About PAS Memo

Today's planners need to stay informed about innovative strategies and techniques for a wide range of planning topics.

PAS Memo delivers this information in an electronic, bimonthly publication. It highlights current cutting-edge topics — such as green roofs and climate change adaptation — while providing the latest findings and best practices in classic planning areas such as stormwater management and housing affordability.

PAS Memo is written by practicing planners and experts in the field eager to share that expertise through illuminating case studies. Each article provides a list of links to online resources for planners who want to dig deeper.

PAS Memo is available to Planning Advisory Service subscribers only.

Current Issue

March/April 2010

Climate Action Plans: Lessons Learned from Irvine, California

By Chandra Krout, AICP, and Alicia Chu

As more local governments embark on goals, policies, and programs that address climate change, the organizational management of how best to support a climate action program becomes a challenge. In most jurisdictions, many different departments control overlapping components of climate action–related programs. There are several ways in which a local government can successfully coordinate climate action planning that is effective, measureable, and meaningful.

This article describes the City of Irvine, California's climate action planning effort and some of the lessons learned from the process. It outlines how the draft climate action plan (CAP) was developed, who led the process, and how various departments coordinated their efforts. It presents some of the ways local governments utilize available grants to fund the development of such programs and reviews the relationship of the CAP to other city documents.

Read the full article