Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Tuesday, January 17, 2017 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 7:01 p.m. in the West Conference Room. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Paton led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 5 - Chair Bruce Paton Vice Chair Amit Srivastava Commissioner Petya Kisyova Commissioner Kristel Wickham Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Absent: 1 - Commissioner Dan Hafeman Commissioner Hafeman’s absence is excused. Council Liaison – Larry Klein (present) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1 17-0118 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of December 19, 2016 Vice Chair Srivastava moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded, a motion to approve the December 19, 2016 meeting minutes. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 17, 2017 Yes: 5 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Kisyova Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Hafeman PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 17-0116 Sustainability Speaker Series Subcommittee Report Commissioner Wickham provided an update on the Sustainability Speaker Series Subcommittee’s efforts. The Subcommittee met with staff (Elaine Marshall, Environmental Programs Manager, and Melody Tovar, Regulatory Programs Division Manager) to discuss ideas for topics, speakers, and potential venues. Some topics considered by the Subcommittee include electrification and resource use. The Subcommittee will present a report with its recommendations to the Commission at the Commission’s February meeting and, subsequently, to City Council for approval in March. The first event is tentatively scheduled for May or June. Melody Tovar clarified that the funding for the Speaker Series would be for the fiscal year (July-June) but that it could be rolled over into the subsequent fiscal year, if needed. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 17, 2017 3 17-0117 Discussion of Sustainability Commission 2017 Work Plan The Commission identified several areas of focus (e.g., green building, transportation), but ultimately agreed that its 2017 Work Plan should be grounded in the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). Chair Paton identified two broad goals for the Work Plan: (1) to work with staff to periodically review, in greater depth, a section of the Climate Action Plan (CAP), its implementation status, and gap analysis relative to new state targets; (2) to discuss leading edge sustainability efforts made by neighboring communities and their applicability and relevance to Sunnyvale. Chair Paton proposed that he and Vice Chair Srivastava would collaborate with staff to develop a draft Work Plan for 2017 and bring it to the Commission for input at the February meeting. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES Vice Chair Srivastava shared an idea for a potential study issue to create a Library of Things (inspired by a similar effort in the City of Boston), which would allow residents to borrow infrequently used objects from the library rather than having to own them individually. Commissioner Kisyova suggested reaching out to other commissions to collaborate on study issues and suggested that Sustainability Commissioners occasionally attend meetings of other commissions. Councilman Larry Klein noted that he had requested the City Manager to update the Study Issue website to reflect institutional knowledge of past proposed Study Issues. This would provide information to commissions and Council on previously proposed but unranked Study Issues, so that potentially useful ideas, which may have been put aside in the past, could be revisited as needed. Commissioner Zornetzer proposed examining whether the urban heat island effect and its relevance in Sunnyvale as a potential study issue. Chair Paton suggested that this could be a commissioner presentation in 2017. Melody Tovar noted that there is a CAP action (EC-6) related to requiring installation of cool roofs and noted that staff could provide an update on the implementation status of this action at a subsequent meeting. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 17, 2017 -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Wickham discussed “A Convenient Truth,” a movie made about a town in Brazil that had made significant sustainability changes with exemplary collaboration between the government and the community. Chair Paton noted that he had read an article on efforts by the real estate industry to repurpose parking garages (e.g., converting to office space) in cities with decreased demand for car transportation. He noted that a policy approach could help shift the focus away from car transportation and that Sunnyvale’s Peery Park project was a good case study for the City to learn from. Commissioner Kisyova noted that publicly funded or supported solutions are not always necessary for solving the transportation problems. -Staff Comments Melody Tovar offered that staff could help Commission review the CAP, outlining its organization and its components, to help the Commission better understand it. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 4