League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Marin County, CA November 3, 2015 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Council Member; City of Novato

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Marin County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Climate Action Plan Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How would you rate your Climate Action plan, what has been done and what more is needed? Answer from Pam Drew: The Novato Climate Change Plan was passed in 2009 and has recently been revisited. In addition to updating the emissions projections and potential reductions, the City Council supported promoting commercial energy efficiency upgrades. Novato is in the process of updating the general plan. The General Plan needs to have an entire chapter devoted to sea level rise and it should also incorporate our current Climate Action Plan. We need to identify the properties likely to be impacted by sea level rise in order to minimize the impact. Sea level rise needs to be a major focus of the City of Novato in concert with the County of Marin. The coordination has begun and must continue to increase because the challenge will continue to increase. City-county coordination is absolutely necessary. Answer from Gary G. Butler: The City of Novato addresses climate change in the General Plan. This document is currently being updated. In the spring of 2015, a white paper of the draft updated plan was presented to the Novato City Council. Much of this plan is focused on reducing Greenhouse gas production from activities within the City. One implemented project, replacing street lights with LED has made a significant impact, both fiscally and environmentally. Other projects with significant impacts include; residential solar installation, synchronizing traffic lights to reduce idling time and increased recycling and more diversion of organic waste. Specifically, our Climate Action Plan is focused on doing our part locally to limit climate change. Rising sea levels are of particular concern for Novato. Depending on the effectiveness of global programs, sea levels are likely to rise in Novato, particularly around Bel Marin Keys and potentially areas around US 101 in the northern sector of the City. The Hamilton area, with its existing levee is currently identified as a flood zone. Recent reclamation work in the marshland surrounding Hamilton and other low lying Novato areas has provided increased protection against rising sea levels. Overall, I believe that the current Novato Climate Action Plan is correct in terms of identifying potential problem areas and viable solutions. I would encourage the City of Novato to engage its residents in developing and implementing innovative actions that will lower GHG emissions. Additionally, since many of Novato's low lying areas are adjacent to county property, there is a need to align Novato's efforts with the County Wide Plan to successfully address the impact of and solutions to climate change within our community. Answer from Jeanne Macleamy: The city of Novato is in the process of amending our General Plan. In preparation for future discussion and adoption of the General Plan, Novato's Climate Action Plan white paper was presented to the City Council in March of 2015. The council reaffirmed the green house gas reduction targets of 15% below 2005 levels by 2020 consistent with the State's direction to local governments. The council also supported a new program to promote commercial energy efficiency upgrades. This includes the Smart Lights Marin Energy Watch program that the city will assist in promoting to local businesses. The City also has now converted all of our street lights to LED lamps which greatly reduces our GHG footprint and energy cost. These steps and others confirms that yes Novato has and will continue to do a good job of addressing climate change issues. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.