Environmental Stewardship Plan

Dear Bellevue Council Members and Environmental Stewardship Leaders,
Thank you for all your work on the plan and for doing everything you can to ensure a livable future for ourselves and our families. It is vital to make significant progress on green gas emissions in the next decade and Bellevue cannot fall behind. Scientific* consensus tells us we must cut these emissions in half by 2030 to avoid runaway, catastrophic impacts. I appreciate the commitment Council and City Leaders have for taking aggressive actions to ensure a legacy of livability and economic vitality.

In the recent Council review of the draft Environmental Stewardship Plan, Council’s direction was to take bold and aggressive action. I appreciate the improvements in the plan to date however the Plan still falls short of our collective vision. As such, the Plan needs to be strengthened even more. Please include the following in the Plan:

1. Strengthen the Energy section where Buildings account for almost half of our greenhouse gas emissions -
a. Shorten the timeline for evaluation from 5 to 1 year so we are reviewing our emissions figures annually and adjusting our actions to stay on track for our 2030 target
b. Move beyond “pilot programs,” “evaluating effectiveness,” and “reviewing opportunities” to concrete actions:
i. Add timeframes to say when evaluation/review must be complete, and action started
ii. Specify goals and outcomes ex. how many green buildings or green retrofits are being aimed for.
iii. Add actions from existing lists, such as the lists from People for Climate Action, the King County Toolkit, and other sources
2. Create an annual cycle of feedback and action planning of the whole Plan -
a. Pages 120-121 state the Plan will be “evaluated and updated on a five-year cycle.” As the 2030 mark is so critical (cut emissions by half by 2030), we must reduce emissions much faster than the 6.4% reduction of our past 9 years. Waiting 5 years to evaluate is too long
b. Include in the plan an annual measurement and report. Formalize an annual review and action planning process
3. Create and board-based Climate Action Advisory Commission –
a. The Plan says on page 3 that “This work will require commitment and collaboration with our residents, businesses, and other organizational partners....” Put this collaboration into motion immediately in 2021
b. Bring together a balanced group with various expertise who meet bi-monthly
i. Include developers and the business community
1. Invite Developers who have experience with Green Building and Retrofit, including residential retrofit
2. Invite Business Community members such as Microsoft, who already have strong environmental plans and expertise
3. Invite PSE
ii. Include residents and citizen groups with expertise
1. People for Climate Action (PCA) Bellevue includes members who have spent significant time researching the climate actions that cities across the U.S. are taking to achieve emissions reductions
2. Solicit citizens groups with important expertise, such as in energy and buildings
c. Incorporate this group in the annual evaluation and action planning process

Please ensure Bellevue is aiming for leading-edge climate action in our Environmental Stewardship plan. Do not accept anything less. We are all counting on you to do the right thing.
Thank you so much!
Barbara Braun
13609 SE 43rd Place, Bellevue, 98006, 206.280.7308

* Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report of 2018

We are at a crucial decision about our city’s health. You are about to decide on the budget and to approve this Environmental Stewardship Plan, joining other King County cities who have done the same to keep carbon emissions low.

This Environmental Stewardship Plan has good ideas and covers important concerns about clean air and lowering carbon emissions by 2030. I thank you for the time and effort you have given it. However, it has written in a 5-year evaluation timeline. We need to be more proactive to meet our fast growth, and to prevent the increase of serious pollution.

We recently had a sample of bad air. We recently had rains. We are lucky. Let’s not depend on just the rain. I’ve been to cities where citizens have had to wear masks, NOT because of COVID-19, but because of polluted air. However, there are other cities that have proven they can have clean air while growing economically strong when sustainable methods of building and transportation are put into place. This is the time to be a leading-edge city by setting specific and effective sustainable goals.

We have some important targets to hit by 2030. It’s time to really step up and aim for leading-edge climate actions that can meet these goals. Please strengthen the Plan, in particular, the “Energy” section, and please make assessments and every year, along with instituting sustainable construction and other practices used by other cities to get us and keep us on track for our 2030 low emissions target. These practices have led other cities to clean and economically growing cities. We can do the same for the near future and the welfare of our youth.

Again, thank you for being a concerned and forward-looking council and planners.
Sincerely, Marlene Meyer - citizens, independent business, and family of four

I appreciate the work that has been done and all that have done it. I look forward to being a part of the change process.

Bellevue, please commit to protecting our current wild spaces / habitats. Enormous development is coming our way, and there will be a temptation to give in to the highest bidder.

Ecosystems, vegetation, animal life.... all of these depend on us to make the right decisions. Ecosystems take time to build. Preserve existing species and spaces, rather than trying make up for development / destruction with new "green spaces".

Council and Staff. The ESS Plan offered is good work but not enough. Please don't be remembered as the "do nothing" government team at the City of Bellevue whose lackadaisical approach to the very real and very deadly and very fast-coming global warming crisis does the future in for our, and your, children and grandchildren. Be able to look them in the eye and proudly say, "We did everything we could and it was hard" to save what we enjoyed and to turn it over to you.

