Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, October 17, 2016 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 7:02 p.m. in the West Conference Room. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Paton led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Chair Bruce Paton Vice Chair Amit Srivastava Commissioner Brian Glazebrook Commissioner Dan Hafeman Commissioner Petya Kisyova Commissioner Kristel Wickham Absent: 1 - Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Commission Zornetzer’s absence is excused. Council Liaison – Pat Meyering (absent) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1 16-0998 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of September 19, 2016 Commissioner Kisyova requested a revision to the September 19th meeting minutes. Specifically, Commissioner Kisyova asked that the summary of the Building Energy Code Presentation be amended to include her questioning of the City’s ability to delegate review authority for certain CalGreen items to third parties because Building Officials are prohibited from delegating major functions to third parties. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 17, 2016 Commissioner Glazebrook moved, and Commissioner Srivastava seconded, a motion to approve the September 19, 2016 meeting minutes as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Glazebrook Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kisyova Commissioner Wickham No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Abstain: 1 - Chair Paton Chair Paton abstained as he was not present at the September meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 16-0974 Forward recommendation to the City Council related to the Horizon 2035 Land Use and Transportation Element Trudi Ryan, Community Development Director; Manuel Pineda, Public Works Director; and Jeff Henderson, Project Planner, provided an overview of the Horizon 2035 Land Use and Transportation Element. The Commission asked clarifying questions including how the LUTE considers actions by neighboring communities, how and when updates would occur, and what levers within the LUTE would impact the Jobs to Housing ratio. Commissioners expressed concerns that the traffic impact will be significant, and questioned how there could be a decrease in jobs in spite of the increasing traffic congestion. Staff offered that while the number of jobs has actually decreased, the types of jobs and jobs schedules have changed. Staff also clarified that the transportation model used to estimate traffic impact is calibrated based on current driving patterns and behaviors. Different policies will be implemented to change driving patterns and behavior which should reduce the actual traffic impact. Chair Paton opened the Public Hearing. Brendan Robins spoke to encourage the Commission to prioritize and consider the large negative impacts of the proposed Jobs to Housing ratio. Mr. Robins commented that infill development in Sunnyvale would have less impact on open space than building new homes in South County and supported looking at City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 17, 2016 amendments or alternatives that would include more housing. Mr. Robins is a Sunnyvale resident, member of the Sunnyvale Sustainable and Affordable Living Coalition, and representing the Greenbelt Alliance. Chair Paton closed the Public Hearing. Commissioner Hafeman moved, and Commissioner Kisyova seconded, a motion that the Commission recommend that the City Council adopt Alternative #2 with a modification that the City Council adopt a Jobs to Housing Policy that sets the Jobs to Housing Ratio at a maximum of 1.65 and that the LUTE be adjusted to accommodate that number. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Glazebrook Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kisyova Commissioner Wickham No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Commissioner Hafeman moved, and Commissioner Kisyova seconded, a motion that the Commission recommend that the City Council only adopt a LUTE that retains the Village centers. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kisyova Commissioner Wickham No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Glazebrook 3 16-0999 Discussion of Upcoming Joint Study Session on the Climate Action Plan Chair Paton opened the Public Hearing. James Tuleya, Sunnyvale resident, addressed the Commission about the City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 17, 2016 importance of taking action to accelerate and strengthen Sunnyvale’s CAP and recommended that a primary vision could focus on “cleaning up electricity” and “electrifying everything.” Mr. Tuleya also asked Commission to consider annual monitoring and reporting to ensure progress is being made. Chair Paton closed the Public Hearing. The Commission discussed possible focus areas and priorities that the Commission could share with the City Council including transportation, how the City could transform decision making by including GHG impact as part of considerations, as well as actions that support electrification and fuel switching. No action was taken. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Hafeman shared that all participants of the first City Council debate appear to be well aware of climate issues. Commissioner Srivastava attended Acterra’s After the Paris Agreement meeting and shared that a key strategy towards reaching the Paris goal is to electrify everything. Commissioner Wickham attended a forum called “Connect the Dots” which brought together different organizations working on climate change. Commissioner Paton attended a Grand Boulevard Initiative meeting and shared that an interesting strategy being included for the area looks at creative zoning and housing types as part of creating a transition zone between single-family and multi-family housing. -Staff Comments Elaine Marshall, Environmental Programs Manager, shared information on an upcoming Acterra workshop that the City is supporting that will be held in Sunnyvale. The workshop is scheduled for November 15, 2016 and will highlight two Zero Net Energy buildings recently completed in Sunnyvale. The schedule will include tours of the buildings and discussions on how to continue to advance Zero Net Energy Buildings. Registration and additional information will be provided to the Commission when it is available. City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 17, 2016 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:56 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 5