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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PCCRRA 2023/07/18 (2023-2024)Policy Committee on Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture 3`'d Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii July 18, 2023 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Policy Committee on Climate Resilience and ORDER: Regenerative Agriculture was called to order at 9:06 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Chair. R(1T T CAT T Present Absent & Excused STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Chair Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Vice Chair Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member (came in later) Ms. Cindy Evans, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Lynda Williams Res. 203 (Comm. 361), in opposition. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 203-23: ADOPTS THE 2023 INTEGRATED CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AS THE COUNTY'S OFFICIAL STRATEGIC PLAN TO ACHIEVE ITS EMISSIONS MITIGATION AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION GOALS AND TARGETS Seeks to mitigate the County's greenhouse gas emissions and reinforce County assets, services, and infrastructure to adapt to the impacts and hazards of climate change. Reference: Comm.361 Intr. by: Ms. Galimba (B/R) PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend adoption of Res. 203-23. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, we have some of the designers and leads for this integrated climate action plan here in the Hilo Chambers. Bethany Morrison, Kendra Obermeier, and Jake Sykes. Folks, maybe you could come forward and provide a high-level overview, and then we can move to questions and comments from the Council. Thank you, Chair. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. (Note: At this time, Planner Bethany Morrison came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. MORRISON: Good morning, Council. Bethany Morrison, Long -Range Planner with the Planning Department, and I'm happy to provide that overview, and then we also have Kendra, as you mentioned, and Jake from R&D (Research and Development). I believe also, Director Douglass Adams might be in the Council Chambers in Kona and can answer questions as well. I just want to provide a quick overview of this effort and really highlight kind of the history of how this came to be and the process that we went through, which the testifier spoke to today. And then we can go over some of the specifics of the draft itself. In 2020, Research and Development put together a first Climate Action Plan that really focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And Planning Department participated in that, but we were kind of running things a little bit separately. And so, at that same time Planning Department, Research and Development, and also working with Civil Defense, applied for funds for a climate adaptation plan with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Hazard Mitigation funds. That intended to be part of the 2020 Multi -Hazard Mitigation Plan update, but because of the timing of the funds that didn't come to pass. So, what we did was kind of run that as a separate effort. When those funds did become available, Research and Development was also able to leverage funds for us to join an eclat, which is local governments for sustainability integrated climate action planning cohort program. And so, that intention was really to help us integrate both climate mitigation and adaptation into one plan. We did hold some initial workshops and put together a working group with various community members as we worked through really understanding our scope given our resources and the goals of this process. We contracted with Focus Planning Solutions and Tetra Tech. And we were also able to leverage Page 2 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 several Vistacore members for this effort as well and of course, in -kind resources to this. During the drafting, the Planning Department and Research and Development had regular check -ins with our administrators to make sure that we were on the same page and in alignment with guidance and direction. And that really helped us to —even though we were two departments, we were working united for this. And then of course we met with each County agency to review the risk and vulnerability assessment of county resources, and the mitigation, and adaptation intervention strategies. This included focusing on implementation and looking at the smaller actions that each department could do to help move this forward. So, it really was, you know, what can the county do right now to make progress in this very important task. And then because we already had some of those working groups in place through the CIP (Capital Improvement Project), we were able to leverage a lot of those meetings to pull together departments and continue working collaboratively, which was really unprecedented collaboration for a plan like this. The draft was made available for the public on Konveio, as the testifier mentioned, and that platform really allows for folks to make comments actually in the document and see and interact with other people's comments. So, it is a platform that is really intended to get that public input and really stimulate public engagement. During that one -month comment period we received 295 comments, which again was really a good effort there. And then the final draft addressed those comments and was completed and submitted to meet our grant funding deadline. This plan has also been nominated for the American Planning Associate Hawaii Chapter Awards for best practice and our fingers are crossed. We'll be notified by the end of this month on that. Now is the time for the County to make a bold commitment to be accountable for our own contributions to climate change and the resilience of our infrastructure and services. And so, this resolution really supports that framework to help us move county actions forward. We will be still working on what the overall county can do, what citizens can do, but we really wanted to focus on taking care of our house first. That was the intent of this. And then I can turn it over to Kendra and she can give us an overview of the plan. Thank you. (Note: At this time, Research and Development Climate Change Specialist Kendra Obermaier came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. OBERMAIER: Aloha, Council. My name is Kendra Obermaier and I'm the Climate Change Specialist with the Department of Research and Development. So, thank you for the opportunity to share about the ICAP (Integrated Climate Action Plan) today. The ICAP has three main goals. One is to increase county Page 3 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 capacity for climate action, two is to reduce county contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, and three is to increase the resilience of county assets. So, the ICAP includes three main components to reach these goals. One is our analysis, two are the climate cascade actions and three, the implementation section. So, for the Analysis we overlayed county assets, this includes roads; wastewater lines; county buildings; et cetera, on top of climate change related hazards. The hazard layers were created using best available data based on climate change projections. So, some of these hazards occur without the influence of climate change but are being exacerbated by climate change like the prevalence of an intensity of tropical storms. So, this analysis helped us identify our most exposed assets. We also used the Hawaii County Greenhouse Gas Inventory to inform what actions the County could do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The actions were divided into five categories called climate cascades. So, the cascade framework was developed to link climate mitigation, which is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to climate adaptation, which is our resilience to climate change. So, if you look at page IV in roman numerals of the document, the cascade framework is outlined and there are intervention points identified at each level. The five cascade levels include: 1) Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which leads to 2) Increasing Air and Sea Surface Temperature; and then leads to 3) Drought and Severe Rainfall; 4) Sea Level Rise; and then lastly 5) Compounding hazards such as increased risk of landslides. So, the actions in each section reflect how the County itself can intervene and prevent further cascading effects. The plan also includes co -benefits for the actions including economic, sociocultural, and environmental co -benefits. Lastly, the plans include an implementation section. So, this section addresses larger systemic barriers that should be addressed to facilitate the actions going into effect. And I think that really speaks to the collaboration between the departments because these were some of the larger issues that arose beyond just implementing one or two specific actions to mitigate climate change. So, initial implementation and next steps include developing a dashboard to track and make transparent, a. the implementation of the ICAP and b. our metrics of success. Some of the earliest actions in the ICAP include gathering the data necessary to measure the success of our actions. So, we're working on this now and aim to make the dashboard public in the early fall. We're also working with the State Climate Commission to develop a statewide climate action plan using $3 million of funds, $350,000 of which will go directly to the County from the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) Climate Pollution Reduction grant. So, this effort will expand our climate action planning to be more community wide. Thank you. Page 4 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you, Kendra. Director Adams is here in Kona. I wondered if you had anything you wanted to add? (Note: At this time, Research and Development Director Douglass Adams came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. ADAMS: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. I think the only thing I would add is how proud I am of the team that put this plan together. The work that they've gone through, this was a multiyear process with a variety of different individuals, and then the completion of this with the team from Research and Development and from Planning to bring this together with the support of the community and specifically the advisory group that was a part of that. And then, as I think they've probably already mentioned we had, you know, over 300 comments that they had to go through to make sure that this particular plan had the latest information from interested members of our community as well. So, they're very proud of the effort that they've made so far. We all know that we have a lot of work to do in implementation, but this was a good first step from my view. Thank you. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Council Members, any comments. MS. VILLEGAS: Yes, please. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: First off, I wanted to thank Bethany and Kendra and Doug for being here today, for your diligence and tenacity in taking on this really challenging project that we are in dire need of. As I've stated in a prior meeting, we all know that perfection is overrated and unattainable, but what you guys have created in this document and its comprehensive inclusive tackling of an issue that is near and dear to my heart. And as we await the potential landfall of a tropical storm right now, the timing seems very appropriate to be discussing these things. I had a quick question and I'm not sure who can answer it for me. But are carbon credits —one of our testifiers mentioned something about this plan not including carbon credits. And I am aware that those are things that are very —I was actually at an amazing alaka`i presentation at NELHA (Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority) yesterday, talking about carbon credits and aquaculture and all these interesting scientific and economic dynamics, and I wondered if carbon credits would even be a topic that would traditionally be included in a climate action plan? They seem somethingI'm not sure if it's really in the jurisdiction anyway, of county government to tackle that issue in our County Climate Action Plan. MR. ADAMS: So, I'll take an initial stab at that and then I'll let the team that I'm sure actually did cover this as a part of their conversations whether it was Page 5 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 included in the plan or not. But I think your discussion of this is correct. For the taxing perspective, county has its ability to talk real property taxes and then the rest of it really belongs to the state. So, in terms of what the carbon capture kind of credit situation would be is that that's likely a state issue as opposed to a county issue. So, it wouldn't have been something we'd necessarily consider. But I do believe that they probably did have some conversations about it, so I'll turn it over to them. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. MS. OBERMAIER: Thank you for your question. So, Section ID4 of the plan talks about carbon credits and kind of where we are with our initial exploration of carbon credits and like Director Adams said, the conversation about a carbon tax is more happening at the state level and there was actually, just in the past year or a year and a half, a report release on what a carbon tax might look like for the State of Hawaii and what would maybe be the most effective way to go about that. But for the scope of our plan what we really focused on was ore accessing existing carbon credit markets and also what it would look like for accessing future carbon credit markets. So, I'd focus our attention on page 40, which includes two main actions. One is partnering with the state to explore carbon markets for which the county is eligible, and this includes establishing reporting standards that would measure the carbon sequestration of ag and conservation land, because currently there aren't kind of uniform ways to measure that and that would be important for people to access those carbon credit markets and make that accessible to all community members. Second is partnering with state agencies to investigate the potential of accessing national carbon credit markets for county owned and managed properties. So, this is something that we say we'll probably not start until 2028, in terms of what we're ready for and where those markets look right now. But some of those initial conversations are actually already happening about what it looks like to even access those credits with our existing properties. So, that's where we are now. It's more of the exploratory stage and then understanding the sequestration potential of our lands and of our, both county owned and community -wide. But yes, it does address that and there is a focus on it already in the County. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Somehow, I'm not surprised by your answer. But I just really wanted to take the opportunity to highlight it in case there are other people who share the concerns of our prior testifier. Unfortunately, it is impossible to get information out to everyone and there are so many people in different sectors and capacities of our community focused on and working towards solutions to mediate the issues we're facing. And my hope is that we can all continue to work together and by bringing this forward, those that show interest and have felt maybe not as included as they'd like to be, we'll take the Page 6 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 initiative to reach out to you folks in a positive and in the spirit of collaboration and contribution. But I personally and professionally am so impressed and so grateful for this document and this coming forward and being approved right in alignment with the Office of Sustainability, Climate Equity and Resilience (OSCER). I believe there's a synchronicity there that strengthens our ability to move forward as a county. And I see Jake (Sykes) behind you there, Kendra. And I know you guys have all put blood, sweat and tears into this project. And I thank you, Director Adams, and Bethany in Planning just all the work that's gone into this. There will always be opportunities for improvement. But we are making the best decisions we can, based on the information that we have at this time. And I believe you guys have presented a wealth of information and a wealth of opportunity and avenues for us to improve and continue to take a leadership role not only in the state but nationally and kind of create a model for what's possible. So, thank you so much for this and I will be wholeheartedly supporting the passing of this with a positive recommendation to Council. With that, I yield. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Hilo? MS. KIMBALL: Chair? This is Council Member Kimball. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, guys, for being here to present today and congratulations on the nomination of this project for best practices award. I think it's well deserved, and I really wanted to say that I enjoyed the platform that you utilized to get public feedback. I thought it was really useful from the standpoint that many times in these sort of commentary periods, you don't actually get to see the comments of others. So, it was really useful, I thought, to go through and read that input that was coming from other community members from the place that I was sitting. One of the areas that there was some commentary about that I wanted to give you the opportunity to really describe the intention on the record was around the County's prioritization of utilization of PONC (Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation) funds for certain purchases. And so, I don't know who wants to take that, but I know there was some concern about the original wording and that you guys have modified it. But I just wanted to give that opportunity for you to share what the intension was in that particular portion. MS. MORRISON: Thank you Council Member Kimball. Happy to address that. Yeah so, there was quite a bit of feedback on an initial action that involved using potentially PONC for acquiring coastal properties that could help us alleviate from sea level rise hazards. And so, the intent was really to note that it's going to take all kinds of funding to address these things and we need to be looking Page 7 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 broadly at those funding mechanisms. So, we've modified that language based on the feedback that we got, and the language now reads, this is action 4A3.1; to identify funding sources and mechanisms to acquire coastal properties in areas exposed to coasted hazards exacerbated by sea level rise. And so, just a tweak to that to really say that we weren't trying to target PONC funds necessarily, we were just looking at what are those funding mechanisms that can help us acquire those coastal properties. MS. KIMBALL: Great. Thank you. And thank you for being so receptive to the feedback. You know, I think that there was just generally concern about some sort of buyout program for wealthy landowners