Tuolumne County Passes Climate Action Plan
Sonora, CA — The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors spent about three hours this morning discussing a contentious plan that is designed promote local actions to reduce carbon emissions.
The Climate Action Plan will be incorporated into the General Plan, and many of the aspects are at the direction of the State of California. Board members stressed that the document is “not a mandate”, and more of “guidance.”
During the public comment period, over a dozen members of the community raised concerns about losing freedoms, and the government looking to take away things like wood-burning stoves, debris burning, and gas-powered cars. Many of the speakers were very passionate, and there was some heckling from the audience right after the vote. In addition, there were a handful of people who voiced support for the plan.
The board stressed that the revised document has added wording to clarify that people will still be able to use wood stoves and do backyard burning. It also adds some transparency measures and highlights concerns the county has about the impacts of large wildfires, and the unreliability of the electrical grid.
The end tally was 4-1, and Supervisor Anaiah Kirk was the lone vote against it. He recently wrote a blog detailing many of his concerns, which he referenced at the meeting. He also hoped that staff could investigate more about the potential impacts the CAP may have on development projects.
Supervisor Jaron Brandon noted that the document was a “product of compromise,” and while there are some aspects he is concerned about, argued that “both sides are a little bit dissatisfied.” Other supervisors made similar comments, and highlighted the revisions made to improve the document.
