Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Sustainability Commission Monday, May 4, 2015 7:00 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Special Meeting CALL TO ORDER Chair Paton called the meeting to order at 7:02 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 15-0489 Draft Minutes of the Sustainability Commission Meeting of April 20, 2015 Chair Paton pulled the minutes from the consent calendar and requested a change to the Commissioner Comments to reflect Commissioner Hafeman’s presence and work at Full Circle Farm’s Earth Day event. Commissioner Srivastava moved, and Commissioner Fukumoto seconded, a motion to approve the minutes as amended. The motion carried with the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 Yes: 7 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Fukumoto Commissioner Glaser Commissioner Glazebrook Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kisyova No: 0 PUBLIC COMMENTS None. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 15-0488 PRESENTATION - Drought Response and Water Conservation Mansour Nasser, Water and Sewer Systems Division Manager, presented information to the Commission on the state of the drought, water supplies for Sunnyvale, and staff recommended drought response actions. The City Council will be considering the staff recommendations at its meeting on May 12, 2015. Staff responded to Commissioners questions and gathered feedback and additional considerations from the Commission. Commissioners posed clarifying questions including the relationship between recycled water use and water reduction goals, plans for educating the public about the new water use restrictions, available incentives for low-water landscapes and smart irrigation systems, and confirmed the method for tracking water use reductions from the baseline year. Commissioner Kisyova encouraged the City to consider actions that would limit construction activity and the use of water for dust suppression at construction sites. Commissioner Kisyova also asked that the City consider using some of the additional funding for lawn replacement rebates for smart irrigation systems. Commissioner Glaser asked about the status of deployment of the remotely read water meters in Sunnyvale and noted that these newer meters can be better at detecting water leaks. Commissioner Hafeman noted that there was no discussion about urban farming or residential vegetable gardening and asked that staff look into aligning policies and messaging to support local farming during the drought. Commissioner Fukumoto recognized that the City and its residents were already doing at good job at reducing water use as the staff presentation showed that Sunnyvale’s daily per capita water use has decreased significantly in the past ten years. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 Chair Paton opened the Public Hearing. Margaret Okuzumi addressed the Commission and acknowledged that while Sunnyvale’s per capita water use was low, more could be done. Ms. Okuzumi also commented that the City’s subsidizing of water rate increases sends the wrong message to the community and that if the water increases were passed on, the additional funds could be used to provide more efficient water fixtures than the ones currently provided by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Ms. Okuzumi provided the Commission with a copy of her “Unconventional Water-Savings Tips.” Chair Paton closed the Public Hearing. Commissioner Glazebrook encouraged staff to consider convening a meeting with Sunnyvale businesses to discuss the state of the drought and water conservation actions. The Commission requested that staff provide follow-up information and periodic updates on water conservation results and that the results also be made public. No action was taken. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Chair Paton informed the Commission that the City Council expressed concerns about some of the discussion items that were included on both the Sustainability and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commissions’ 2015 Work Plans and that the Mayor has requested that the Chairs of both commissions attend the May 19th City Council meeting to discuss the work plans. Commissioner Fukumoto recommended that the Commission consider reading the book “Walkable City” in preparation for the upcoming meetings on the Peery Park Specific Plan and Land Use and Transportation Element. Commissioner Srivastava reported that Sunnyvale Urban Forest Advocates were organizing the City’s first Tree Walk on May 9th at the Sunnyvale Civic Center. Commissioner Kisyova shared materials that she had assembled related to the State’s Net Zero Building Standards development process. Commissioner Fukumoto agreed to review and provide feedback on the materials. -Staff Comments Melody Tovar, Regulatory Programs Division Manager, provided an update on the City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 CCE study issue schedule and noted that the initial report from LEAN Energy US was undergoing final review. Ms. Tovar also report that the South Bay partnership has taken on the name: Silicon Valley CCE Partnership, and that the website would be launched within the week (www.svcleanenergy.org). Sunnyvale has submitted an initial CCA Data Request to PG&E and has invited other cities to participate in the data request and technical study. Eight of the nine invited Santa Clara county cities have provided data authorization letters. Ms. Tovar also announced that the Sustainability Coordinator position has been posted and recruitment is underway. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 4