that, you know, made the choice to purchase a coastal area and when I saw that I'd be like, I know the authors I don't think that's what the intent was. So, thank you for being open to the feedback that you got. And the other thing that I just want to highlight, and Council Member Villegas mentioned, you know, the timeliness of this release and I highlighted in our conversations about OSCER that the first action item is this need for sort of coordinated centralized action. Maybe, Kendra, I don't know if you wanted to speak to that or Bethany about why you think that's so important in terms of moving us forward on the very clear guidelines that I think are outlined in this overall plan. MS. MORRISON: I think when we looked at how this process worked and what it required, you know, climate change is in everybody's kuleana. And so, it was a little bit challenging because we didn't want departments feeling like we were putting a burden on them with this conversation and having them do one more thing. And so, we really tried to get in there and look at what they're already doing and how we can adjust those things to address mitigation and adaptation efforts. And by doing so, it really highlighted to us the need for that collaborative body to work amongst the departments because everybody has their priorities and all of their things that they're already responsible for, and so it's very easy for them to sort of not be all focused and in alignment towards this effort without somebody or an agency to really pull those things together and take us through collaboratively and consistently. But then I'll let Kendra address some of the specifics on implementation that we put into the plan. MS. OBERMAIER: Yeah, thank you for the question, Heather. And I just want to echo everything that Bethany just said. In a couple areas where, like for example, we see the need for there to be changes in our existing decision -making processes are also highlighted in the implementation section and could further be facilitated by, you know, an authority that has the ability to do that kind of coordination and space holding for departments, and that includes like one, the Capital Improvement Project review. So, there is some ways in which we can incorporate climate change already into that process without overburdening departments. However, that needs some data support and again, space holding. Again, like additional support. So, that's an easy transition. Page 8 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 Another is in our Purchasing and Procurement, making sure we're considering, you know, local purchasing, emissions, et cetera in how we're procuring. Third is Asset Management. Fourth, Budgeting for Climate Action in our Operating Budget. Fifth, Grant Management and Applications. Then sixth, we talked about utilizing the County Auditor Office potentially to help with this. And so are just six ways in which we could utilize our existing decision -making processes. But again, to speak to Bethany's point, we don't want to overburden departments and instead support those existing decision -making processes being better rather than adding in, you know, like another one that just makes people's lives harder. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, both, for those responses. And I just want to highlight a couple things that I think are really important and noteworthy, with respect to your process as you did work very collaboratively with the departments, have those conversations with them about their ability to implement and the kind of support that they would need because as you said, they're already overburdened. We have staff shortages across the county. So, being able to add these additional tasks is going to require some support. And then secondly, I appreciate the level of detail. You know, we broadly understand what we need to do with respect to climate change, adaptation, and mitigation. But drilling down to the structural elements that are currently barriers to some of those actions I think is really important because if you don't address those, you're not going to get the higher level one. So, I appreciate the level of detail. I'll just conclude by saying, you know, it's so important that we have this done with respect to some of the other funding opportunities. You already mentioned the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction grant, but there are other opportunities that are dependent and contingent on having an ICAP in place. And so, I'm wholeheartedly supporting the adoption of this today and I encourage my colleagues to do so as well. Good work. Thank you so much to all of you. I yield, Chair. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Anyone else in Hilo? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Hi, Chair. CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Well done, ladies and Jake. I know that, you know, Jake, you had initially started working on this before you were my Legislative Aide as like a vista within R&D, so it's nice that you are back with this really incredible team of folks who have like put this together. It's very clear. It's simple. This is our county's guiding light. It's our comprehensive action plan. What are we going to do to ensure that every decision we make, every infrastructure project that, you know, we implement is done in a way with climate change in mind so that we are protecting and preserving environments; ensuring that our economy is resilient; and that, you know, our people can thrive. Page 9 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 I don't really have any questions. I'm just curious about I guess one of my questions is around with OSCER now being an actual office within the County, do we foresee this plan being implemented by folks that are staffed in that office? I don't know if anyone can answer that question. MR. ADAMS: Yes. I'll take that here if I may, Council Member. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. MR. ADAMS: I think that we still have some work to do as I think everyone that's here knows how the OSCER Office and the departments are going to be working together on the subject matter that the office has responsibility to take on. This particular document I feel very confident is going to be a part of the identification in a detailed and nuanced way to help that office as it moves forward with the efforts to engage the departments, as we move forward in the number of ways that both Bethany and Kendra talked about in their comments previously to Council Member Kimball's question. So, unfortunately I think the initial answer today is we have some work to do to put the team together both at the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience in the Mayor's Office. Then, also be understanding that the primary departments on working this plus all of the supporting departments, how they're going to engage with the office that in the Mayor's Office will be a part of our processes for making sure that we are as consistent as we can be in moving the plan and the implementation of this plan forward. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I just want to make sure I understand this. So, right now R&D is going to basically be the lead in convening partners, different departments, and implementing this plan. And as OSCER is stood up, we will make a determination once it's staffed, what aspects of this plan they will be carrying forward. MR. ADAMS: Right. I think that it depends on the mitigation or the adaptation elements that are part of the plan. Planning does have the adaptation elements and R&D has the mitigation elements. And so, that's kind of the little blurry line that we kind of work together on figuring out. And as we staff up and as we bring in an administrator with the idea that the administrator along with the staff will have something to say about, you know, how these things go forward, particularly given the idea that they will also be connected to our community. I would think would be an important aspect of whoever comes in, their ability to bring that into what we're doing. Those things would be really, really important. So, yes, we're not going to stop, we're not waiting, we're moving forward with the implementation elements of the plan. But then we will be bringing in or the office itself will have its folks come in to figure out, you know, how do we build this airplane while we're flying it. Page 10 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Director. That's really helpful. I just want to make sure I know who to go to if there are ways in which I feel like my office or any of our offices can contribute in advancing elements of this plan. Like for instance, I think there's a suggestion around a county -sponsored tree planting program to kick-off in 2026. I think we can get started a little bit sooner. But I think it's going to take some of us kind of stepping forward and saying, "you know what, I want to own this kuleana and it's important to me," and I've kind of convened all the partners. So, thank you for that. And I just want to acknowledge that you folks are really working to strengthen the existing partnerships and community capacity that exists. I see CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) teams listed here. I see resilience hubs. I see private sector. I think that's really, really important to acknowledge that these partnerships are things that we are going to be leaning on to advance this. I mean, at the end of the day this is a plan for County "big C," but there are ways in which we are reaching out into the community and collaborating. So again, really well done and I would appreciate updates when the time is right, around what kind of training is available for staff. You know, Council Member Kimball mentioned earlier, we're not asking staff to do more other than maybe adjusting the way they think and make decisions. I don't think that can just be like a one -page memo that gets transmitted to departments, but it has to be some really sort of deep learning and even some, I don't know, experiential learning if possible, so folks really understand how they can infuse climate change, mitigation, and adaptation strategies into their everyday workflow. So, thank you very much for being here. I will be supporting this plan. Chair, I yield. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Chair, can I? CHR. GALIMBA: Please do, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. CHR. GALIMBA: Just a moment. I wanted to note that Council Member Lee Loy is in the chambers, here, in West Hawaii. Go ahead. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. Mahalo to R&D and for the folks in front of us today. Appreciate your time and energy on this. Looking over your working group, you had a nice selection of folks on your working group including our own Heather Kimball, looks like, and some notable names; Rachel Solemsaas, Noel Morin, Graceson Ghen. So, good to see some of these folks participating within the Climate Action Plan Working Group as well as a lot of County staff. Page 11 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 One of my questions is the third to last, `Be it Further Resolved," clause, "that County departments and agencies referenced in the Integrated Climate Action Plan shall complete the actions and strategies assigned to them and provide continuous feedback ..." I know it's straightforward but it's also a big task. And do you feel this document completely outlines every action they're supposed to do or is this going to be evolving? Yup. Go ahead. MS. MORRISON: Thank you for that question. As I mentioned, we sat down with the departments and walked them through each action, also understanding a timetable they could implement and what the level of effort or cost that associated with that would be. And then we also thought through the implementation phases to understand what we can accomplish, you know, five years, ten years, fifteen years. So, I do think that the framework is there and the roadmap is there to bring it forward. It's always going to be a question of funding and, you know, how we prioritize our resources to do that. But, yes, the plan has what it takes to get it there. Thank you. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Okay. That's a good answer. Thank you. And then, I mean to me, at this point you guys have brought forth a very good plan. And we had the public testimony. You know, maybe some good points in the testimony. I'd rather see it move forward today than hold it and go back to any kind of comment period. You guys showed a good background on this resolution and the action plan so far, so I like it. One thing I did notice in the drought/water infrastructure, and I've been watching this closely given how many rural subdivisions we have, most of which don't have access to running water, depend on our water spigots or water trucks for fillings, especially in droughts. I've been asking DPW (Department of Public Works), DWS (Department of Water Supply) for some kind of a plan and in looking through this document I don't know that I saw it. That's why I'm bringing it up. Is there any mention in this plan to solidify, to harden our resources when it comes to delivering water, not to every household in these subdivisions, but in creating a stronger network of filling stations or water spigots in those subdivisions or outside of those subdivisions so that when we do experience drought during climate change our rural low income areas have access to county water so they can live. Is that in this plan? MS. OBERMAIER: That's a great question. And as you've pointed out, it's not right just the communities that are able to access county water, it's all communities. And it's really important that we consider accessibility in times of drought for everybody. So, we do have in 3133.2, update water use and develop plan incorporating ecosystem needs and climate change island -wide, and that would be a DWS project anticipated to start around this year and then really go into full implementation in 2024. So, when it, you know, focused on the term island -wide there the anticipation is not that that would just necessarily be, you know, the homes that are attached to the main water lines. There's also some Page 12 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 conversation about a water reuse program and then water conservation in public outreach which includes, you know, structures that are not necessarily like county water mains. And then lastly, I want to point to 3B 1.3, which is encouraging private landowners to increase storage capacity in areas at risk to drought and updating the plumbing code to include gray infrastructure which would allow homeowners and new developers to install the latest conservation fixtures. That's one way that we can encourage private land development in a way that conserves more land water. There's nothing I think specific to like increasing the capacity of our water spigots necessarily or like developing a program to take water out to communities during a time of drought. So, I think that that's an area maybe for further conversation. But that's the amount that it's addressed in the plan, you know, for now. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Those are some of the same that I saw. And as I've watched we've increased density in Puna. It's going to continue to increase, but I've also noticed that we haven't increased our ability to provide water to the folks moving into those areas. And if you live on catchment you're already thinking conservatively, especially when there's no rain. So, it's our job to make sure there's water. And what caught my attention in a plan that I saw; not this one, a different plan, the statement of being able to provide water to those people who are on our county water system, clean, good, drinking water. Fair enough. But no mention of ensuring that everyone has access to that water. That's different, yeah. So, that's why I brought it up. So, good that we're at least referencing it but I would like to see more delving into that specific area for Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, probably 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. But overall, you know, I really do appreciate this and I think everyone is going to lean in on this from Council Members now and future for our departments. This really does provide a framework for us to build on and grow by. So, well done. Thank you. I yield, Chair. CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Seeing none, I just had one question and it's pretty granular. So, I apologize, but it's on page 61; It's the hats and the multi -hazard maps. And just was wondering about the map of Ocean View and there's a set of lots at the top of Ocean View that is highlighted and so I wondered what the multi -hazards were for that particular area, within that larger area. You know, you can get back to me if that's not something you can answer right now because I know it is very granular. But I'm just very curious because I wouldn't really think that one little spot in there would be different than the others. MS. MORRISON: Thank you for that question, Chair. I think as Kendra had mentioned, we used the best available data to do this analysis. And so, we were accessing any type of hazard data and sometimes the scale of that hazard data was Page 13 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 not necessarily down to a parcel level. So, this one included drought data, wildfire, riverine flooding, landslide susceptibility, and high windstorms. And so, when you look at these maps the darker red means that they had, you know, probably all of those things happening in that area. I'd have to drill into the map a little bit to understand that particular spot in Ocean View. But that's generally how the mapping analysis was created. CHR. GALIMBA: Okay. Thank you. Yeah, and I just wanted to say that I'm really impressed by this plan. I feel like it really has evolved since the initial draft. So, I wanted to commend all the folks that worked on it for the huge amount of work that went into it, and I think it's very clear and it has a lot of really good ideas that I think we can all get behind and work on. So, I'll also be supporting it wholeheartedly. And with that, I think we can call for the vote. All in favor of approving Resolution 203-23 and forwarding to the Council with a favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Vote on Res. 203-23: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 203-23 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Galimba — 6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Evans, Inaba, and Kagiwada — 3. Excused: None. CHR. GALIMBA: And with that I believe we've come to the end of our agenda. Motion to adjourn, anyone? Page 14 PCCRRA-3 July 18, 2023 ADJOURN- There being not further business, at 9:56 a.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Villegas and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Chair Galimba — 6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Evans, Inaba, and Kagiwada — 3. Excused: None. CHR. GALIMBA: We are adjourned at 9:56 (a.m.). Approved: Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Chair Policy Committee on Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture MG/tk Z'3 (Date) Page 15