The proposed ESS Plan sounds great, but it will not do a thing unless strict time and performance deadlines are a major part of it. The "drop dead" date of 2030 is almost on us. Instead of just "planning," DO IT! Set goals that are hard, and set time deadlines that are difficult. There is no time to waste. Charles Watts, 504 175th Pl NE, Bellevue 98008

Thank you for your hard work on the Bellevue's Environmental Stewardship plan thus far, which has some good ideas. My name is McKenzie and I am a sophomore at the International School, and in the Sustainability Ambassadors and the Bellevue Youth Council's Climate Action Team. I have cared about our climate since elementary school, because this world is my future, and I want to live in a green future with sustainable cities and society. Thank you again for leaving the draft ESP open for community feedback, as it is essential to receive and take into consideration the public opinion. I'm concerned that there is more we can do to strengthen the plan. We need to step up our goals (and aim for leading-edge climate action) in order to reach our crucial 2030 targets. These 2030 targets *need* to be met, there is no mistaking that fact. In order to strengthen our plan, I would first suggest adding time frames and definitive action statements to the more generally opportunistic actions expressed in the ESP. If my teachers can give me deadlines for each homework assignment and project, more timelines will promote prompt action and help Bellevue stay on track with our targets in the same way. Similarly, the intended outcomes could be specified and/or outlined in a clearer manner. The plan needs to point to clear actions wherever possible, and we can do this by describing the intended outcomes and what we want to see from the changes. I also believe that we should evaluate and update our ESP within a shorter cycle. Environmental Sustainability is and will continue to be crucial in the future of our city, and 5 years is a long time to wait before re-examining our plan. Climate change is an imminent threat, and each year makes a difference. In five years, I'll be 20 years old. In five years, if we are off track for our 2030 goals, we will only have five more to compensate. And I don't want that to happen.

Right now, we have an opportunity to make a major decision in the future of Bellevue's environmental action. I want to see Bellevue aiming for leading-edge climate action, and I want to see a future where we create and maintain a sustainable city for our future generations. Thank you.

Thank you for your effort in both acknowledging comments and in creating a Greener Bellevue! After taking a look at the Draft Stewardship Plan Summary, I have a few suggestions. To begin with, I noticed that in order to mitigate emissions, there was a plan to use a 'Climate Vulnerability Assessment' to identify which residents/workers are impacted most by climate change. The plan claims that this assessment is to be sent to the city, who will then make further plans for action. I think that in addition to the city, the results of the assessment should be sent to the residents themselves, who can look into how they can do their part. Perhaps reaching out to the residents with the results of the assessment could be a part of the 'Climate Outreach and Education'. Furthermore, I think that in addition to energy for their homes, low-income and under-privileged residents should have equitable access to electric vehicles to decrease their dependence on vehicles contributing to climate change. Thank you for your time!!

Thank you so much for all your hard work to make Bellevue greener! I really appreciate you taking the trouble to read public comments. I read the summary of the draft plan, and I have a few ideas.
First of all, many Bellevue School District students are passionate about the climate and eager to help. It would make sense to reach out to BSD schools, and especially to the Green Teams and other environmental clubs in BSD high schools, to partner with in ventures to make Bellevue more green. Students in environmental clubs could help educate other students, raise awareness for and increase the turnout to citywide volunteer opportunities, and help with jobs like tree plantings.
Furthermore, I learned about PSE’s Green Power program because I searched it up after reading about the 88% increase in voluntary renewable energy purchases through PSE in the draft plan. However, I feel that knowledge of this plan is not very widespread among the Bellevue residents I know. I think that more awareness about PSE’s greener opportunities needs to be raised through tactics such as putting it front and center in the City’s newsletter.
Finally, I noted that the percentages in the pie chart of the City’s greenhouse gas emissions add up to 106%, leading me to doubt the chart’s accuracy.
Thank you again!

Where does this note any impact from home gardening/commercial use of gas powered blowers and lawn equipment? Not only is the noise pollution from this egregious but also the green house gas emissions.

Also, in addition to encouraging tree planting the City needs to take action against tree removal with additional fines and penalties.

Kindly remove my address from all lists as I have moved away.
Thank you.

I really appreciate all the hard work that went into this, as well as Bellevue's vision to be greener!

In line with the idea of solarizing Bellevue, I would highly encourage reaching out to the Solar Neighborhood Challenge, which is a project of Peter Donaldson's Sustainability Ambassadors. Students are leading an initiative to encourage residents of Bellevue (and cities all over the Seattle area) to install rooftop solar. The leader of the project is Fiona McDaniel (fionamcdaniel@gmail.com), and I think she would love to hear from you to perhaps see how the City can support the project all while the project helps support the City's solarization goals.

I noticed that one of the previous successes that you all mentioned is a voluntary increase in purchasing renewable energy from PSE (I assume through their Green Power and Solar Choice programs). Maybe the City could encourage Bellevue School District to also purchase all their power through the Green Power program so that even more of the city's community infrastructure can be renewable-powered. I know several BSD students who would also be interested in advocating for that change to happen. Most powerfully, though, perhaps the City could help expand awareness of the Green Power program to residents. I know that my family, for instance, was excited to learn about and sign up for the program, but they had no idea that it existed until I told them about it very recently. I imagine many residents are in the same boat - they love the idea of signing up for renewable energy for their home, but they simply aren't aware that it's an option OR aren't hearing any third parties encouraging them to take that step. The City of Bellevue could step in to fill that void.

Finally, noting how buildings cause 52% of Bellevue's GHG emissions according to the pie chart in the Draft Summary (although interestingly the values in the pie chart add up to 106%), and noting in turn that heating and cooling are the biggest energy hogs in buildings, and finally noting that (to my knowledge) building heating is primarily natural gas-powered in Bellevue, I think it would make sense to shift the "building electrification" goal from a long-term consideration to a more concrete action plan. Simply put, new natural gas installations are not consistent with a carbon-neutral city infrastructure, while electrified buildings are, so it doesn't make much sense to me to continue installing new natural gas heating systems that we know will keep spewing out GHG emissions far into the future, especially when there is a simple alternative.