Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Tuesday, January 22, 2019 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 Kristel Wickham Commissioner Dan Hafeman Commissioner Douglas Kunz Commissioner Stephen Joesten Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Absent: 1 - Commissioner Shana Padgett Commissioner Padgett – Absent (excused) Council Liaison – Michael Goldman (present) Commissioner Padgett’s absence is excused by general consent. PRESENTATION 19-0158 PRESENTATION - Overview of Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Decarbonization Roadmap, Proposed Programs, and Greenhouse Gas Inventory Aimee Bailey, Director of Decarbonization and Grid Innovation Programs, and Don Bray, Director of Account Services and Community Relations, from Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) presented an overview of SVCE’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory and its decarbonization programs. The Commission asked questions and City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 22, 2019 SVCE staff provided clarifications. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 19-0160 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of November 19, 2018 Commissioner Joesten moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Padgett PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 19-0162 Annual Review of Code of Ethics and Conduct for Elected and Appointed Officials Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, stated that the Commissioners are responsible for reading and agreeing to abide by the Code of Ethics and Conduct for Elected and Appointed Officials (hereafter, Code of Ethics). Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded, a motion declaring they have read and will abide by the rules of the Code of Ethics. The motioned carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 22, 2019 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Padgett 19-0163 Review of Specific Duties of Sustainability Commission The Commission discussed the general and specific duties of the Sustainability Commission as specified in Council Policy Manual Policy 7.2.19, section 2, part I, sub-part X. Chair Paton raised several issues that the Commission frequently encountered: (1) The Commission was responsible for advising Council on strategically accelerating Sunnyvale’s progress towards sustainability but this was challenging due to the reliance on the City’s Study Issue process for doing so; (2) There was general consensus among Chairs and Vice Chairs of all City Commissions, as expressed at the Council Study Session held by the Council Subcommittee on Board/Commission Bylaws, that it was challenging for Commissions to influence community awareness while making sure they did not represent the Commission outside of Brown Act-compliant meetings; (3) Aside from the Study Issue process, it was not clear what vehicles were available for the Commission to make recommendations to Council on Federal, State, and regional policies. The Commission discussed concerns and asked clarification questions of staff. Staff will follow up with appropriate City offices and provide responses at a future meeting. STANDING ITEM: CLIMATE ACTION PLAN (CAP 2.0) UPDATE Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, provided an update that Climate Action Playbook (CAP) development is still underway. Staff is working collaboratively across departments to identify the resource needs it would take for implementation of the early actions put forth in the CAP. Staff is also working with consultants to document how forecasts and targets, that are critical to setting city on the right path, were determined. Staff hopes to release the CAP for public review in the coming months and will share clarity in timing with the Commission, when available. Ms. Hiremath noted that the timing of the CAP adoption will be synchronized with the budget process, to the extent possible, to ensure that staff has a funding strategy identified to begin CAP implementation in the following fiscal year. The next CAP 2.0 Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting would also be announced at that time. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES 19-0161 Rank 2019 Study Issues Ms. Hiremath presented seven Study Issues to the Commission for review and potential ranking and explained the ranking process. The Commission discussed City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 22, 2019 and asked clarifying questions about the Study Issue papers. The Commission discussed that its priority was to promote Study Issues that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly those that target transportation and building emissions. As a secondary priority, the Commission generally agreed on supporting Study Issues that protect the environment, even if they did not directly reduce GHG emissions. Any Study Issues not aligned with the CAP when it is released this spring, would be prioritized by the Commission in the future. The Commission viewed Study Issues CDD 19-08 and 19-09 as highly complementary and recommended combining these Study Issues. Ms. Hiremath clarified that the Commission cannot combine them, but that Council may do so at the Budget/Study Issues Workshop. Commissioner Hafeman noted that a possible outcome of Study Issue CDD 19-08 would be mandatory carbon-free new construction, which would exceed the state’s proposed zero net energy (ZNE) requirements, towards promoting all-electric buildings. Commissioner Zornetzer stated that Study Issue CDD 19-09 offers the potential to better track building energy usage, thereby increasing energy use accountability. The Commission generally agreed to rank both these Study Issues. For ESD 19-01, Commissioner Hafeman noted that single-use plastics have received significant media attention recently. Commissioner Kunz noted that the City should not miss this opportunity to have policies to ban or discourage single-use plastics before the plastics lobby influences the state legislature to prevent local policies. The Commission generally agreed to rank this Study Issue. Chair Paton moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded, a motion to drop Study Issue DPW 19-09. The Commission agreed that it may consider bringing back this Study Issue after viewing the transportation-related strategies in the Climate Action Playbook, when it is released. