Kenmore city council unanimously opposes repeal of Climate Commitment Act - Initiative 2117

Kenmore City Council. Back row from left: Councilmember Jon Culver, Mayor Nigel Herbig, Councilmember Joe Marshall, Councilmember Nathan Loutsis. From row from left: Councilmember Debra Srebnik, Deputy Mayor Melanie O'Cain, Councilmember Valerie Sasson

The sidewalks on 84th Avenue NE near Moorlands Elementary School don’t connect, forcing kids walking to school and bus riders taking Metro’s 225 to walk near cars.

The city of Kenmore recently received $3.1 million in CCA funds  to build new sidewalks on 84th, but those funds are now threatened by an initiative that will appear on the November ballot.

A map from the Washington State Patrol’s website shows the location of ten years of collisions near Moorlands Elementary School where new sidewalks are planned, paid for with revenue from the Climate Commitment Act

In a press release, the city of Kenmore announced the council unanimously adopted a resolution opposing Initiative 2117 which would repeal Washington state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA).

Passed by the legislature in 2021, the CCA established a market-based program to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by auctioning credits to polluters. The revenue from those sales are invested in programs that transition the state away from its dependence on greenhouse gas polluting activities.

Kenmore, like other cities in the state, expects to receive millions of dollars in CCA funds - including money for the sidewalks in front of Moorlands elementary school as well as funds for EV charging infrastructure and urban forestry.