Community Engagement & Plan Development

Community engagement is at the heart of our climate action planning effort. We’re working with local businesses, advocates, and citizen groups to inform and prioritize the strategies that will make up the CCAAP. Through evidence-based research and expertise, deep stakeholder engagement, and a focus on inclusion and diversity, the CCAAP will incorporate meaningful and customized solutions and inspire strategic programmatic action. The sections below provide information about how the County is engaging various groups and the timing for upcoming meetings.

Overview of Events

Here is a chronological summary of events held during the development of the CCAAP. Additional details and links to presentations and resources can be found in the sections below.

Events held during our Education & Visioning phase:

Sector Working Group Meeting 1: October 21st, 2021
Agriculture Focus Group Meeting 1: October 27th, 2021
Business Roundtable Meeting 1: October 28th, 2021
Community Workshop 1: November 16th, 2021
Alternative Energy & Environment Committee (Introduction): November 18th, 2021
Equity Panel Meeting 1: December 10th, 2021
Alternative Energy & Environment Committee (GHG Inventory Technical Report): February 25th, 2022
Alternative Energy & Environment Committee: March 24th, 2022

Events held during our Strategy Development & Prioritization phase:

Special Alternative Energy & Environment Committee - Buildings & Energy: May 5th, 2022
Special Alternative Energy & Environment Committee - Transportation & Land Use: May 6th, 2022
Regularly Scheduled Alternative Energy & Environment Committee - Resource Consumption (Water & Waste): May 26th, 2022
Special Alternative Energy & Environment Committee - Agriculture & Sequestration: June 22nd, 2022
Agriculture Workshop Series
- Carbon Sequestration in Monterey County's Croplands: July 27th, 2022
- Carbon Sequestration in Monterey County's Vineyards: August 3rd, 2022
- Carbon Sequestration in Monterey County's Rangelands: September 22, 2022
Community Workshop 2: September 29, 2022
Community Workshop 3: December 4, 2024

CCAAP Status and CEQA Options (NEW)

Alternative Energy & Environment Committee (CCAAP Status and CEQA Options): February 29th, 2024

Community Workshops

Community workshops provide an opportunity to inform, consult, involve, and collaborate. An agenda could include a presentation by the project team and/or community members, question and answer opportunities, trainings, and/or small or large group facilitated activities to present key project information and answer questions helpful to preparation of GHG reduction strategies, sustainability strategies, adaptation strategies, or implementation programs.

Click the links below to view materials from the community workshops.

Community Workshop 1

On November 16, 2021, Monterey County convened a community workshop to share information about the CCAAP and engage the community in feedback exercises. We seek to understand community needs and craft a shared vision for a sustainable and resilient Monterey County. The online visioning workshop provided participants the chance to:

Learn about the county’s current greenhouse gas emissions and future projections
Hear from fellow community members
Engage in activities and discussion to help uncover opportunities for a more resilient and sustainable Monterey County
Sign up to stay involved in future CCAAP events, including contributing to a Community Climate Action Toolkit to help residents get inspired and take action

Community Workshop 1 Presentation

Community Workshop 1 Slide Deck

Community Workshop 1 Summary Report

Community Workshop 2

On September 29, 2022, Monterey County hosted its second community workshop in support of the development of the CCAAP. The intent of this workshop was to gather input from community members to better understand community challenges and key opportunities with regards to climate change and adaptation.

Participants of this workshop:

Heard an update on the ongoing CCAAP process and progress from the project team, including how community feedback has shaped the plan to date
Discussed how we can face and prepare for community resilience issues such as water sustainability and wildfires
Learned about local policies and key collaborations in the fight against climate change
Shared their experiences and connected and collaborated with other community members

Community Workshop 2 Slide Deck - English

Community Workshop 2 Slide Deck - Spanish

Community Workshop 3

On December 4, 2024, Monterey County hosted the third community workshop in support of the development of the CCAAP. The intent of this workshop was to gather input from community members to better understand the barriers to building electrification, vehicle trip reduction, and electric vehicle adoption.

