Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, December 16, 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 Murali Srinivasan Absent: 1 - Steven Zornetzer Commissioner Zornetzer– Absent Council Liaison – Nancy Smith (Present) Commissioner Zornetzer’s absence is excused by general consent. Commissioner Srinivasan left early at 8 p.m. after notifying Chair Paton. PRESENTATION 19-1267 PRESENTATION - Reach Codes in the Bay Area John Supp, Account Services Manager of Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), presented an overview on Building Reach Codes in the Bay Area. Mr. Supp explained that Reach Codes encourage cost-effective, safer, healthier all-electric City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 16, 2019 buildings within the building code and support cities in meeting their climate goals. He highlighted the variety of Reach Codes that have been adopted or are being considered by Bay Area cities to meet their needs. The Commission asked questions and SVCE staff provided clarifications. Chair Paton opened the public comments. A member of the public noted that the electrification of new buildings would not address the energy demands of existing homes. John Supp explained that existing homes are addressed though the retrofit section of the building code. Chair Paton closed the public comments. 19-1268 PRESENTATION - Best Practices from Leading City Climate Action Plans Chair Paton and Commissioner Kunz presented information on Best Practices from Leading City Climate Action Plans. Chair Paton presented information on building retrofits and transportation elements of the climate action plans of six cities in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Menlo Park. Commissioner Kunz presented an overview of the emerging practice of developing consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories, compared to the more traditional sector-based GHG emissions inventories, as an approach for tracking climate action plans. He highlighted the benefits and challenges of each approach. Commissioners asked clarification questions and discussed the information presented. Members of the public provided comments. Chair Paton opened the public hearing. A member of the public noted there was a regional study regarding incentivizing the switch to heat pump water heaters, with successful large scale adoption being contingent on an expedited permit process and funding being in place. Chair Paton closed the public hearing. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 16, 2019 1.A 19-1269 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of November 18, 2019 Commissioner Kunz pulled the draft minutes of the November 18, 2019 meeting from the consent calendar to request a correction to the spelling of the word “microgrid.” Staff noted the edit recommended by Commissioner Kunz. Commissioner Joesten moved, and Commissioner Kunz seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar, as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Srinivasan No: 0 Absent: 1 - Zornetzer Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Padgett abstained as she was not present at the November 18, 2019 meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 19-1270 Annual Review of Code of Ethics and Conduct for Elected and Appointed Officials Jana Marquardt, Environmental Engineering Coordinator, 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). Vice Chair Wickham moved, and Commissioner Kunz seconded, a motion declaring they will abide by the rules of the Code of Ethics. Chair Paton offered a friendly amendment to the motion to include that the Commission had read and will abide by the Code of Ethics. Vice Chair Wickham accepted the friendly amendment. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 16, 2019 Yes: 6 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Srinivasan No: 0 Absent: 1 - Zornetzer STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES None. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Kunz noted that he attended an outreach meeting focused on the transitioning from Level of Service to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) on December 12, 2019. The meeting highlighted the development of a new transportation policy, effective July 2020, to meet the state requirements set by Senate Bill (SB) 743 by shifting from using a level of service approach for CEQA analysis to using VMT. Commissioner Kunz remarked that this promising development dovetails with the VMT goals within the City’s Climate Action Playbook. Commissioner Kunz also shared that the Cumberland Elementary School Parent Teacher Association (PTA), of which he is the President, is preparing a resolution urging schools to develop a Climate Action Plan and inventory their emissions. The proposed action is going to the PTA for a vote on December 19, 2019, with the goal of getting statewide traction. Chair Paton observed that the Catholic Diocese of San Jose also has a climate action plan. Vice Chair Wickham shared that she attended the Sunnyvale Homeowner Energy Efficiency Workshop provided by the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) on November 19, 2019, where residents learned about making energy efficiency improvements and available fuel switching incentives. She also mentioned attending the Active Transportation Plan Draft Recommendations community workshop on December 5, 2019. The workshop featured topics including the Active Transportation Plan, Vision Zero, Safe Routes to School program, and City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 16, 2019 pedestrian-friendly streets, and provided a meaningful opportunity for the community to provide input on how to improve walking and biking in Sunnyvale. -Staff Comments Melody Tovar, Regulatory Programs Division Manager, shared that at the City Council meeting on December 10, 2019, at which the EcoDistricts Study Issue was presented, some members of the City Council had expressed concerns about getting ahead of the Moffett Park Specific Plan Update process by adding the evaluation of EcoDistricts to that project but appreciated the parallel effort. She noted that the final Council vote supported the staff recommendation. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 19-1271 Updated Annual Work Plan December 2019 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 5