2022 AIA Communities by Design Reimagining Petaluma SDAT - Report - Page 43
Petaluma DAT
Decarbonizing
Petaluma
Context
In January 2021, the City of Petaluma, CA, adopted a
Climate Emergency Action Framework (CEAF) outlining
the principles to guide the City’s response to climate
change, including policies and implementation strategies
to adapt, prepare and withstand the projected impacts of
climate change.
As part of this framework, the City committed to
simultaneously address both the climate and inequity
crises, seeking to divest from systems counter to the
shared vision of a healthy, sustainable and equitable
community.
The vision and principles detailed in the CEAF were
further reinforced by the Adopted Operating and Capital
Improvement Budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022, in
which COVID Recovery, Measure U Implementation and
Climate Action, were identified as the “driving forces”
behind much of the City’s focus for the fiscal year.
Specifically, the city budget identified Climate Ready
2030 as one of the top priority initiatives to be funded
by Measure U revenues, considered key to help the city
reach its goal of becoming a carbon neutral community
by 2030.
Community Input
Attendees at the community workshop on August
5, 2022, specified several challenges, assets, and
opportunities that informed equitable decarbonization
recommendations for Petaluma.
Existing Challenges
• Inequitable treatment of and funding for East and
West Petaluma
• Difficulty getting input from Spanish-speaking
sectors of the community
• Reducing carbon emissions
Existing Assets
• Several existing programs—such as the Cool Cities
Challenge--which are promoting sustainability and
adaptation
Opportunities for Action
• Work on better healthcare access for all
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at or above the 75th percentile. In contrast, and as
shown in Figure 1, Method 2 – which focuses low-income
areas facing disproportionate pollution burden that may
lead to negative health effects – identified one census
tract (1509.01) and three census block groups (1506.01,
Block Group 3; 1506.09 Block Group 2; and 1510.00,
Block Group 2) as potential disadvantaged communities.
For Method 3 – which recommends the use of
community-specific data to identify disproportionate
burden from pollution and other hazards – the city relied
on the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index to re-assess the
• More solar panels and infrastructure
• Prepare and adapt to climate change
Recommended Actions
Prioritize Equity and Environmental Justice
Petaluma’s Health and Environmental Justice Analysis
(October 2021) offers a thoughtful and detailed
description of Petaluma’s Disadvantaged Communities1,
as required in California’s Planning for Healthy
Communities Act (CA SB-1000).
In compliance with CA SB-1000 and consistent
with the General Plan and the City’s focus on social
and environmental equity, the City performed a
Disadvantaged Community Screening Analysis based
on three sequential methods: 1) CalEnviroScreen
(CES) 4.0 index; 2) determination of disproportionate
pollution burden in low-income areas; and 3) analysis of
community-specific data to determine disproportionate
impacts from pollution and other hazards.
According to Method 1 – combining 13 pollution burden
indicators and 8 population characteristics – no census
tract in the City of Petaluma has a CES 4.0 index score
1. Disadvantaged Communities are defined as geographic areas
with a combination of socioeconomic hardship and adverse
environmental or health conditions (CA SB-1000).
Figure 1: Method 2, Potential DAC.
results obtained using Methods 1 and 2.
Through Method 3A, the city identified tracts 1506.01,
1506.09 and 1512.01 Block Group 4, as to be “socially
vulnerable” and to have a high pollution burden.
Through Method 3B, the city identified low-income
census tracts and block groups with high social
vulnerability scores, to compare them to additional
indicators of health outcomes, built environment and
environmental conditions. As a result, all socially
vulnerable and low-income areas were identified as
disadvantaged communities.
