Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, October 21, 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 7:00 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 Stephen Joesten Commissioner Douglas Kunz Commissioner Shana Padgett Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Absent: 1 - Commissioner Murali Srinivasan Council Liaison – Nancy Smith (Absent) Commissioner Srinivasan’s absence is excused by general consent. PRESENTATION 1 19-0878 PRESENTATION - Climate Resilience and Adaptation Plans for Bay Area Cities Chair Paton requested that this agenda item be removed from the agenda and noted that it would be postponed to a future meeting. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Ralph Kenton, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, announced that the Parks and Recreation Commission has sponsored a Study Issue to examine waste reduction in Sunnyvale parks. Mr. Kenton explained that sorting recycling in parks City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 21, 2019 provides an educational opportunity for the public to engage in the City’s waste reduction goals. CONSENT CALENDAR 2 19-1114 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of September 16, 2019 Commissioner Wickham moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Padgett No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Srinivasan Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Zornetzer Commissioner Zornetzer abstained as he was not present at the September 16, 2019 meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 3 19-1115 Draft Proposal for FY 2020-2021 Sustainability Speaker Series Sustainability Speaker Series Subcommittee presented proposed topics and speakers for the FY 2020-2021 Sustainability Speaker Series. The theme for this Series is “Playbook Strategies” and selected topics were aligned with the six Strategies of the Climate Action Playbook. The topics proposed include: (1) California’s Carbon Neutral Future; (2) Sustainability goes to School - Youth-focused; (3) Recycling – Beyond the Triangle; (4) A Sense of Place – Retrofitting Neighborhoods; (5) What Moves You - Active, Shared and Electric Transportation; and (6) Playbook Next Moves – Progress & Plans. Staff proposed, and the Commission concurred, with exploring the possibility of a partnership with the City of Cupertino’s Sustainability Commission, which also holds a Sustainablity Speaker Series. The Commission agreed that collaboration would be appropriate for topics or speakers that were more broadly applicable to the Bay City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 21, 2019 Area, such as California’s climate change impacts and transportation. Topic 6 was dropped from consideration by general consensus as the Commission decided that this information may be more appropriately shared through a different avenue, such as a community meeting. The Commissioners discussed the pros and cons of each topic and individually proposed an initial ranking with the understanding that this selection could change, depending on speaker availability. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. Ralph Kenton, Sunnyvale resident, shared that traffic and recycling are hot topics of discussion in the community and that Speaker Series events covering these would be beneficial. He emphasized that Decarbonizing Transportation is also important because of the proportion of emissions in the community that result from transportation. Lastly, he noted that sustainability behaviors begin at an early age, so the topic on sustainability in schools is highly relevant. Chair Paton closed the public hearing. The proposed priority list in order of rank is: Sustainability goes to School - Youth-focused; Recycling – Beyond the Triangle (tie); What Moves You - Active, Shared and Electric Transportation (tie); California’s Carbon Neutral Future; and A Sense of Place – Retrofitting Neighborhoods. 4 19-1116 Draft 2020 Master Work Plan The Commission discussed and added various items to the Draft 2020 Work Plan, with the intention of finalizing it at the November meeting. Staff will coordinate with the Chair and Vice Chair prior to the November meeting to develop a more detailed draft Work Plan. Chair Paton requested Commissioners to email suggested topics for inclusion in the Work Plan to staff by the end of October. Commissioner Padgett asked how the CAP quarterly updates, included in the Work Plan 2020, can be shared with a broader segment of the public so that staff and the Commission can receive feedback on the public perception of CAP implementation programs. Staff noted that updates would be shared with the community via a format similar to the Top 30 projects page. Staff will explore options available to enhance community attendance at Commission meetings to facilitate this type of feedback. Vice Chair Wickham noted that it would be beneficial to receive updates from City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 21, 2019 departments aside from ESD on CAP implementation. Chair Paton stated that more formal reports on a regular basis would be helpful. Staff noted that the quarterly updates would summarize implementation across departments and may include staff from other departments as appropriate. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. No public comments were made. Chair Paton closed the public hearing. STANDING ITEM: CLIMATE ACTION PLAN (CAP 2.0) UPDATE No new updates at this time. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES 5 19-0891 Sustainability Commission Proposed Study Issues, Calendar Year: 2020 6 19-1109 Create a new city Board and Commission or Staff Advisory Committee focused on mobility issues, especially commutes into and out of the city. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. Ralph Kenton, Sunnyvale resident, shared that addressing emissions from transportation was an urgent matter. He noted that creating new Board/Commission would be a longer, drawn out process that might not be as valuable as acting faster and sooner, such as through a Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Chair Paton closed the public hearing. Sustainability Commission recommended the following changes or comments for staff’s consideration as the Study Issue Paper is finalized: (1) Modify the title to: “Create a Citizen Advisory Committee or Assign Responsibility to an Existing Board/Commission to Evaluate Mobility Issues, Especially Commutes Into and Out of the City;” (2) Consider whether modifying the charter of an existing Commission with City Council action could be undertaken in lieu of a study. 7 19-1110 Subsidized Public Transit City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 21, 2019 Chair Paton questioned whether two years were needed to complete this study. The Commission agreed that this seemed reasonable given the level of effort in doing research to better understand existing subsidies and how these van be leveraged by Sunnyvale. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. No public comments were made. Chair Paton closed the public hearing. Sustainability Commission recommended the following changes or comments for staff’s consideration as the Study Issue Paper is finalized: (1) Include the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission as a reviewing Board/Commission for this Study Issue Paper. 8 19-1111 Fossil Fuel Infrastructure and Equipment Vice Chair Wickham observed, and the Commission generally agreed, that the costs to conduct this study of $500,000 were significant. Commissioner Joesten noted that evaluating this topic would entail removing funding that is currently allocated to upgrading and replacing fossil fuel infrastructure as it approaches its end of life, and moving those funds to invest in electric infrastructure. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. Ralph Kenton, Sunnyvale resident, noted that Commissions may also propose Budget Issues in addition to Study Issues. He also shared that the term “fossil fuels” was created so that the general public could relate to it, when, in fact, there are no fossils found in oil or gas. For this reason, he suggested the Commission use the term “carbon-based fuel” instead. Chair Paton closed the public hearing. Sustainability Commission recommended the following changes or comments for staff’s consideration as the Study Issue Paper is finalized: (1) Costs associated with this study ($500,000) appear to be significant. 9 19-1112 Encourage Decarbonization Readiness During Electrical Upgrades City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 21, 2019 The Commission generally agreed that the Study Issue Paper captured the topic as intended. Vice Chair Wickham asked why there were no costs associated with completing the study and whether the funding for this was included in the CAP Implementation budget. Staff will provide clarification at a later date. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. No public comments were made. Chair Paton closed the public hearing. Sustainability Commission recommended the following changes or comments for staff’s consideration as the Study Issue Paper is finalized: (1) Clarify that gas appliances are not being upgraded, but rather are being replaced by electric; (2) Include references to specific Plays and Moves from the Playbook as justification for this study; (3) In the proposed elements of the study, add the term “including incentives” after “education and encouragement;” and (4) Consider whether additional funds are needed to complete this study or whether costs are included in the CAP implementation budget. 10 19-1119 Community Condition Indicators for Environmental Health The Commission had proposed but not sponsored this Study Issue during its September meeting, as it was awaiting clarification from staff regarding whether a Study Issue was needed to evaluate how sustainability metrics can be incorporated into the Budget and an online dashboard. Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, clarified that staff is currently evaluating how to integrate CAP metrics into the Budget, per Council’s discussion during the Climate Action Playbook adoption public hearing in August 2019. Staff is also working on Move 5.G from the Playbook, which is to implement a dashboard for climate action data performance tracking and progress reporting. Staff will note these items in the staff response to the Study Issue Paper, if sponsored by the Commission. Ms. Hiremath requested that the Commission clearly specify the desired outcome of this Study Issue, if sponsoring, to clarify whether a comprehensive review of all Community Condition Indicators (CCIs) is needed with an associated dashboard of all CCIs, or whether the above described planned evaluation to incorporate sustainability metrics into the Budget and a dashboard for the Playbook would City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 21, 2019 suffice. Ms. Hiremath also recommended adding this item to the Commission’s 2020 Annual Work Plan to allow an opportunity for the Commission’s input on metrics. Based on staff’s clarification, the Commission generally agreed that a Study Issue was not needed at this time. Vice Chair Wickham proposed forming a Subcommittee in the near future to conduct research on metrics and to share recommendations to the Commission to facilitate this effort. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Vice Chair Wickham shared several announcements, including: (1) Council will consider adopting the State Energy and Building Codes on October 29, 2019. (2) A City Council Study Session “Reach Codes and the Green Building Program” will be held on November 5, 2019, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the West Conference Room at City Hall; and (3) The next Sustainability Speaker Series event entitled “Electric Cars Demystified” will take place on Saturday, November 9, 2019, from 1:30 to 4:15 p.m. She also recommended a list of climate-related podcasts, distributed via staff to the Commission. -Staff Comments Jana Marquardt, Sustainability Coordinator, announced that the two remaining Sustainability Speaker Series events for FY 2019-2020 have been scheduled: (1) “California's Rise to Water Resilience: What will it take?” featuring Felicia Marcus, on January 29, 2020; and (2) “Less Traffic, Better Places: How do we get there?” featuring Patrick Siegmann, on March 11, 2020. Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, mentioned that the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) would hold a homeowner workshop to educate residents on energy efficiency rebates during home remodels, at the Community Center on Tuesday, November 19 at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Hiremath also announced that the agenda for next month would include the following items: (1) Two Commissioner presentations on “Climate Resilience and Adaptation Plans for Bay Area Cities” (by Chair Paton) and another on “Best Practices from Leading City Climate Action Plans” (by Chair Paton and Commissioner Kunz); approval of the 2020 Annual Master Work Plan; and approval of the FY 2020-2021 Sustainability Speaker Series proposal. Ms. Hiremath also City of Sunnyvale Page 7 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final October 21, 2019 noted the completed Eco-District Study Issue has been tentatively scheduled for the December meeting. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 11 19-1113 Updated Annual Work Plan October 2019 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 8