Climate Action & Sustainability

Related Goals: Key Infrastructure, Community Connectivity & Economic Vitality
1.1 Climate Action Plan Update (CIP 1510)

Description: Required update to the Climate Action Plan. May need to include updated mitigation measures in General Plan. Include development of specific targets for building decarbonization based on revised approach in Existing Building Decarbonization Roadmap.

Project Update: 

Target Date: June 2028
Status: 
Lead: Planning
Supporting: Keep Truckee Green (KTG) & Community Engagement 

1.2 Conduct Annual Municipal Operations GHG Emissions Inventories

Description: 2040 General Plan Climate Action Plan Element CAP-11.F - Complete updated municipal GHG inventory. Conduct annual inventories of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from Town operations to assess progress against adopted goals.

Project Update:

Target Date: June 2027
Status: 
Lead: Keep Truckee Green 
Supporting: 

1.3 Support Nevada County Climate Action Plan Development

Description: Participate in Nevada County Climate Action Plan Steering Committee. Staff time is expected to be limited to 24 hours over approximately 18 months.

Project Update: 
September 30, 2025 - The Town's Sustainability Program Manager has participated in the 3 out of 6 expected Steering Committee meetings.

Target Date: December 2026
Status: 40% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting:

1.4 Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Project Update:

Target Date: June 2027
Status:
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting:

1.5 Biomass

Project Update:
September 30, 2025 - Staff have continued to attend monthly regional biomass task force meetings. Staff has had initial conversations with TDPUD regarding future biomass.

December 31, 2025: Staff have continued to attend monthly regional biomass task force meetings.

Target Date: June 2026
Status: 2% Complete
Lead: Assistant Town Manager
Supporting: Engineering and Keep Truckee Green

Related Goals : Key Infrastructure, Community Connectivity & Economic Vitality

2.1 Truckee Weatherization Program

Description: Continue implementation of a 2-year pilot program to offer no-cost weatherization upgrades for income qualified households in Truckee.

Project Update:
September 30, 2025 - Program design phase is nearly complete, and Town staff are working with the program operator to finalize key program documents. Staff anticipate launching this program in early 2026.

December 31, 2025: Program administrator and Town staff continued development of program details and key program documents, including application forms, participation agreements, and an updated list of eligible measures and not-to-exceed costs. The current priority is finalizing the scope of work for the contract for program implementation. Once this contract is executed, Town staff can announce a timeline for accepting applications for the program.

Target Date: June 2027
Status: 35% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting:  

2.2 Retrofit Incentive and Promotion

Description: Develop a user-friendly online platform for Truckee residents, businesses and contractors to navigate available building decarbonization incentives (including incentives from utilities, local, state and federal sources) and streamline the application processes.

Project Update: 
September 30, 2025 - As of September 2025, Town staff selected a vendor to develop the online incentive finder and anticipate this project to be complete by December 2025.

December 31, 2025: The incentive finder is complete and publicly available at: https://truckee.resolvrebates.com/rebates. Town staff will continue to work with the vendor on periodic updates and suggested revisions based on user feedback on an as-needed basis throughout the contract. Information about the incentive finder will be included in the January Talk from the Town newsletter and the winter quarterly Keep Truckee Green newsletter, as well as social media outreach from Keep Truckee Green.

Target Date: December 2025
Status: Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green 
Supporting: 

2.3 Heat Pump Air Conditioning Incentive Program

Description: Launch a residential incentive program to encourage installation of heat pumps instead of traditional air conditioning units in Truckee homes.

Project Update: 
September 30, 2025 - Staff continue to work with a consultant to develop a detailed proposal for this rebate program and anticipate bringing this to Council for approval in early 2026.

December 31, 2025: Final program recommendations were received from the consultant in December 2025, and Town staff will be developing a final proposal for Council consideration in early 2026.

Target Date: March 2026
Status: 85% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: Community Engagement

2.4 Contractor Training on Heat Pump Air Conditioning

Project Update:
September 30, 2025 - Town staff have had initial meetings with Sierra Business Council about expanding contractor training to cover heat pump air conditioning and expect to get a budget estimate in fall 2025 for developing this new training content. Staff anticipate this content being integrated into 2026 contractor training sessions.

December 31, 2025: Staff continued discussions with Sierra Business Council and Balance Point Home Performance about options for integrating heat pump air conditioning into the contractor training program and received an estimate for these services. Development of the new curriculum is anticipated to begin in February 2026 and continue into the spring to incorporate information about the Town's upcoming heat pump AC rebate into the training.

