Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, March 16, 2015 7:00 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Paton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the West Conference Room. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Paton led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 7 - Chair Bruce Paton Vice Chair Amit Srivastava Commissioner Barbara Fukumoto Commissioner Gerald Glaser Commissioner Brian Glazebrook Commissioner Dan Hafeman Commissioner Petya Kisyova Council Liaison-Gustav Larsson (present) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1 15-0338 Draft Minutes of the Sustainability Commission Meeting of March 2, 2015 Commissioner Glaser moved, and Commissioner Glazebrook seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried with the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Glaser Commissioner Glazebrook Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kisyova City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 16, 2015 No: 0 Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Fukumoto Commissioner Fukumoto abstained as she did not attend the last meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 15-0336 Lawrence Station Area Plan Andrew Miner, Principal Planner, provided a presentation on the Lawrence Station Area Plan (Plan) and requested feedback and comments from the Commission. There is no specific deadline for comments at this point in time, as the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is just getting started, and staff can receive comments over the next month. The current schedule is to complete the Plan by September/October 2015 and complete the EIR this fall. Staff will return to the Commission with the final drafts of the Plan and EIR. Commissioners discussed the Plan and offered comments and questions regarding the proposed incentive zoning approach in the area; clarification on height restrictions; current tree density and tree density targets in the area; clarification on the possible alignment of the new road identified for the area and strategies for building that out; consideration of LEED Neighborhood Development or EcoDistrict guidelines; residential parking requirements for the area; affordable housing incentives for the area; and how to connect people who will be living here to retail, employment, and other amenities in other parts of the City such as improving bus service to the area. No action was taken. 3 15-0129 Biological Constraints and Opportunities Analysis for the Sunnyvale Landfill and Baylands Park and Protecting Burrowing Owl Habitat on City Facilities (Study Issue) Craig Mobeck, Assistant Director of Public Works, presented the staff report and answered the Commission’s questions related to the study. Commissioner Hafeman attended a public outreach meeting about the issue and recognized that staff had really listened to the public comments. Commissioner Fukumoto inquired, and staff confirmed, that Baylands Park is the third preferred site for Animal Assisted Happiness (AAH) and that under the direction contained in Alternative 1 staff would not engage with AAH unless AAH had exhausted its pursuit of the top City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 16, 2015 two site opportunities. Commissioner Hafeman commented that Baylands doesn’t seem like a good for AAH and that the ideal location is Full Circle Farms which is more centrally located and located closer to schools. Commissioner Hafeman further encouraged the City to approach the school district to support locating AAP at Full Circle Farms. Commissioner Fukumoto moved, and Commissioner Hafeman seconded, a motion that the Commission recommend that the City Council approve Alternative 2: Direct staff to submit a proposed project in the Capital Program for constructing low impact park enhancements and planting native perennials in various locations at the Landfill including installing additional artificial burrows at both the Landfill and Baylands preserve and providing other habitat enhancements for owls at the Landfill; and Alternative 3: Direct staff to incorporate into the operating budget additional costs, estimated to be $10,000 for Baylands and $25,000 for the Landfill, related to enhancement and management of habitat. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Fukumoto Commissioner Glazebrook Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kisyova No: 0 Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Glaser The Commission believes that adding an active use to Baylands Park, such as AAH, is not aligned with Baylands Park and that the open space area should be preserved. Therefore, the Commission did not take action on Alternative 1. 4 15-0337 Discussion of the Commission’s Strategic Direction Commissioners continued the discussion about setting priority themes to guide the Commission’s work plan for the year. The Commission agreed that the Key Themes for the year are: CAP Implementation, Transportation, Water Conservation, and Energy (Building Code and Development). The Chair and Vice-Chair will work with staff to develop the proposed schedule for these priority topic areas. The Commission also agreed that in considering these priority topic areas, the Commission should identify: links to other Commissions; impacts on different City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 16, 2015 stakeholders (businesses, residents, etc); and what role the Commission should be playing in getting information on the topic area out to the community. No action was taken. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Glaser commented that the packet for this meeting (283 pages, plus web links) was too much and that the topics and recommendations in Agenda Item 3 were confusing. Commissioner Fukumoto commented that California First PACE Program is available to Sunnyvale residents and businesses and that she is concerned that staff is focused only on residential outreach. Commissioner Kisyova shared information about the Water Conservation Showcase that will be held in San Francisco on March 28, 2015. Vice-Chair Srivastava shared that for Arbor Day 40 trees were planted, and there was good support from City staff and volunteers from Sunnyvale Urban Forest Advocates. -Staff Comments Elaine Marshall, Environmental Programs Manager, shared that a Special Meeting would have to be scheduled for the Commission on May 4, 2015 in order for the Commission to consider the staff report on Community Choice Energy. ADJOURNMENT Chair Paton adjourned the meeting at 9:48 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 4