The City of Malibu received a SoCalGas 2019 Resilience and Adaptation Planning Grant to help fund the Community Resilience and Adaptation Plan that the City is developing to address the local impacts of climate change.
“The City Council recognizes we are in a state of climate emergency, and we must take positive steps toward reducing the impacts of climate change on the City of Malibu’s population and infrastructure,” Mayor Karen Farrer said. “We sincerely appreciate the support of SoCalGas to create a comprehensive plan to become a more resilient community.”
Malibu’s mountainous coastal landscape is especially vulnerable to climate change, including extreme weather, wildfire and sea level rise. The City, one of only three 2019 grant recipients, will use the $50,000 grant funds to help develop an actionable Community Resilience and Adaptation Plan.
The Plan will build upon the City’s environmental policy and efforts to address climate change, including purchasing 100% renewable energy through the Clean Power Alliance, retrofitting municipal buildings with LED lighting and installing electrical vehicle charging stations.
The Plan will also be guided by the Las Virgines-Malibu Council of Governments’ Hazard Mitigation Plan, Malibu’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which was completed in 2019 by the L.A. County Office of Sustainability, and Malibu’s Coastal Vulnerability Assessment, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2020.
Central aspects of the planning process will include community stakeholder engagement and building regional collaborations with neighboring cities, L.A. County, community organizations, neighborhood groups and subject matter experts.
The Plan will have a special focus on identifying solutions to challenges that seniors face. Seniors comprise more than 22% of the City’s population and are considered particularly vulnerable to climate change.
The Plan will be incorporated in the update of the City’s General Plan Safety and Housing Elements scheduled for the fall of 2021, ensuring compliance with California Senate Bill 379.
Submitted by Grace Smith
