Last week, Beaumont’s City Council approved the City’s Sustainable Beaumont Climate Action Plan. The Plan, prepared by Atkins and funded through the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), sets a number of goals, including:
- Provision of resources (education, training, audits, retrofits, and an Environmental Advocate) and working with regional groups and utilities to improve both residential and commercial energy efficiency;
- Educating staff on Title 24, promoting Tier 1 and 2 improvements over code (and other energy efficiency and green building ratings);
- Exploring permit streamlining and a possible online permitting system;
- Requiring early adoption of AB 1103 (now AB 802) for small buildings;
- Increasing energy efficiency through water efficiency;
- Deploying cool roofs and cool pavement;
- Promoting electric vehicles, adding EVs to the municipal fleet, and community transportation improvements;
- And conducting municipal audits, improvements, lighting retrofits, and participating in SCE’s demand response and direct install programs.
The strategies in the Plan are estimated to set Beaumont toward achieving a 27% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from their assessed 2012 levels, as well as realizing cost savings and health benefits. Read more in the Plan on Beaumont’s website.