Drafter
Clerk 03/08/2012
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AN ORDINANCE authorizing the King County executive to enter into an interlocal agreement with participating King County cities to formalize the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration, a partnership to work together to directly respond to climate change.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. There is consensus among the world's leading scientists, including the National Academies and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that human sources of climate pollution such as carbon dioxide and methane are causing unprecedented and severe changes in global and local climate systems, and the related impacts are among the most significant environmental challenges facing the world.
2. Climate scientists at the University of Washington report that significant changes to the Pacific Northwest climate are causing environmental changes including decreasing mountain snowpack and increasing flooding, and are negatively impacting infrastructure, forests, salmon, human health and Puget Sound.
3. Left unaddressed, human induced changes to the climate system will severely impact economic prosperity and quality of life in King County and elsewhere.
4. King County and participating cities of King County wish to work together through the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration to directly respond to climate change and reduce global and local sources of climate pollution.
5. Projects that reduce climate pollution, such as energy efficiency improvements, can have multiple benefits to King County, King County cities and their citizens, including reducing operating costs and creating new revenue sources for local governments, improving public health, and building a green economy.
6. By working together King County and participating King County cities can increase their efficiency and effectiveness in making progress towards environmental, climate change, energy and economic development-related goals.
7. King County and participating King County cities are interested in focusing on local solutions to leverage and partner with related collaborative efforts.
8. The King County-Cities Climate Collaboration aligns with the King County Strategic Plan Environmental Sustainability goal, specifically the objective to reduce climate pollution and the strategy to promote collaborative efforts among local and regional governments to assess and reduce community greenhouse gas emissions.
9. The King County Comprehensive Plan directs the county to collaborate with other local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region to eighty percent below 2007 levels by 2050 among other related policies and goals.
10. King County and participating cities in the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration agree to collaborate regionally to develop and coordinate the following:
a. Outreach: to develop, refine, and utilize messaging and tools for climate change outreach to engage decision makers, other cities and the general public;
b. Coordination: to adopt consistent standards, benchmarks, strategies and overall goals related to responding to climate change;
c. Solutions: to share local success stories, challenges, data and products that support and enhance climate mitigation efforts by all partners; and
d. Funding and resources: to secure grant funding and other shared resource opportunities to support climate-related projects and programs.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The King County executive is hereby authorized to enter into an interlocal agreement in substantially the same form as Attachment A to this ordinance, with participating King County cities. The purpose of the interlocal agreement is to formalize the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration, a partnership to work together
to directly respond to climate change, and outline the responsibilities and tasks related to King County and the cities that are voluntarily participating in this partnership.
SECTION 2. The executive shall coordinate with the staff of the transportation, economy and environment committee in developing the first annual work plan and budget for the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration, and within twenty-one calendar days following development of the first annual work plan and budget the executive shall submit the first work plan and budget to the council for acceptance by motion.
SECTION 3. The proposed work plan shall address the means to resolve the drafting concerns that were identified during the council's review of the interlocal agreement.
SECTION 4. Subsequent amendments to the interlocal agreement are subject to council approval by ordinance.
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