Community Workshop 3 Presentation - English

Community Workshop 3 Presentation - Spanish

Community Workshop 3 Slide Deck - English & Spanish

Community Workshop 3 Summary Report

Stakeholder Meetings

Sector Working Groups

Sector Working Groups are groups that will focus on strategies for reducing emissions from a specific sector such as energy, buildings, transportation, agriculture and waste. The sector working groups are meant to assist County Sustainability staff in the development of strategies and key performance indicators to drive the County towards its sustainability goals. The groups will provide both historical reference and insight into the current situation of the particular sector and will build a bridge between the public and private sector in the development of the County’s Community Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CCAAP). Working group members are knowledgeable in the topic area through either industry expertise, volunteer experience or educational background.

Currently, the Sector Working Group Meeting Schedule is as follows. This schedule will be updated.

Meeting 1: October 21, 2021
Meetings 2 & 3: Summer 2022
Meeting 4: December 16, 2024

Agriculture Focus Group

The agriculture focus group was held with organizations that represent or work closely with the agriculture community. During the focus group, we sought feedback on challenges the agriculture community is facing in light of climate impacts, and opportunities for the County to provide support to this integral part of the county’s identity, economy, and culture. We also sought input on outreach and education materials to begin to inform the Climate Action Toolkit.

The agriculture focus group met on October 27, 2021.

Business Focus Group

The purpose of the business roundtable focus group was to act as an innovation generator and to connect what our businesses are already doing in the County to our goals and strategies within the plan. Businesses discussed past pitfalls or barriers to achieving climate action goals and the solutions that they have engineered. Importantly, the business roundtable served as a place to form the beginnings of private sector champions for the strategies and the Community Action Toolkit.

The business roundtable focus group met on October 28, 2021.

Equity Panel

An equity lens is a tool comprised of reflective questions and principals, intended to improve decision-making and lead to more equitable policies and programs. An Equity Panel will help to consider the equity implications of a strategy before that action is adopted as well as to consider the consequences as the strategy is implemented. The Equity Panel will meet in a similar fashion to the working groups, but the members will be composed of representatives from Community Based Organizations and their members.

Youth Commission

The Monterey County Youth Climate Action Council will meet regularly throughout the process and students will provide their input and vision for Monterey County in the year 2030.

Advisory Body Presentations and Public Hearings

The Sustainability team will lead presentations to and discussions with the Planning Commission, Alternative Energy and Environment Committee, and the Board of Supervisors. The engagement plan proposes presentations by the project team to the advisory bodies as informational or study session items during regularly scheduled meetings. The advisory body members will also be invited and encouraged to participate in all community activities. Advisory body engagement will occur during project initiation, policy and strategy development, and public review of the draft CCAAP. The County will follow the Brown Act for all meeting noticing.

Planning Commission and Alternative Energy and Environment Committee

The project team met with the Planning Commission and Alternative Energy and Environment Committee (AEEC) several times during CCAAP development. This includes meetings that provide an overview of the project, allow input on the vision, stakeholder engagement plan, and results of technical analyses. Additionally, AEEC was able to provide input into development GHG reduction strategies, sustainability strategies, and adaptation strategies and heard feedback summaries from stakeholder engagement sessions. Once the CCAAP is made available for public review, the Planning Commission and AEEC will review the Climate Action Plan formally and provide a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) during a public hearing.

The project team has presented to the AEEC at meetings held on the following dates:

November 18, 2021 (see additional details below)
February 25, 2022 (see additional details below)
March 24, 2022
May 5, 2022 (see additional details below)
May 6, 2022 (see additional details below)
May 26, 2022 (see additional details below)
June 22, 2022 (see additional details below)
January 10, 2024
February 29, 2024 (see additional details below)
December 17, 2024
June 30, 2025
March 27, 2026

The following Special Alternative Energy & Environment Committee meetings were held to discuss specific technical work and sectors. Click the links to watch the presentation or review slides and resources.

