Loading

Goal C Build resilience in climate vulnerable communities through state programs

  1. Home
  2. Priorities

Priority

Strengthen Protections for Climate Vulnerable Communities

All Priority Goals

Progress Indicators

  • Scoping: Scoping and organizing action; collecting input and conducting community engagement.
  • Securing Funding: Securing funding; beginning project work.
  • Underway: Work underway; documentation and reporting in progress.
  • Nearing Completion: Work nearing completion.
  • Complete: Work complete; shifting to ongoing maintenance, monitoring, evaluation and assessment.
  • Ongoing Improvements: Ongoing advancements; continual improvements.

Actions

  • Action 1 Prioritize actions that reduce wildfire risks to tribal nations and climate vulnerable communities.

    Success Metric: Carry out the 32 action items included in the “Strengthen Protection of Communities” chapter of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | Governor’s Office of Emergency Services | Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Produce Wildfire Resilience Plan Alignment Guide to support integration of General Plan Safety Elements, Community Wildfire Protection Plans, and Local Hazard Mitigation Plans, among other relevant planning documents.

    Timeframe: 2022

    Agencies: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program

    Progress Indicator: Complete

    Success Metric: Implement the community home hardening program to retrofit, harden, and create defensible space for homes at high risk to wildfires, with a focus on high social-vulnerability communities and providing financial assistance for low- and moderate- income households.

    Timeframe: 2021–2025

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services | Natural Resources Agency – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

    For More Details: California Wildfire Mitigation Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Produce a General Plan Evacuation Technical Advisory to help communities reduce risk and build resilience within their communities.

    Timeframe: 2023

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: General Plan Guidelines

    Progress Indicator: Nearing Completion

    Success Metric: Publish best practice case studies for the wildland urban interface to guide planning and enforcement activities in both rural and urban communities.

    Timeframe: 2022

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: General Plan Guidelines

    Progress Indicator: Complete

    Success Metric: Percentage of neighborhoods with high saturation of home hardening and defensible space.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | Governor’s Office of Emergency Services | University of California Fire Advisors

    For More Details: California Office of the State Fire Marshall Defensible Space Inspection Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Percentage of community roads widened for fire safety and fire hydrants installed.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency: Board of Forestry

    For More Details: Board of Forestry Fire Safe Regulations

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

  • Action 2 Support wildfire prone communities by expanding the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program beyond high-risk areas throughout the state and increase local and regional governments’ capacity to build and maintain a pipeline of forest health and fire prevention projects.

    Success Metric: Robust local collaboratives executing wildfire resilience projects.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agencies: Natural Resources Agency - Department of Conservation | California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force

    For More Details: Department of Conservation Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Coordinate with state, federal, and non-profit partners to control and mitigate fire-promoting invasive species.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 3 Update transportation infrastructure competitive programs’ guidelines to incentivize climate adaptation and climate risk assessments/strategies.

    Success Metric: Develop and implement scoring criteria and guidance in funding guidelines to include climate adaptation and resilience assessments and strategies in projects.

    Timeframe: 2022–2023

    Agency: State Transportation Agency – Caltrans

    For More Details: California Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Update and revise existing scoring criteria and guidance to reflect the state of the science and planning best practices for climate resilience.

    Timeframe: 2023 and ongoing

    Agency: State Transportation Agency – Caltrans

    For More Details: California Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

  • Action 4 Review local government plans to meet housing needs (Housing Elements) with a lens toward climate resilience, adaptation, and protection of vulnerable communities to relevant climate impacts.

    Success Metric: Number of housing elements received, reviewed, and approved; status of compliance.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development | Natural Resources Agency – Board of Forestry

    For More Details: Housing Element Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Percentage of planned zoning in High/Highest Resource Areas (includes relative job centers) or near High Quality Transit Areas.

    Timeframe: FY 2024–2025 following first major wave of housing element completions including housing element site inventories

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development

    Government Operations Agency – Department of General Services has been removed from this Success Metric as the Department does not have a direct role in reviewing local government plans, but rather provides a surplus/excess state-owned property list.

    For More Details: Housing Element Program

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

  • Action 5 Strengthen protections for people who are experiencing homelessness and extremely vulnerable to climate risks through funding programs for permanent and interim housing.

    Success Metric: Permanent or interim housing units constructed, acquired, or rehabilitated.

    Timeframe: 2021–2023

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development

    For More Details: Homekey

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Number of cities, counties, and Continuums of Care in siting shelters in locations that are not prone to flooding and wildfires and/or are equipped for early warning/evacuation.

    Timeframe: 2023 and ongoing

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Homeless Coordinating Financing Council

    For More Details: Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Grant Program

    Progress Indicator: Securing funding; beginning project work

    Success Metric: Number of Continuums of Care, cities, and counties with Emergency Operations Plan specifically tailored to addressing people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and in shelter and other supportive housing settings.

