As part of the Climate Action Plan Update (CAP Update) public involvement process, the County of San Diego (County) is conducting intentional engagement within Environmental Justice Communities (EJCs) to gather input and recommendations for the County’s Climate Action Plan. EJCs are designated and defined in San Diego County’s Environmental Justice Element.

On February 23, 2022 at 6 p.m., the County hosted a virtual meeting in North El Cajon, the fourth of multiple meetings to reach EJCs in San Diego county. In advance of the meeting, staff promoted the event through e-blasts, Nextdoor posts, and partnerships with local community-based organizations and nearby libraries.

The meeting objectives were to:

• Create a comfortable, engaging environment where all participants have an opportunity to provide meaningful input.
  
• Promote dialogue and build connections with stakeholders to explore climate change in their community. 
• Obtain input, with a focus on the North El Cajon community, to help develop the Climate Action Plan Update and identify community concerns and ideas.
• Provide an overview of the Climate Action Plan Update in a clear and easy to understand way, including the purpose, process, outcomes, timeline, and future opportunities to provide input.
• Explore opportunities and challenges related to greenhouse gas reduction measures that may be considered for the Climate Action Plan Update.

At the virtual meeting, community members participated in a staff-led presentation, polls, and a breakout session. The workshop was centered around a series of five topics, Welcome & Orientation; Tell Us About Your Community; Climate Change in San Diego County; What is the Climate Action Plan?; and What would work in your community? Throughout the workshop, community members were invited to share their perspectives through the chat, polls, and open discussion. The workshop and prompts were designed so that staff could learn more about the North El Cajon community and hear community members’ perspectives about climate change and potential actions to reduce greenhouse gases.

An interpreter was in attendance for community members whose primary language is Spanish. The meeting materials were also offered in Spanish.

Major themes from the input received from participants are listed below.

• Several participants shared concerns that climate change does not feel like a priority in their community and that education to promote awareness is a necessity.
• Many participants emphasized the importance of improved transportation options: from designated bike lanes to public transit system efficiency improvements to incentives for electric vehicles and ridesharing.
• Multiple participants discussed incentives can be a compelling way for people to adopt new habits and technology. Specifically, participants were interested in incentives for residential solar installation, electric vehicles, and urban farming and community gardens.
• Some participants identified potential ideas for water resiliency such as increasing the amount of greenspace in the community to capture runoff, utilizing stormwater capture and reuse systems like rain barrels, and clarifying greywater system permitting through education and outreach.
• Strategies related to energy, solid waste, and agriculture and conservation were all identified as potential solutions to address climate change in North El Cajon and the surrounding area. Several participants highlighted renewable sources of energy, waste to energy, composting, textile/electronics collection and redistribution events, and native landscapes.

You can find the full summary of the North El Cajon Community Meeting here.