PROJECT PHASES

The Windsor Climate Resilience Plan successfully completes the first three phases of the planning process as developed by the California Adaptation Planning Guide. With Phase 3 complete, the implementation process began, which requires continuous monitoring and adjustment as needed. Like any good plan, the Windsor Climate Resilience Plan will require updates as the priority, needs, and capacity of the Town and region change.

The draft Plan was published on December 17, 2021 and available for public comment until January 10, 2022. The final Plan was formally accepted on February 16, 2022. For further details on the timeline, click here. Central to this planning process, community engagement occurred throughout the process and included a variety of methods (including focus group discussions, interviews, surveys, a broader advisory committee, community workshops, citizen science program, and public comment and review for the Plan itself).

Explore, Define, and Initiate (Oct 2020 - Jan 2021)

Phase 1 of the project was focused on developing the core planning team and establishing the goals for the project. Specific milestones included:

• Convening the Technical Working Group (TWG) - The TWG was made up of Town, Sonoma County, and regional experts from a variety of sectors (e.g., emergency response, planning, economic, transportation, natural resources, etc.) that helped guide planning efforts, support community engagement, and develop strategies for the Plan.

• Creating the Community Engagement Plan - Community engagement was an essential part of the planning process and set the foundation of the Windsor Climate Resilience Plan. Community engagement for the Plan utilized a variety of different forums, platforms, and approaches.

• Developing the Project Website - This website, which was developed at the outset of the project, is the repository for the Windsor Climate Resilience Plan and was updated continuously.

Assess Vulnerability (February - May 2021)

This phase was focused on completing the necessary technical analysis and on engaging with the community to set the vision for the Plan. Specific milestones included:

• Completing the Transportation and Social Vulnerability Assessments - Assessing the Town’s current evacuation policies and programs were key. In addition, we identified, analyzed, and defined the potential impacts of a changing climate on the Town’s social systems, community, and transportation network.

• Implementing the Community Engagement Plan - Community engagement was crucial at this stage. Using a variety of forums, we heard from many of you to help guide the development of this Plan!

• Completing and Refining Climate Projections - Understanding the current climate hazards and future climate projections for Windsor and the surrounding region were essential in making informed decisions about how to reduce the Town’s risk to those hazards.

Define the Framework and Strategies (June 2021 - Feb 2022)

This phase was focused on collaboratively developing and refining adaptation strategies and actions intended to reduce the Town’s risk to climate change. Specific milestones included:

• Developing and Refining Adaptation and Resilience Strategies - Compiling and refining approaches to reducing the risk of wildfire, extreme heat, drought, extreme precipitation, and flooding based on the Vulnerability Assessment was crucial. This process included incorporating regional lessons learned from recent fires (like the Kincade Fire) and identifying new and refining existing local, county, regional, state, and national solutions customized for the Town.

• Developing the Plan - The project team compiled all of the work completed over the 18 months into a draft Plan, which was presented to the Town Council on February 2, 2022. The Plan, which was reviewed by several boards and commissions, the TWG, and the community, was updated and the final Plan was accepted unanimously by the Town Council on February 16, 2022.