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Padgett City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 22, 2019 Commissioner Zornetzer moved, and Commissioner Kunz seconded, a motion to defer the Study Issue CDD 18-09 because widespread all-electric building is a higher priority than solar installation. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Padgett The Commission agreed to keep the following Study Issues for ranking: CDD 19-08, CDD 19-09, ESD 17-01, ESD 19-01, and ESD 19-02. Chair Paton opened the Public Hearing. No public comments were made. Chair Paton closed the Public Hearing. The Commission did not defer or drop any of the remaining Study Issues. The Commission discussed the remaining five Study Issues. Each Commissioner ranked the Study Issues individually. Staff consolidated the results and provided the final consolidated ranking to the Commission. Commissioner Hafeman moved, and Commissioner Zornetzer seconded, a motion to accept the following final consolidated ranking: Rank 1 – ESD 19-01: Single Use Plastics Strategy Rank 2 – ESD 19-02: Encourage Adoption of Electric Vehicles Rank 3 – CDD 19-08: Consider New Requirements or Policies to Reduce City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 22, 2019 Greenhouse Gas Emissions from new Development Projects Rank 4 – CDD 19-09: Evaluate the Feasibility of Requiring new Non-Residential Development Projects to Meet Specific Energy Performance Measures to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rank 5 – ESD 17-01: Eliminate the Use of Chemical Pesticides on City Owned or Leased Property The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Padgett Ms. Hiremath shared that the final ranking would be provided to Council at the Study/Budget Issue Workshop was scheduled for March 7, 2019. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Chair Paton shared an update from the Council’s review of Board/Commission process, noting that the next (third) meeting of the Council Subcommittee on Board/Commission Bylaws with Board/Commission Chairs and Vice Chairs would be related to the Study Issue process. He was looking forward to learning more about how the Commission could articulate its mission through the Study Issue process. He also shared that a representative from the local Audubon Society shared at a Council meeting that there was no mechanism or City policy to limit light pollution; he noted it would be important to keep such issues in mind in the future. Vice Chair Wickham shared that she attended SVCE’s December Board meeting where they presented their Decarbonization Roadmap and committed to spending $6.02 million over the next two years on programs for their jurisdictions. She also City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final January 22, 2019 attended the Heat Pump Study Session presentation by SVCE in December, which was very informative. She was encouraged by (former) Mayor Hendricks’ comment about the City exploring the possibility of incorporating heat pumps and building electrification into new construction requirements. Vice Chair Wickham shared that she attended a rally about a San José City Council Study Session about the purchase of Coyote Valley to protect it from development and to preserve the area as flood protection and natural green infrastructure. She also recommended two books: (1) “Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future” by Mary Robinson, which provided a global perspective on climate change by a former president of the Republic of Ireland; and (2) “The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World” by Jeff Goodell, which provided information about adaptation to sea level rise. Commissioner Kunz shared that he also attended the Heat Pump Study Session and was heartened to hear Council’s support for heat pump adoption. -Staff Comments Ms. Hiremath shared several announcements, including that: (1) Staff is considering taking the 2019 Sustainability Speaker Series proposal to Council tentatively in Feb 2019; and (2) Staff is currently working on filling vacant positions in the Sustainability, Outreach, and Stormwater programs team. The Environmental Services Department has hired a temporary Environmental Outreach Coordinator and recruitment is underway for a Sustainability Coordinator. Ms. Hiremath noted that an updated copy of the Commission’s Annual Work Plan Calendar would be provided as an Information Only item in each agenda packet. Staff will update this document each month to ensure it reflects the current progress on completion of Work Plan items. This document will also provide Commissioners an idea of the scheduled agenda items for next month. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 19-0164 2019 Annual Master Work Plan ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:22 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 7