Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, May 20, 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 7:04 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 Shana Padgett Absent: 1 - Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Council Liaison – Michael S. Goldman (present) Commissioner Zornetzer’s absence is excused by general consent. Commissioner Kunz arrived at 7:06 p.m. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Serge Rudaz, Sunnyvale resident, commented on the proposed changes to district elections for Sunnyvale City Council. He expressed support for the 4 + 3 district election alternative developed by a group of community members for Council election, which is compatible with the California Voting Rights Act. He encouraged the Commission and public to participate in providing feedback on the proposed alternatives through the survey (shared via hard copy handout and email to the Commission) on the proposed alternatives for district systems. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 20, 2019 Janie Ryan, Sunnyvale resident, expressed support for Play 4.4. – Shift to low carbon food of the Climate Action Playbook. She shared information about the Green Mondays program, which encourages reduced meat and dairy consumption to alleviate climate change impacts and provides tool and resources to raise public awareness of the impacts of diet on the environment. Ms. Ryan was joined by more than 14 individuals who also support the Green Mondays program. She urged the City to consider adopting the Green Mondays program in Sunnyvale. CONSENT CALENDAR 19-0576 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of March 18, 2019 Commissioner Hafeman moved, and Commissioner Kunz seconded, a motion to approve the minutes on the consent calendar as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Joesten abstained as he was not present at the March 18, 2019 meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 19-0575 Annual Review of the City Manager’s Recommended Budget Full budget available online at: <https://sunnyvale.ca.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp? BlobID=26404> The Commission discussed the City Manager’s Recommended Budget for FY 2018/2019 (Recommended Budget) and asked clarification questions of staff. Staff provided clarifications to some questions and will follow up on remaining questions with other departments to provide a response to the Commission. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 20, 2019 Among other clarifications provided, staff clarified that Project 831290 – Climate Action Plan Implementation budget includes resources needed for the next three years and that subsequent Game Plans (work plans for short-term implementation developed on five-year cycles) may involve additional funding requests in subsequent Projects Budget cycles. The Commission discussed adding a discussion of potentially including additional indicators related to climate action to the Community Condition Indicators list for a future meeting or to the 2020 Annual Master Work Plan. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. No public comments Chair Paton closed the public hearing. Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Wickham seconded, a motion to provide the following recommendations on the Recommended Budget to City Council: (1) Support funding Climate Action Plan Implementation (Project 831290 – Climate Action Plan Implementation) in its entirety; (2) Support allocating $50,000, as recommended in Alternative 1, for conducting the Study Issue on Single Use Plastics Strategy (Budget Supplement No. 7); (3) Accelerate conversion to electric vehicles (e.g., Project 832590 - Installation of Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles) and minimize investment in fossil fuel infrastructure (e.g., Project 824780 - Upgrading of Fuel Stations) by shifting resources accordingly; (4) Support LED light upgrades and consolidate them under a single project manager (e.g., Projects 832070 – LED Streetlights Conversion Project; Project 829170 – Sunken Gardens Driving Range Light Replacement; Project 832740 – Upgrade Park Pathway Lighting to LED; Project 834580 –Washington and Ortega Light Conversion to LED, and others); (5) Consider allocating funding in the Projects Budget for ongoing CAP implementation as a part of the 20-year budget cycle, beyond currently contemplated funding through FY22; (6) Consider cost effectiveness of emerging technologies that may assist in achieving Zero Waste Strategic Plan objectives (Project 830910 – Zero Waste Strategic Plan); and City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 20, 2019 (7) Consider adding a Community Condition Indicator representing citywide greenhouse gas emissions. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Padgett seconded, a motion to nominate Vice Chair Wickham to represent the Commission’s recommendations on the FY 19/20 Recommended Budget at the City Council Budget Workshop on May 23, 2019. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer STANDING ITEM: CLIMATE ACTION PLAN (CAP 2.0) UPDATE Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, shared that staff is currently working to determine the level of review needed on the Climate Action Playbook to ensure compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. Melody Tovar, Regulatory Programs Division Manager, shared that staff would likely have greater clarity on the possible timing of adoption of the Playbook by June 2019. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES Commissioner Joesten moved, and Commissioner Hafeman seconded, a motion to City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 20, 2019 add to the June agenda a discussion item of a potential Study Issue to consider waste-to-energy alternatives to landfilled waste. Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Chair Paton moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to add to the June agenda a discussion item of a potential Study Issue to consider strategies for improving the transparency of City mobility policies or strategies. Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Commissioner Joesten moved, and Commissioner Padgett seconded, a motion to add to the June agenda a discussion item of a potential Study Issue to provide free transit passes to City of Sunnyvale residents. Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 20, 2019 Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to add to the July agenda a discussion item of a potential Study Issue to examine encouraging decarbonization-readiness through electrical upgrade permitting. Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Padgett seconded, a motion to add to the July agenda a discussion item of a potential Study Issue to consider the creation of a Complete Streets Commission. Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Hafeman Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Chair Paton shared that he attended the Leadership Sunnyvale graduation. He also shared that he attended, with Vice Chair Wickham, tours of the City’s Water Pollution Control Plant and the SMaRT Station, which were very informative. Commissioner Kunz shared that he attended an event by the Building Decarbonization Coalition, which included representatives from major heat pump water heater manufacturers, as well as representatives from PG&E and major City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 20, 2019 community choice aggregators (CCAs) in California. He noted that he learned that heat pump water heaters are only 1 percent of the market and are challenging to promote even in conditions where it is conducive to converting to heat pumps; manufacturers urged CCAs to actively support them to reduce up-front costs of heat pumps to encourage greated adoption. He also noted that many CCAs are pursuing Reach Codes to facilitate building electrifications in local communities. Commissioner Kunz also shared that at the California State Parent Teacher Association (PTA) convention, delegates discussed setting statewide standards for safe classroom air temperature, which may be influenced by local climate conditions. Vice Chair Wickham announced that the first 2019-2020 Sustainability Speaker Series event entitled “Climate, Energy, and Food: A Recipe for Action” will be held at the Sunnyvale Theatre at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The event features Dr. Eugene Cordero of San Jose State University as well as three student speakers from local Sunnyvale middle and high schools, and will also include an exhibit of the Earth Day Poster Contest winners. She is also planning to attend an event featuring a talk by Peter Gleick entitled “Rains to Bay: A Deep Watershed Dive” on May 29, 2019 in Palo Alto and is considering whether he would be an appropriate speaker for the Sunnyvale’s Sustainability Speaker Series. Vice Chair Wickham also shared that she attended the Sierra Club on May 18, 2019 which included City Councilmembers and City Managers covering Peninsula Clean Energy territory and Congressman Ro Khanna. She indicated that SVCE and PCE had developed a 1-pager on efforts related to Reach Codes. Chair Paton announced that the Seventh Annual Energy and Sustainability Summit will be held on June 14, 2019 at Oracle, the Stanford Energy Summit will be on June 21, 2019, and Prospect Silicon Valley’s Innovation & Impact Symposium Summit (which has a registration fee) will be held on June 19, 2019. Commissioner Joesten shared that he learned that PG&E offers $300 rebate on a heat pump water heaters only if they are replacing an existing electric resistance water heater. -Staff Comments None. ADJOURNMENT City of Sunnyvale Page 7 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 20, 2019 The meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 8