Lincoln City Adopts Climate Action Plan

Lincoln City is moving ahead with a long-awaited roadmap to cut emissions and prepare for climate impacts, after the City Council voted unanimously to adopt a new Climate Action Plan (CAP) — with utility concerns formally attached and several data errors flagged for correction.

The council approved Resolution 2026-08 adopting the Lincoln City Climate Action Plan on Monday night, 9/13/26, directing staff to include a letter from Northwest Natural as an addendum to the plan.

Sustainability committee: “Make Lincoln City a leader”

During public comment, Sustainability Committee member Victoria McCombie urged the council to finally move the CAP over the finish line after more than a year of delays.

McCombie, who has served on the Sustainability Committee for over five years, said the city-funded consulting work that produced the plan is already paid for and ready to be put to use.

“We were able to hire a consultant thanks to the council’s giving us funds for that. So the CAP has already been paid for. We’re very proud of the CAP,” she said.

She pressed the council to approve the plan so it can be used to support grant applications for local projects. “Our hopes is that once the plan is approved by you, it can be put more to use for getting grants for the city for a variety of different projects,” McCombie said, adding that the committee has “really persevered, awaiting over a year for this approval.”

“I just really want to urge you to vote for the CAP plan and know that you’re really making Lincoln City a leader in the climate action plans, especially for coastal cities on the Oregon Coast,” she told councilors.

Natural gas utility seeks “balanced” approach

Cindy Fostveit, Community Affairs Manager for Northwest Natural covering Lincoln County, also testified, saying the company supports the city’s emission reduction goals but wants its perspective reflected in the final document.

“We appreciate the opportunity to comment on Lincoln City’s Climate Action Plan and commend the city’s commitment to reducing emissions and improving resilience,” Fossett said. She reminded the council that Northwest Natural had previously submitted formal comments and asked that the letter be attached to the adopted plan.

“We respectfully request that Northwest Natural’s letter be included as an attachment or appendix to the plan, as it provides important considerations not currently reflected in the draft,” she said. “The latest version does not appear to include the recommendations or the letter itself.”

Fostveit argued that the plan needs to better reflect state policy and the role of gas in reliability and affordability. “Our letter highlights the need for a balanced, affordable, reliable energy future,” she said, noting that while the CAP addresses House Bill 2021 and power grid decarbonization, “it does not fully account for Oregon’s Climate Protection Program, creating an incomplete picture of future emissions reductions.”

She also urged the city to acknowledge the role of gas appliances during storms and outages.

“We also encourage greater consideration of energy reliability and resource adequacy, as many natural gas appliances provide critical support during extreme weather and power outages,” Fossett said. Finally, she asked the city to distinguish between energy efficiency and electrification, and to recognize existing conservation work.

“The plan should also distinguish energy efficiency from electrification and recognize the benefits of Northwest Natural’s programs that lower costs, reduce emissions, and support low-income customers,” she said, noting that the company’s emissions account for about 6% of statewide greenhouse gases.“We just want to thank you for your consideration,” she concluded.

Staff: a plan, not a mandate

Due to staffing changes, city manager Daniel Hunter delivered the staff report on the CAP, describing it as a broad roadmap rather than a strict set of mandates. “Climate action plan, like any plan, is a plan to get us from point A to point B,” he said.

“Some of the items in the plan are easily implemented, and some are probably never going to be implemented, and that’s just the nature of a plan.” “This is our best effort at providing a plan to get the city to address the climate,” he added, noting that this was at least the third time the CAP had appeared before the council.

Unanimous approval with conditions

Councilor Nicole Peterson made the motion to adopt Resolution 2026-08 approving the Climate Action Plan, with two key conditions:

• Add the Northwest Natural letter as an exhibit or addendum• Incorporate the corrections recommended by council regarding data and wording. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

“It’s been a long time. A lot of work went into this,” Mayor Wahlke said after the vote.

With the plan now officially adopted, the next steps will involve prioritizing which climate actions to tackle first, correcting the technical details noted by council, and using the CAP to support future grant applications and policy decisions.