Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, August 28, 2017 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: 4 - Chair Bruce Paton Commissioner Stephen Joesten Commissioner Kristel Wickham Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Amit Srivastava Commissioner Dan Hafeman Council Liaison – Jim Griffith (present) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 2 17-0805 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of July 17, 2017 Chair Paton pulled the minutes of the July 17, 2017 meeting noting that former Commissioner Kisyova had been erroneously marked as present (and voting yes) instead of absent for the Public Hearing item related to nominating a representative to the El Camino Real Plan Advisory Committee (ECRPAC). Commissioner Joesten moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded, a motion to City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 28, 2017 approve the July 17, 2017 meeting minutes as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Paton Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Hafeman STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES 8 17-0742 Proposed Study Issue: Lower speed limits on all Arterials and El Camino Real to 30mph or less Chair Paton moved this item to the top of the agenda to accommodate staff’s schedule. Carmen Talavera, Senior Traffic Engineer, provided background information on speed limits, including an explanation of how speed limits are set in accordance with State requirements; the extent of the City’s purview over setting these limits; and the challenges and limitations associated with lowering the speed limits on City streets. Ms. Talavera noted that it is unlikely that staff could support this Study Issue as the City has limited flexibility in setting speed limits and must work within the constraints set by the State. Commissioner Wickham asked whether the Vision Zero Plan would address speed limits. Staff clarified that Vision Zero would not focus on speed limits, but on other features or policies to improve pedestrian safety. Chair Paton recommended that the Study Issue be revised to: (1) reflect that speed limits be re-evaluated within constraints imposed on the City by the State; and (2) state that it would examine the feasibility of lowering the speed limit on El Camino Real by working with CalTrans and neighboring cities that have successfully lowered the speed limit on El Camino Real to 35 mph. Staff will provide speed survey data for the Commission’s consideration prior to its vote on this Study Issue at the September meeting. PRESENTATION City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 28, 2017 1 17-0801 PRESENTATION - Commissioner Presentation: Adaptation and Sea Level Rise Chair Paton provided a presentation on climate change adaptation, highlighting information from major recently published data sets. His presentation concluded that new data indicated higher probability and degree of flooding due to sea level rise and noted that it is challenging to identify specific risks and areas of risk in Sunnyvale using current data. Melody Tovar, Regulatory Programs Division Manager, offered to provide some information on the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (SCVWD) Shoreline Study showing risks from sea level rise. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 3 17-0817 Nomination of two Sustainability Commission Representatives to the Climate Action Plan (CAP 2.0) Advisory Committee (CAC) The Commission discussed Commissioners interested in serving as one of two representatives to the Climate Action Plan (CAP 2.0) Advisory Committee (CAC). Commissioner Hafeman had expressed his interest in serving as the Commission’s representative to the CAC with staff and Chair prior to the meeting. Chair Paton seconded his nomination. Commissioner Wickham moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded the motion, to nominate herself to serve on the CAC. Commissioner Joesten moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded the motion, to nominate himself to serve on the CAC. Chair Paton moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded the motion, to nominate himself to serve on the CAC. Chair Paton subsequently withdrew his nomination given the overwhelming interest from other Commissioners to serve on the CAC. The Commission voted as follows: Nomination of Commissioner Hafeman Yes: 0 No: 0 City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 28, 2017 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Hafeman Abstain: 4 - Chair Paton Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer Nomination of Commissioner Wickham Yes: 4 - Chair Paton Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Hafeman Nomination of Commissioner Joesten Yes: 4 - Chair Paton Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Hafeman Nupur Hiremath, Sustainability Coordinator, requested that nominated Commissioners fill out the CAC application form to provide to the Council Subcommittee for information only purposes by September 1, 2017. Commissioner Zornetzer moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to add the CAP 2.0 be added as a Standing Item to the Commission’s agenda moving forward. The Commission voted as follows: City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 28, 2017 Yes: 4 - Chair Paton Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Wickham Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Hafeman STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES 5 17-0804 Proposed Study Issue: Identification of Climate Change Adaptation Priorities for Sunnyvale Chair Paton outlined that Study Issue as proposed would suggest a preliminary review of adaptation studies to assess whether the City is at low risk or whether further study is necessary to identify risks and priorities for addressing them. Ms. Tovar provided a summary of ongoing and planned efforts related to adaptation through CAP 1.0, Silicon Valley 2.0, SCVWD’s Shoreline Study, and regional Hazard Mitigation Plans (HMPs). The CAP 2.0 will not include adaptation. Commissioner Wickham moved, and Chair Paton seconded, a motion that the Commission sponsor a Study Issue on a preliminary adaptation priorities for Sunnyvale. The Commission voted as follows: Yes: 2 - Chair Paton Commissioner Wickham No: 0 Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Srivastava Commissioner Hafeman Abstain: 2 - Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Zornetzer Commissioners Joesten and Zornetzer abstained as they felt that the proposed Study Issue may be redundant with ongoing or planned staff efforts. The motion did not pass. 4 17-0741 Draft Study Issue: Encouraging Heat Pump Water and Space Heating City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 28, 2017 Nupur Hiremath clarified that staff were still reviewing this Study Issue and plan to provide feedback soon. The Commission did not make any changes to the Study Issue as drafted. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Chair Paton shared that he and Commissioner Joesten participated in an informative all-day workshop with City staff as a part of the 2017 Bloomberg Mayors Challenge. The workshop focused on learning and using tools to identify the City’s most pressing problem and to create a visionary, impactful, implementable solution that can be easily transferred to other similar communities. Commissioner Joesten discussed an email that had been forwarded from the Sustainability Commission’s Answer Point related to cutting down of Redwood trees in the Victory Village neighborhood. Councilmember Griffith clarified that the trees were being cut to prevent gas lines, not power lines, from being damaged. Commissioner Zornetzer shared that he and Commissioner Wickham were already working on the 2018 Sustainability Speaker Series. He requested that staff share the schedule for the Civic Center Master Plan. Commissioner Wickham shared that the two Sustainability Speaker Series events in August were very successful. She also attended a demo of the Silicon Valley SIM Center offered by the Palo Alto Sustainability Office, where entrepreneurs, businesses, and cities could visualize various climate data sets to use for planning purposes. -Staff Comments Nupur Hiremath announced that the Sustainability Speaker Series had received very positive feedback from the Council members, staff, and the public. She also noted that a new Commissioner, Adriana Imbre, was appointed by the City Council and would begin attending meetings starting in September. Ms. Hiremath also shared that the Environmental Services Department’s (ESD) Outreach Coordinator, Jackie Davison, and the City of Sunnyvale had been recognized by the SCVWD with an award for the highest volunteer turnout and the most trash collected at Sunnyvale sites on National River Cleanup Day and Coastal Cleanup Day. City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 28, 2017 Melody Tovar shared that recruitment was ongoing for the ESD Director position. Staff also shared that the CAP 2.0 consultant contract was in the final stages of the procurement process and would be presented to Council at the end of September. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 7