Target Date: June 2026
Status: 25% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: 

2.5 Building Decarbonization "Token" Program

Project Update:
September 30, 2025 - Staff presented a preliminary Building Electrification Token Program proposal to Council in August 2025 and received direction to develop a full program proposal for Council consideration.

December 31, 2025: No additional work was completed during this reporting period. Based on direction from Council, further work on this project was delayed allowing for coordination with an assessment of the Town's short-term rental program. To accommodate additional time-sensitive work to migrate the KTG website to the CivicPlus.gov platform (see Communications strategic priority), staff anticipate some minor delays that could result in this item returning to Council after the summer break but expect development to be complete by September 2026.

Target Date: September 2026
Status: 30% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: 

2.6 Equitable Funding Strategy

Project Update:
September 30, 2025 - As of September 2025, staff are finalizing an RFP for release in October 2025. Staff anticipate bringing a consultant contract to Council for approval in December 2025.

December 31, 2025: The RFP was released in October 2025, and a consultant was selected to complete the project. Council approved a contract award to Rincon Consultants for the project on December 10, 2025, and the contract is currently being processed. Work on this project is anticipated to begin in January 2026.

Target Date: June 2026
Status: 5% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting:

2.7 Energy Resilience Plan

Project Update:
December 31, 2025: An RFP was released in November 2025, and staff responded to proposer questions. Proposals are due January 23, 2026.

Target Date: June 2027
Status: 5% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting:

2.8 Municipal Building Decarbonization Planning

Project Update:
December 31, 2025: Staff began work on development of an RFP, which is expected to be released in January 2026.

Target Date: June 2027
Status: 5% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting:

2.9 Expanded Workforce Education and Training

Project Update:

Target Date: June 2027
Status:
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting:

Related Goals : Key Infrastructure, Community Connectivity & Economic Vitality, and Communication & Outreach

3.1 Expanded Food Recovery Program

Description: Support expansion of edible food recovery programs to prepared food to reduce food waste and address local food insecurity, including at a minimum all Tier 2 generators required by SB 1383 to recover edible food.

Project Update:
September 30, 2025 - Placer County launched the EatWell food donation app that will also serve Truckee, and Town staff conducted outreach to Truckee Tier 2 generators to get them signed on to the app. Staff also developed "alternative compliance forms" for Tier 2 generators that do not generate edible food waste to document their food waste reduction practices for SB 1383 records. Staff continued to support existing food recovery efforts by Sierra Community House to ensure Tier 1 generators are donating all edible food and conduct annual inspections as required by SB 1383.

December 31, 2025: Staff continued to support edible food donation. Staff worked with EatWell to develop documentation for participating in Tier 2 restaurants to submit to the Town the required written agreements/contracts between EatWell and the edible food generator, per SB 1383 recordkeeping requirements. Staff also followed up on a complaint regarding non-compliance and resolved the issue by supporting coordination between a major grocery store and Sierra Community House to ensure the maximum amount of edible food is being recovered.

Target Date: June 2027
Status: 33% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: Community Engagement  

3.2 Single-Use Bottle Reduction Program

Description: Conduct a comprehensive outreach campaign for residents and visitors to support use of reusable and refillable water bottles and provide education about Truckee's high-quality tap water. Develop programs to expand filling station infrastructure in the community and at special events. Combined, these projects are estimated to require approximately 1,000 hours of staff time over the 2-year workplan.

Project Update:
September 30, 2025: The Truckee Mountain Filtered website has launched to educate the community about Truckee's high-quality tap water and promote reusable water bottles. New promotional materials, such as a filling station map, posters, and stickers are being distributed to local businesses and short-term rentals. 20 new water bottle filling stations have been installed through the Town's grant program, and 43 tap water access points are now listed on the online filling station map. Three mobile water filling stations and four 5-gallon dispensers are now available for free to community events, with high use during the 2025 summer season.

December 31, 2025: Town staff have been collaborating with Visit Truckee-Tahoe to promote the Truckee Mountain Filtered campaign. Companion signage for water bottle filling stations has been distributed to hotels and recreational facilities, and Town staff are developing a brand kit for short-term rental owners and hotel managers to spread awareness of Truckee's high-quality tap water and promote use of reusable water bottles to guests. Decals designed to help residents and visitors identify locations with water bottle filling stations have been placed on 15 buildings in Town to supplement the online water filling station map. A print brochure of the filling station map has been distributed to the Welcome Center and is available on request for hotels and STRs owners. Town staff worked with the Chamber of Commerce and VTT to gauge interest from hotels and other businesses in making a Truckee Mountain Filtered-branded reusable water bottle available for sale, but there was not sufficient interest in pursuing this further. The Truckee Mountain Filtered campaign has been integrated into Keep Truckee Green's ongoing outreach and education program.

