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Abstract
For more than thirty years, municipalities across the United States have created Climate Action Plans (CAPs) to address the consequences of climate change within their communities. Scholars have scrutinized the efficacy of local CAPs since their inception, alleging that many hold nothing more than abstract and visionary statements. Indeed, early CAPs often provided detailed plans but lacked corresponding accountability or metrics for bringing those plans to fruition. However, more recent CAPs have sought to ground their aspirations in land use law by integrating the CAPs into comprehensive plans, amending zoning codes to meet urban agriculture goals, and even providing expedited zoning procedures for CAP-compliant developers.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Portions of this article appear in the Zoning and Planning Law Report. Reprinted with permission. Hartwell, Local Climate Action Planning—The Land Use Perspective Zoning and Planning Law Report vol. 46 issue 6 (2023)
2 See GLOBAL WARMING REDUCTION STRATEGY (1993).
3 See e.g., Joseph Kane et al., Not According to Plan: Exploring Gaps in City Climate Planning and the Need for Regional Action (San Diego Reg’l Pol’y & Innovation Ctr., 2022), https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Decarbonization_final.pdf.
4 For a discussion of CRD, see infra I(B).
5 Sixth Assessment Report (2021) https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/.
6 John R. Nolon, The Land Use Stabilization Wedge (Land Use L. Ctr., 2019), https://law.pace.edu/sites/default/files/LULC/The%20Land%20Use%20Stabilization%20Wedge.pdf.
7 There are some outliers, such as Punta Gorda, Florida. Punta Gorda, Florida’s 2009 Adaptation Plan states, “[t]his report identifies the alternative adaptations that could be undertaken to address the identified climate change vulnerabilities for the City of Punta Gorda.” It then discusses adaptive land use solutions, such as updating the zoning code to account for increased flooding. Essentially, in 2009, Punta Gorda began considering early versions of managed retreat. James W. Beever III et al., City of Punta Gorda Adaptation Plan 16 (2009) (emphasis added), https://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/home/showpublisheddocument/9985/637033521128130000.
8 GLOBAL WARMING REDUCTION STRATEGY (1993). https://www.portland.gov/sites/default/files/2019-08/global-warming-reduction-strategy-nov-1993.pdf
9 Seattle Climate Action Plan (2018) http://greenspace.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SeaClimateAction_April2018.pdf
10 City of Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan Version 3.0 https://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/redtail/images/7101_Pittsburgh_Climate_Action_Plan_3.0.pdf
11 summary for policymakers https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6/wg2/IPCC_AR6_WGII_FullReport.pdf
12 Id.
13 Fourth Assessment Report (2007) https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar4//.
14 The City of Portland’s 2022-2025 Climate Emergency Workplan (2022). https://www.portland.gov/bps/climate-action/climate-emergency/documents/climate-emergency-workplan-2022-2025/download
15 Austin Climate Equity Plan (2020). https://www.austintexas.gov/page/austin-climate-equity-plan
16 The City of Providence’s Climate Justice Plan (2019). https://www.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Climate-Justice-Plan-Report-FINAL-English-1.pdf
17 Id.
18 Id.
19 City of Phoenix, Climate Action Plan (2021), https://www.phoenix.gov/oepsite/Documents/2021ClimateActionPlanEnglish.pdf.
20 Id.
21 Draft 2045 Climate Action Plan County of Los Angeles (2022). https://planning.lacounty.gov/site/climate/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LA_County_2045_CAP_Public_Draft_April_2022.pdf
22 Department of City Planning Recommendation Report https://planning.lacity.org/ordinances/docs/UrbanAgriculture/StaffReport.pdf
23 Id.
24 Id.
25 Id.
26 Austin, Texas, Austin Climate Equity Plan 59 (2020), https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Sustainability/Climate%20Equity%20Plan/Climate%20Plan%20Full%20Document__FINAL.pdf.
27 See, e.g., MPTA, In-Transit (2022), https://mn-maplegrove.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/2493/Maple-Grove-Transit-mobility-hub?bidId=
28 Portland, Oregon, Climate Emergency Workplan 9 (2022), https://www.portland.gov/bps/climate-action/climate-emergency/documents/climate-emergency-workplan-2022-2025/download.
