that provides its municipal facilities with fully renewable electricity. Bike lane improvement projects and the implementation of LED street lights and building retrofits were also identified as factors in the emissions reductions.

However, progress has slowed, with “minimal emissions reductions “occurring between 2021 and 2023, the staff report added. While there are only so many policies and so much local funding available, Mayor Julia Mates said there needs to be more centralized access to critical information.

“When your water heater goes out, you need it ASAP, and you don't want to sit there and do research,” Mates said. “So just getting some of that information available at the time is I think a great idea and using those resources available.”

The city is working on updating its 2017 plan, with the council tentatively planning for adoption in fall 2026.