Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, March 20, 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 7:02 p.m. in the West Conference Room. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Paton led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Chair Bruce Paton Commissioner Dan Hafeman Commissioner Kristel Wickham Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Amit Srivastava Commissioner Petya Kisyova Vice Chair Srivastava’s and Commissioner Kisyova’s absences are excused. Council Liaison – Larry Klein (present) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1 17-0264 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of February 21, 2017 Chair Paton pulled the minutes of the February 21, 2017 meeting to clarify that the proposal to revive the carbon tax was not made by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, but rather that he had learned about such a proposal from this group. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 20, 2017 Commissioner Hafeman moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded, a motion to approve the February 21, 2017 meeting minutes as modified. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Chair Paton Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Kisyova Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Wickham PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 17-0251 Recommendation to Council to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration and a Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program for Animal Assisted Happiness at Baylands Park, Approve the Conceptual Plan and Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Sublease Agreement between the City and Animal Assisted Happiness Craig Mobeck, Assistant Director of Public Works, presented information on the City’s final Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and additional actions associated with moving Animal Assisted Happiness (AAH) to Baylands Park in Sunnyvale. AAH is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide access to barnyard animals for improving the well-being of children and families with special needs. Mr. Mobeck stated that the proposed facility would be located in the northwestern portion of the park and construction activities would be avoided during the bird breeding season (February 1 through August 31). A Mitigation and Monitoring program has been developed to mitigate impacts on air quality (from manure), wildlife (on birds at the site), and cultural resources (for any materials unearthed during the proposed minimal excavation). The Commissioners raised and discussed several issues with Assistant Director Mobeck, including the potential health risks posed by domestic animals on wild animals, safety concerns surrounding hogs, potential impacts on burrowing owl habitat, and questions about the methods for animal waste disposal. In addition, Vicki Amon-Higa, President of AAH, provided clarification on several points, including that AAH’s proposed move from its current location at Full Circle Farm to Baylands Park would provide a larger space for the animals. Chair Paton appreciated the artful placement of AAH in the park, which will leave most of the trees untouched, addressing previous concerns with the project. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 20, 2017 Commissioner Hafeman moved and Commissioner Wickham seconded a motion to recommend that Council approve the staff recommendation to adopt the MND and a Mitigation Monitoring Program for AAH, approve the conceptual plans for siting AAH at the park, and authorize the City Manager to execute a sublease agreement with AAH. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Paton Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Kisyova 3 17-0362 Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Accelerating Climate Action as a Council Priority Commissioner Wickham initiated a discussion on an opportunity to leverage the Sustainability Commission’s expertise in assisting with the Council priority to accelerate climate action. She suggested that the Commission could do this by recommending that the City Council: (1) create a Citizen’s Advisory Group (CAG), which would consist of at least three Sustainability Commissioners; and (2) direct the Sustainability Commission to investigate best practices and innovative funding mechanisms to develop and implement actions not currently in Sunnyvale’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) and to inform the scope of work for the anticipated consultant services needed to develop a revised CAP. The Commission discussed its possible role in revising the CAP and asked several clarification questions of staff related to process and timing of making recommendations. Key points of this discussion included: (1) The formation of and selection of members for a CAG would require Council action; (2) Staff is responsible for developing a strategy for how to accelerate climate action, based on direction by Council; (3) Staff is currently developing a work plan and budget supplement for how to accelerate climate action for Council’s review and decision in May 2017; (4) Recommendations on benchmarking other communities can be done over the course of the CAP revision process, however, the Commission’s suggestions for incorporating specific requirements into the consultant’s scope of work should be provided to staff sooner rather than later. Elaine Marshall, Environmental Programs Manager, noted that the staff’s work plan contemplates having a revised CAP by December 2018 (eighteen months from City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 20, 2017 funding approval) and would include a framework for how to reach or exceed the state’s 2050 greenhouse gas reduction targets. The focus of the revised CAP would be on developing new actions rather than solely accelerating the existing actions in the CAP as it is understood that new actions will be needed to reach the 2050 target. Kent Steffens, Interim Director of Environmental Services and Assistant City Manager, added that Council would review staff’s work plan and budget supplement as part of the City’s overall budget and decide whether or not to fund it. He clarified that a CAG could be proposed in the work plan, but no final recommendation was currently available. Commissioner Wickham moved and Commissioner Hafeman seconded a motion to recommend that the City Council create a Citizens' Advisory Group on accelerating climate action that includes representation from the Sustainability Commission. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Paton Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Kisyova NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Hafeman mentioned an article published in the Sunnyvale Sun last weekend that was critical of the Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) program. He noted that the article focuses exclusively on economic arguments without a reference to climate change benefits from the SVCE program. Commissioner Zornetzer asked staff to provide an update on the status of the Sustainability Speaker Series Report to Council (RTC). Ms. Marshall stated that the RTC was undergoing staff review and was scheduled to be on Council’s agenda for April 11, 2017. Commissioner Wickham provided an update that she and Commissioner Zornetzer had a conference call with the first potential speaker for building electrification for the Sustainability Speaker Series. She also mentioned two documentaries of interest: (1) Water and Power: The California Heist, which focuses on the complex City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 20, 2017 relationships related to water in California; and (2) Cowspiracy, which examines the effect of animal agricultural operations on global greenhouse gas emissions. -Staff Comments Elaine Marshall provided an update on the Silicon Valley Clean Energy community meeting held on March 16, 2017 at the Sunnyvale Community Center, which had more than 60 attendees. The SVCE Board of Directors recently voted to accelerate enrollment and consolidate the final two enrollment phases to occur in July 2017. There will be a ceremonial Launch Event on April 3, 2017 for SVCE. Ms. Marshall also announced that ESD had recently been selected to receive a $90,000 grant from the Silicon Valley Energy Watch to develop a residential energy efficiency program. Staff are awaiting award notification on a grant application for revising the CAP submitted to the California Energy Commission in March. Ms. Marshall announced two upcoming events: (1) the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency’s (BAWSCA) Sustainable Landscape Series workshops hosted in Sunnyvale in April and May; and (2) Family Movie Night organized by the Teen Advisory Committee and co-sponsored by the Monterey Bay Aquarium on April 7, which would also feature information booths from SVCE, ESD, and other organizations. Ms. Marshall also noted that staff is submitting the 2016 report for the Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP) competition. The remaining competition steps include: determination of finalists (April 2017), submitting a comprehensive report, and selecting the winner (September 2017). Nupur Hiremath, Sustainability Coordinator, provided an update that the sidewalk stretch along Mathilda Ave between Hwy 101 and Hwy 237 that was identified by Commissioner Hafeman at the previous meeting is maintained by CalTrans. City staff is coordinating with CalTrans to request maintenance of this sidewalk in response to Commissioner Hafeman’s concerns with the overgrown vegetation. Council Liaison Klein shared that the Land Use and Transportation Element’s (LUTE) final draft EIR was released for public comment on March 17, 2017. It is scheduled for review by the Planning commission on March 27, 2017 and by Council on April 11, 2017. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 5