29 Id.
30 SA Climate Ready: A Pathway For Climate Action and Adaptation. https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/Sustainability/SAClimateReady/SACRReportOctober2019.pdf
31 Vehicle-Free Zones in City Centers: The European Experience (1972) https://trid.trb.org/view/128772
32 Akio Onishi et al., Evaluating the Potential for Urban Heat-Island Mitigation by Greening Parking Lots, 9 Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 323 (2010).
33 City of Milwaukee, Climate & Equity Plan 74 (2022), https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/cityGreenTeam/PDF/2022-10-25_ClimateandEquityPlanDRAFT.pdf.
34 Id. at 82.
35 Id. at 83. Unbundling parking “means that parking is rented or sold separately, rather than automatically included with building space.” Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Parking Management: Strategies, Evaluation and Planning 20 (2016).
36 City of Milwaukee, supra note 10, at 83.
37 Id. at 91.
38 Id. at 106.
39 Tybee Island, Ga., Land Development Code § 3-080(C)(5) (requiring new residential driveways and replacements of more than 50 percent of existing driveways be constructed of permeable materials designed to allow retention of at least the first one inch of stormwater).
40 A.R. Siders, Managed Retreat in the United States, 1 One Earth 216, 216 (2019).
41 City of CINCINNATI, GREEN Cincinnati Plan 188 (2018), cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/oes/assets/File/2018%20Green%20Cincinnati%20Plan (1).pdf; Anna Marandi & Kelly Leilani Main, Vulnerable City, Recipient City, or Climate Destination? Towards a Typology of Domestic Climate Migration Impacts in US Cities, 11 J. Env’t Studies Sci. 465, 472 (2021).
42 City of Cincinnati, supra note 8, at 188.
43 This knowledge can help avoid losses from the public coffer that result from siting municipal infrastructure in climate vulnerable locations. It can also allow municipalities to prepare for a reduced, or relocated, tax base.
44 Maladaptation “refers to actions that may lead to increased risk of adverse climate-related outcomes, including via increased greenhouse gas emissions, increased or shifted vulnerability to climate change, more inequitable outcomes, or diminished welfare, now or in the future. Most often, maladaptation is an unintended consequence.” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPPC], CLIMATE Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability 7 n.15 (H.-O. Pörtne et al. eds., 2022). Seawalls are often categorized as maladaptive due to the ‘coastal squeeze’ effect on native vegetation, the “colossal” carbon footprint of concrete, the relatively large expense for construction and maintenance, and the risk of inequitable protections. Valeria Chavez et al., Coastal Green Infrastructure to Mitigate Coastal Squeeze, 2 J. of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience 7 (2021); Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPPC], supra note 21, at 310 (“Rising sea levels as a result of climate change mean that coasts are eroding at a fast rate and storm surges are more likely to cause damaging coastal flooding. Natural coastal vegetation, such as saltmarsh and mangrove swamps can, in the right places, stabilize the shoreline and act as a buffer, absorbing the force of waves. On a natural coast, the shoreline will move inland and as sea level rises, the coastal vegetation will gradually move inland with it. This contrasts with hard coastal defenses such as sea walls and banks, which can be overwhelmed and fail. In many places however, coastal habitats have been cleared and where there are hard sea defenses behind the coastal zone, the vegetation disappears as the coast erodes rather than moving inland. This is often referred to as ‘coastal squeeze’ as the vegetation is squeezed between the sea and the sea wall. Restoring coastal habitats and removing hard sea defenses, can help reduce the risks of catastrophic flooding.”); see, e.g., Concrete Needs to Lose its Colossal Carbon Footprint, Nature (Sept. 18, 2021), https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586–021–02612–5#:∼:text = But%20concrete%20has%20a%20colossal,into%20moulds%20before%20it%20dries; Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade County Sea Level Rise Strategy 172–73 (2021) https://miami-dade-county-sea-level-rise-strategy-draft-mdc.hub.arcgis.com/; I. Avery Bick et al., Rising Seas, Rising Inequity? Communities at Risk in the San Francisco Bay Area and Implications for Adaptation Policy, 9 Earth’s Future 1, 18 (2021).
45 City of Punta Gorda, Adaptation Plan Update https://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/home/showdocument?id=9987
46 Taylor Eng’g, Inc., City of Punta Gorda Adaptation Plan Update (2019), https://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/home/showpublisheddocument/13106/637837980306706203. Additionally, Punta Gorda incorporated its climate plan into its comprehensive plan – a best practice discussed below in part III.
47 Id.
48 Boston, Climate Ready Boston (2016).
49 Id. at xi.
50 Id. at 25.
51 Boston, Mass., Zoning Code art. 25A (2021); Boston Planning and Development Agency, Coastal Flood Resilience Guidelines & Zoning Overlay District, https://www.bostonplans.org/planning/planning-initiatives/flood-resiliency-building-guidelines-zoning-over (last visited Dec. 4, 2022).
52 Id.
53 City of Raleigh et al., Raleigh Community Climate Action Plan (2021), https://cityofraleigh0drupal.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/drupal-prod/COR27/RaleighCCAP.pdf
54 Id.
55 Id. at 72 (“Pilot performance-based zoning with climate and sustainability incentives in target areas.”).
56 Id. at 71.
57 Reno Resilience: Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (2019) https://www.reno.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/82214/637050147692830000
58 Id.
59 Id.
60 City of Richmond Climate Equity Action Plan 2030 (2022) https://www.rva.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/FullDocumentRVAgreenClimateEquityActionPlan2030.pdf
61 Id.
62 Id.
63 Miami Forever Carbon Neutral (2021) https://www.miamigov.com/files/4e5f26f7-2622-4c90-834a-eaaa6aa3321e/Miami-Forever-Carbon-Neutral-FULL.pdf
64 Town of Wellesley Climate Action Plan (2022) https://www.wellesleyma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/27281/Climate-Action-Plan?bidId=
65 McConnell, Virginia and Keith Wiley.
Infill Development: Perspectives and Evidence from Economics and Planning. https://media.rff.org/documents/RFF-DP-10-13.pdf
66 Id.
67 Strategy for a Sustainable Dayton (2020) https://www.daytonohio.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9796/August-2020-Dayton-Sustainability-Strategy-Plan
68 Id.
69 Id.
70 San Francisco’s Climate Action Plan 2021 (2021) https://sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/events/cap_fulldocument_wappendix_web_220124.pdf
71 Columbus Climate Action Plan (2021) https://www.columbus.gov/sustainable/cap/.
72 Id.
73 Columbus Outlines Sustainability Plans and Priorities as American Cities Climate Challenge Winner. https://smart.columbus.gov/playbook-assets/decarbonization/columbus-outlines-sustainability-plans-priortiies-american-cities-climate-challenge-winner.
74 Climate Ready DC: The District of Columbia’s Plan to Adapt to a Changing Climate (2016) https://doee.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ddoe/service_content/attachments/CRDC-Report-FINAL-Web.pdf
75 Id.
76 City of Albany, ALBANY 2030 The City of Albany Comprehensive Plan (2020), https://www.albanyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4565/Albany-2030-Comprehensive-Plan-Executive-Summary-PDF. Similarly, Portland references its CAP in its comprehensive plan. It also requires they do regular progress reports. A History of Climate Leadership, Portland, https://www.portland.gov/bps/climate-action/history-and-key-documents (last visited Dec. 15, 2022).
77 For a similar effect, other municipalities have incorporated their CAP, or at least sections of their CAP, into documents such as a Hazard Mitigation Plan or a Capital Improvement Plan. See, e.g., C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, How to Mainstream Climate Action into Your City’s Financial System, C40, https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/How-to-mainstream-climate-action-into-your-citys-financial-system?language=en_US (last visited Dec. 4, 2022).
78 New York, N.Y. Local Law 122 of 2021. https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3996243&GUID=8BA20DCE-2975-4E72-A812-0320EE34B96C
79 Id.
80 Id.
81 Id.
82 Id.
83 Id.
84 Local Climate Action Plan, Dep’t of Env’t Protection, https://www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/climate/Pages/Local-Climate-Action.aspx (last visited Dec. 21, 2022).
85 Austin, Texas, supra note 30, at 7.
86 City of Bloomington Climate Action Plan (2021) https://bloomington.in.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/Bloomington%20Climate%20Action%20Plan%20040521%20Reduced.pdf
87 Id.
88 Rhea Mallet, Equity-Based Comprehensive Plans (eCPs) – The First Generation, 45 Zoning & Plan. L. Rep. (2022) (discussing local government acknowledgements of racist land use practices that contributed to current racial and social inequities and their eCPs that center goals and objectives on equity principles).
89 E.g., portland 2015 climate action plan.
90 See generally Kelsea Best & Zeynab Jouzi, Climate Gentrification, 4 Frontiers 1 (2022), https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2022.828067/full (a literature review of climate gentrification); William Butler et al., Addressing Climate Driven Displacement (2021), https://lci.fsu.edu//wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2022/02/Butler-Jackson-Holmes-et-al.-2021-Final-LCI-Report-Climate-Gentrification-Updated-min.pdf
91 Forbes Tompkins & Christina DeConcini, Sea-Level Rise and Its Impact on Miami-Dade County, World Res. Inst., 1, 3 (2014) https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/sealevelrise_miami_florida_factsheet_final.pdf.
92 See Jesse M Keenan et al., Climate Gentrification: From Theory to Empiricism in Miami-Dade County, Florida, 13 Env’t Rsch. Letters 1, 2 (2018).
93 C. Isaiah Smalls II, Liberty City is Rapidly Transforming Residents are Split on Who Will Benefit, Miami Herald (May 24, 2021), https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/edison-liberty-city/article251063064.html; Erik Bojnansky, Miami Board Delays Vote on Revised Little Haiti Mixed-Use Project, The Real Deal (June 3, 2021), https://therealdeal.com/miami/2021/06/03/miami-board-delays-vote-on-revised-little-haiti-mixed-use-project. As an aside, climate gentrification is unique compared to other forms of gentrification, as gentrifiers are often pushed out of neighborhoods they otherwise liked. Instead of residents being attracted to low-income communities by lower housing costs and recent improvements, like new parks or improved transportation, climate change can drive residents out of neighborhoods they would otherwise have stayed in. High-income residents are pushed into nearby low-income neighborhoods that have better natural or planned climate resiliency. Miami is facing serious issues due to sea-level rise and Liberty City is on some of Miami-Dade’s highest ground—making it naturally more climate resilient than historically affluent coastal communities. Recent research has also shown climate gentrification in Miami’s rental market. Gabriella Mickel, Note, Using Land Use Authority to Combat Displacement, 51 Urb. Law. 477 (2022).
94 Seung Kyum Kim et al., Do the Characteristics of New Green Space Contribute to Gentrification?, 59 Urban Studies (2021), https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0042098021989951?journalCode=usja (green gentrification generally); Angel Hsu et al., Disproportionate exposure to urban heat island intensity across major US cities, 12 Nature Commc’ns (2021), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22799-5 (UHI and gentrification).
95 Madeline Marguerite Byers, Houston, We Have a Gentrification Problem: The Gentrification Effects of Local Environmental Improvement Plans in the City of Houston, 7 Tex. A&M J. Prop. L. 163 (2021).
96 Boston, Climate Vulnerability Assessment (2017), https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/imce-uploads/2017-01/crb_-_focus_area_va.pdf.
97 Climate Ready East Boston, City of Boston, https://www.boston.gov/departments/environment/climate-ready-east-boston (last visited Dec. 21, 2022).
98 Isabelle Anguelovski, Why green “climate gentrification” threatens poor and vulnerable populations, 116 PNAS 26139 (2019).
99 In October 2021, the Palo Alto, California city council voted to raise their affordable housing impact fees for commercial and research-and-development projects from $39.50 per square foot to $68.50 per square foot. Fees paid by commercial developers for projects greater than 100,000 square feet fund the Neighborhood Jobs Trust in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston’s zoning law requires these developers obtain a zoning variance, and to get the variance, the developers must pay a linkage fee, based on square footage, to the Neighborhood Jobs Trust. The Trust supports job training for low- and moderate-income residents. Mickel, supra note 47.
100 Id.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Maureen Hartwell
Maureen Hartwell is a 2L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She attended the University of Pittsburgh for her undergraduate education in Political Science and Philosophy. In the long term, Maureen plans to pursue environmental federal agency work that promotes environmental justice. She has interned with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and will intern with the Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor in the summer of 2024. Her passion area lies in the intersection of land use, environmental justice, and administrative law.