Introduction (November 18, 2021)
- Presentation
- Slide Deck
GHG Inventory Report and Technical Details (February 25, 2022)
Buildings & Energy (May 5, 2022): The buildings and energy sector includes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the consumption of electricity, natural gas, and backup generators in the unincorporated county. Residential and nonresidential building energy use generated approximately 26% of the unincorporated county's GHG emissions in 2019, representing the third-largest emissions sector in the inventory. You can review our community profile on buildings and energy, as well as review the preliminary strategies that could reduce emissions from these sources below.
Transportation & Land Use (May 6, 2022): The transportation and land use sector includes GHG emissions associated with on-road transportation and off-road vehicles and equipment. On-road transportation emissions include emissions from vehicles miles traveled (VMT) and off-road vehicle and equipment emissions include those from off-road vehicles and equipment used within the unincorporated areas of the county. This sector represents one of the two largest emissions sectors in the county's 2019 GHG inventory. You can review our community profile on transportation and land use, as well as review the preliminary strategies that could reduce emissions from these sources below.
Resource Consumption (May 26, 2022): The water and waste sectors include GHG emissions associated with community-generated solid waste, water supply, and wastewater treatment in the unincorporated county. You can review the preliminary strategies that could reduce emissions from these sources below.
Agriculture & Sequestration (June 22, 2022): The agriculture sector includes GHG emissions associated with livestock management, fertilizer application, the operation of agricultural equipment, and open burning. You can review our community profile on agriculture below.
CCAAP Status and CEQA Options (February 29, 2024)
- Presentation (Passcode: LJP%EjR6)
- Slide Deck
- Board Report
- Board Report Attachment A

Board of Supervisors

The BOS is responsible for reviewing and making a final decision to adopt or deny the CCAAP, and so a formal adoption hearing will be one of the final steps in the project.

Information updates and presentations will be made to the BOS during the planning process. The presentations will include: 1) project initiation (receive input on draft vision and engagement approach, including list of stakeholders); 2) policy and strategy development (present the draft findings of data analysis, updated vision and goals, and approach to strategy development, including benefits and tradeoffs); 3) presentation of the Public Review Draft Climate Action Plan; and 4) presentation of the Final Draft Climate Action Plan during a public hearing.

The project team presented to the BOS on:

August 30, 2022
August 13, 2024
May 19, 2026

Technical Advisory Committee

The Technical Advisory Committee is intended to provide high-level technical expertise in emissions reductions strategies and will serve to provide feedback to the County on questions raised throughout the stakeholder engagement process. This group will meet early in the process to review the GHG inventory and initial strategies prior to stakeholder meetings. They will then continuously reevaluate the strategies throughout the process as more data and concerns arise. Members of this group will have a deep understanding of emissions reductions and sequestration strategies.

Multi-Jurisdiction Engagement

Within Monterey County there are 12 cities that represent 72% of the county's residents. The cities have varying levels of capability with respect to climate action planning, with some cities leading the way, and others lacking the resources dedicated to write or implement a CAP. The goal of multi-jurisdiction engagement is to bring the cities together at varying points throughout the County’s CAP process to see if there is any overlapping efforts or ways to share resources. While cities are more positioned to act on urban development to reduce emissions, the County has an opportunity to sequester carbon in its land and water sinks and take more regional action on issues like organics diversion from landfills. So, while the strategies to reduce emissions may end up looking very different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, some of the stakeholder engagement feedback and processes may be transferrable. In addition, the technical work done to calculate GHG emissions reductions may also be shared leading to less expensive processes for all involved. In addition, coordinated efforts are needed to meet overall goals. For instance, education and outreach on energy efficiency, diversion of organics, and other measures can be developed together. Also, model ordinances can be shared across all jurisdictions where strategies are the same.