Target Date: June 2027
Status: 75% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: Community Engagement 

3.3 Single-Use Bottle Ordinance Implementation

Description: Support the implementation of the Town's single-use bottle and paper carton ordinance through education regarding the ordinance requirements. This task will involve community engagement and education, one-to-one outreach and technical assistance to businesses, and development of informational materials and collateral. This is estimated to require approximately 200 hours of staff time over the 2-year workplan. This task is related to 5.2, but is focused more narrowly on Truckee's ordinance whereas Task 5.2 focuses on broad engagement around reusable and refillable water bottles and Truckee's tap water.

Project Update: 
September 30, 2025: Staff conducted significant business outreach before the ordinance took effect on April 22, 2025, including mailing fact sheets and conducting in-person visits to businesses most likely to sell water bottles such as grocery stores and convenience stores. Town staff conducted outreach at 6 Sierra Community House food distribution events to inform residents about the ordinance and distribute reusable water bottles, in addition to general public outreach at Truckee Thursdays and the Town's Community Block Party. 

Staff also revisited businesses that were known to sell single-use plastic water bottles prohibited by the ordinance to verify they had come into compliance. Noncompliant businesses received follow-up guidance and rechecks. By October 2025, all businesses known to sell water bottles were fully in compliance. Staff will continue to conduct education and enforcement on a complaint basis.

December 31, 2025: During fall 2025, staff wrapped up the targeted business outreach campaign. As of October 2025, all businesses known to sell single-use water bottles were fully in compliance with the ordinance requirements. Staff continue to provide education to residents, businesses, and visitors about the ordinance requirements as part of Keep Truckee Green's general outreach program. Ongoing enforcement of the ordinance will continue on a complaint basis.

Target Date: June 2026
Status: 95% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: Community Engagement 

3.4 Assess Effectiveness of Single-Use Bottle Ordinance and Supporting Programs 

Description: Provide a report to Council approximately one year after the effective date of the ordinance compile a progress report more narrowly focused on assessing the existing ordinance and supporting programs

Project Update:  

Target Date: June 2026
Status: 
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: Community Engagement

3.5 Reusable Foodware Promotion 

Description: Support expanded use of reusable foodware by residents and businesses, including a reusable beverage cup program at local cafes, the Town's green box program, and the greenware lending program for special events.

Project Update: 
September 30, 2025: Staff have worked with Okapi Reusables to expand the reusable cup borrowing program to a total of 4 cafes in Truckee and promoted the program at outreach events. Data provided by Okapi shows the community discount codes are being utilized, meaning new users are signing up for the program. Participating cafes have also reported an increase in customer-provided reusables due to the visibility of the Okapi Reusables program. Staff continue to support the green box program and greenware lending program and have worked to feature these programs more prominently on the Keep Truckee Green website. Staff will compare year-over-year usage of the greenware program at the end of FY 26.

December 31, 2025: The dishwashing grant expired December 1 and was not utilized by any cafes participating in Okapi. Staff connected Okapi with new outreach channels, in which Okapi marketed the program at the Fixit Clinic, on TART Connect vehicles, and through the Truckee High student-run Envirolution Environmental Club. The Town Communications Division supported with outreach on Town social media channels. The green box program and greenware lending program continue, with the greenware lending program continuing to have a busy rental schedule.

Target Date: June 2027
Status: 33% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green 
Supporting: Community Engagement

Related Goals: Key Infrastructure, Community Connectivity & Economic Vitality, and Communication & Outreach

4.1 Solid Waste Franchise Agreement Development

Description: Develop an RFP and begin franchise agreement development for a new solid waste collection franchise agreement to support improved collection services and increased diversion of recyclables and organic waste, and SB 1383 compliance, to begin in 2028.

Project Update: 
September 30, 2025: Staff have requested quotes for consultant services to support development of a new franchise agreement and anticipate bringing a consultant contract to Council for approval in fall 2025.

December 31, 2025: Staff worked to develop a final scope of services for consultant services to develop a new franchise agreement, and Council approved a contract award to HF&H Consulting, LLC for these services on December 10, 2025. Staff anticipate that contract to be executed in early 2026. Staff have also begun discussions with True North Research to develop a proposal for a residential survey as part of the franchise agreement development process

Target Date: December 2027
Status: 5% Complete
Lead: Keep Truckee Green
Supporting: