10/20/15
Mayor Catherine Carleton and City Council Members
701 Laurel Street
Menlo Park, CA 94025
RE: Support for the 2015 Climate Action Plan Update and 2020 Climate Goals
Dear Mayor Carleton and City Council Members,
I am writing in support of the City of Menlo Park Climate Action Plan Update and 2020 Climate goals, both of which demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability that I am grateful for. City leadership and action on this important issue is timely, given the increased urgency of addressing global climate change. It is especially important for a forward thinking, low elevation community like ours to demonstrate leadership that can inspire other communities to act as well.
I support the many measures laid out in the latest update to our Climate Action Plan as important steps to a more sustainable and vibrant City. However, a few measures stand out as key priorities to help the
City achieve its 2020 climate goals: Clean power and sustainable building standards. While transportation measures to reduce our fossil fuel reliance are essential to meeting long term climate goals, they will take time to phase in. In contrast a switch to renewable energy and clean building standards for new developments could phase in right away.
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Clean Power is the single greatest action that the City of Menlo Park can take to reduce GHGs.
Over 50 cities across the globe have committed to 100% renewable power, as the cost of renewable power has sharply declined over recent years to become competitive with conventional fossil fuel power. For example, Palo Alto supplies 100% renewable power at a much lower rate than Menlo Park power customers pay for grid power that is roughly 50% from fossil fuel plants.
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Menlo Park now has an opportunity to join San Mateo County’s Community Choice Energy (CCE) program to dramatically increase renewable power. The City should embrace this program but also needs to ensure that the program will maximize clean power, delivering as close to 100% renewable power as feasible.
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Offering a 100% renewable power content product is a vital stepping stone to reducing fossil fuel use in the community by providing green electricity as a clean alternative way to power water heating, space heating and cars. The 100% renewable power is an important step on its own and a vital stepping stone on the way to larger carbon reductions possible with its use.
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It is not often that a City plans for several million square feet of new commercial construction.
Without new clean building standards, this building boom will prevent us from meeting our 2020 climate goals, adding significant new power and natural gas use as well as attracting many more vehicles. The City should create a Green District in the M2 to incorporate state of the art energy efficiency standards and building designs that avoid or minimize fossil fuel use.
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The upcoming building boom will also attract more commuters, customers and residents to and through Menlo Park, creating the need for much more infrastructure supporting alternatives to
 driving. This will not only reduce GHGs, it will relieve traffic.
Menlo Park is in good company considering more sustainable building standards, as Mountain
View considers more efficient, cleaner standards for new developments in North Bayshore and
Palo Alto develops a Net Zero Energy district downtown; and as the state ushers in Net Zero
Energy standards for new buildings.

Securing clean power for Menlo Park and developing clean building standards are the two most impactful steps that the City can take to reach its 2020 climate goals, and both are time sensitive. I urge the City to work swiftly with San Mateo County as the community energy program is developed to ensure that clean power can be provided, and to educate residents and businesses about the upcoming changes.
I also would like to see the City act quickly to set new clean building standards as the pace of new developments picks up. The clean standards are an important means to put Menlo Park on a much lower carbon path. With your leadership, I envision a smooth transition to 100% renewable power in Menlo
Park and a sustainable M2 District with clean building standards that we will create a healthy, vibrant city.
Thank you for leading our community in the important efforts to demonstrate progress in this area.
Sincerely,
Tom Kabat
424 Pope Street
Menlo Park