    Timeframe: 2023 and ongoing

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Homeless Coordinating Financing Council

    For More Details: Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Grant Program

    Progress Indicator: Securing funding; beginning project work

  • Action 6 Invest Community Development Block Grant funds in long-term disaster recovery and resilience building that targets the unmet housing recovery needs of low and moderate-income households in in a way that mitigates disaster risk and reduces future losses among vulnerable communities.

    Success Metric: Number of households assisted by housing replacement/ rehabilitation and served through mitigation projects.

    Timeframe: Implemented following Presidentially Declared Disasters

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development

    For More Details: Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Number of households and facilities that have been mitigated from future disaster.

    Timeframe: Implemented following Presidentially Declared Disasters

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development

    For More Details: Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation Program

    Progress Indicator: Securing funding; beginning project work

    Success Metric: Number of households and facilities supported that address needs resulting from most impacted and distressed areas.

    Timeframe: Implemented following Presidentially Declared Disasters

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development

    For More Details: Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Number of households supported within impacted counties through projects implemented to address mitigation and resiliency improvements.

    Timeframe: Implemented following Presidentially Declared Disasters

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development

    For More Details: Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation Program

    Progress Indicator: Securing funding; beginning project work

    Success Metric: Number of households and businesses supported through mitigation Planning and/or Public Services projects that directly benefit the most impacted and distressed communities/areas.

    Timeframe: Implemented following Presidentially Declared Disasters

    Agency: Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency – Department of Housing and Community Development

    For More Details: Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 7 Promote sustainable land use planning and transportation investments that support walkable and bikeable communities and infill development to build resilience of climate vulnerable communities.

    Success Metric: Technical assistance and other support to improve how developers, public agencies, and communities learn from each other and work together to address climate and housing goals.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agencies: Natural Resources Agency - Coastal Commission, Tahoe Conservancy | State Transportation Agency – Caltrans | Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council

    For More Details: Tahoe Conservancy Tahoe Livable Communities Program; Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program; Transformative Climate Communities Program; Caltrans Strategic Management Plan

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

    Success Metric: Provide technical assistance in partnership with the Caltrans Active Transportation Resource Center to local health departments to improve health in climate vulnerable communities through the Caltrans Active Transportation Program.

    Timeframe: 2021 and ongoing

    Agencies: Health and Human Services Agency – Department of Public Health | State Transportation Agency - Caltrans

    For More Details: Active Transportation Safety Program; Department of Public Health Center for Healthy Communities; Caltrans Strategic Management Plan

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

    Success Metric: Provide guidance and technical assistance on strategies that support infill development and active transportation for inclusion in local general plan updates and related implementation efforts.

    Timeframe: 2021 and ongoing

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: General Plan Guidelines

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

    Success Metric: Support transformative and innovative planning and implementation projects that accelerate housing and sustainable transportation investments at the regional and local scale to reduce vehicle miles traveled and build resilience through the Regional Early Action Planning Grants Program.

    Timeframe: 2021–2024

    Agencies: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council | Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency –Department of Housing and Community Development | Environmental Protection Agency – Air Resources Board

    For More Details: Regional Early Action Planning Grants 2.0

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 8 Increase access to locally and traditionally grown food and produce in low-income communities to build climate resilient food systems and increase agricultural economic sustainability.

    Success Metric: Increased participation in the Farm to School Program to provide CA-grown or produced foods for school meals and expand farm to school education.

    Timeframe: Annual reporting

    Agency: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Farm to School Program

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

    Success Metric: Increased participation in the California Nutrition Incentive Program, Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and Farm to Community Food Hubs Program.

    Timeframe: Annual reporting

    Agency: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: California Nutrition Incentive Program; Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

    Success Metric: Increase local production of nutritious food in climate vulnerable communities through increased funding to and participation in the Urban Agriculture Grant Program.

    Timeframe: 2024 and ongoing

    Agency: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Office of Farm to Fork

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

  • Action 9 Consider and integrate environmental justice principles in permit decisions and planning documents that drive on California’s climate adaptation priorities.

    Success Metric: Develop guidance for staff and local governments to better address environmental justice and equity in sea-level rise planning, including robust community engagement to better understand needs.

    Timeframe: 2022

    Agency: Natural Resources Agency – Ocean Protection Council

    For More Details: Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Provide guidance and technical assistance on increasing environmental justice and equity through climate adaptation planning, including guidance on meaningful community engagement, consistent with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research General Plan Guidelines and the California Adaptation Planning Guide.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: General Plan Guidelines

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

    Success Metric: Conduct early and often meaningful government-to-government consultations with tribal nations and engage and collaborate with all stakeholders, including community members, visitors, business owners, and affordable housing developers and advocates, as well as underserved and other vulnerable communities who live, visit, and recreate along the coast to ensure equitable participation in adaptation planning processes, and equitable outcomes from decisions.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agencies: All relevant agencies

    For More Details: Executive Order N-15-19

    Progress Indicator: Securing funding; beginning project work

  • Action 10 Promote equity, community engagement, and culturally competent emergency response program design.

    Success Metric: Create and sustainably fund an Office of Equity to meet the challenges of serving diverse, marginalized and underserved populations when preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters.

    Timeframe: 2022 and ongoing

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

    For More Details: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

    Success Metric: Number of community engagements, program outreach efforts, and grants awarded to assist vulnerable populations.

    Timeframe: 2022 and annually thereafter

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

    For More Details: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

  • Action 11 Prioritize climate resilience and health equity resources for people and places experiencing the most need and risks due to historical and continuing disinvestment and inequities.

    Success Metric: Number of state, regional, and local climate action plans, adaptation plans, general plans, and hazard mitigation plans in public databases that explicitly prioritize strategies to benefit health equity and address racial equity.

    Timeframe: 2022 and annually thereafter

    Agency: Health and Human Services Agency – Department of Public Health

    For More Details: Climate Change and Health Equity Section

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 12 Ensure the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program advances California’s climate resilience priorities.

    Success Metric: Evaluate and update climate resilience scoring in Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Guidelines.

    Timeframe: 2022 and ongoing

    Agencies: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council

    For More Details: Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Quantify climate resilience components in awarded projects, as well as the number of climate resilience components realized through completed projects.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agencies: overnor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council

    For More Details: Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 13 Ensure projects funded through the Transformative Climate Communities Program advance California’s climate resilience priorities.

    Success Metric: Consider and incorporate future climate projections in Transformative Climate Communities-funded projects and include climate adaptation strategies for each project type in evaluation, scoring, and execution process.

    Timeframe: 2022–2023

    Agencies: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council | Natural Resources Agency - Department of Conservation

    For More Details: Transformative Climate Communities Program

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 14 Enact policies for California High-Speed Rail that establish sustainability, climate change adaptation, and social equity goals.

    Success Metric: Annual or periodic reporting related to High-Speed Rail Authority sustainability policies and progress, including: the annual Sustainability Report.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency: State Transportation Agency – High-Speed Rail Authority

    For More Details: High-Speed Rail 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Adoption and periodic update of Climate Adaptation Plan.

    Timeframe: As needed

    Agency: State Transportation Agency – High-Speed Rail Authority

    For More Details: High-Speed Rail 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Implementation of Environmental Justice Policy, Title VI Policy, and Limited English Proficiency Policy, measured by Annual Accomplishment Report.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency: State Transportation Agency – High-Speed Rail Authority

    For More Details: High-Speed Rail 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 15 Enact policies in the California State Rail Plan that support climate change adaptation for rail infrastructure and support emergency maintenance and repairs.

    Success Metric: Updated climate analysis and vulnerability assessments for the California Rail Network.

    Timeframe: 2022 and then every four years

    Agency: State Transportation Agency - Caltrans Division of Rail and Mass Transportation

    For More Details: 2022 California State Rail Plan

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Develop and implement a state operations and protection funding program for rail, which will establish an ongoing source of emergency repair and capitalized maintenance funding to improve the reliability and resiliency of the state rail network.

    Timeframe: 2026

    Agency: State Transportation Agency - Caltrans Division of Rail and Mass Transportation, California State Transportation Agency

    For More Details: 2022 California State Rail Plan

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

    Success Metric: Identify and support climate adaptation projects in the California State Rail Plan Capital Program.

    Timeframe: 2022 and then every four years

    Agency: State Transportation Agency - Caltrans Division of Rail and Mass Transportation

    For More Details: 2022 California State Rail Plan

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 16 Increase awareness and understanding, and reduce climate impacts on children, and pregnant people, by providing public health expertise and collaborating with state, tribal and local agencies, community organizations and other entities taking actions to build climate resilience.

    Success Metric: Guidance on the climate change impacts and climate vulnerability of children in view of supporting adaptation and resilience; outreach materials on climate vulnerability of children for county health departments, health care providers, school authorities and the public. Track number of entities OEHHA has provided direct consultation.

    Timeframe: 2022–2023 with annual updates as needed

    Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment | Health and Human Services Agency – Department of Public Health

    For More Details: Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Strategic Plan: 2018 Update; Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Children’s Health Webpage; Climate Change and Health Equity Section

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

  • Action 17 Incorporate cultural heritage in California’s climate adaptation actions.

    Success Metric: Create a California Cultural Resources Climate Change Plan that encompasses actions taken, identifies areas for greater collaboration, and provides guideposts for future efforts.

    Timeframe: 2022 and every other year thereafter

    Agency: Natural Resources Agency – State Parks Office of Historic Preservation

    For More Details: Cultural Resources Climate Change Task Force

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Increased understanding of the role traditional knowledges and cultural heritage can play in accelerating and scaling climate adaptation action.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency: Natural Resources Agency – State Parks Office of Historic Preservation

    For More Details: Cultural Resources Climate Change Task Force

    Progress Indicator: Underway