Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, May 18, 2020 7:00 PM Telepresence Meeting CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to Section 3 of Executive Order N-29-20, issued by Governor Newsom on March 17, 2020, the meeting was conducted telephonically. Chair Paton called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. via teleconference. ROLL CALL Present: 7 - Chair Bruce Paton Vice Chair Kristel Wickham Commissioner Stephen Joesten Commissioner Douglas Kunz Commissioner Shana Padgett Commissioner Murali Srinivasan Commissioner Steven Zornetzer Council Liaison – Melton (present) Chair Paton, Vice Chair Wickham, Council Liaison Melton and all Commissioners attended via teleconference. PRESENTATION 20-0536 PRESENTATION - Draft Downtown Specific Plan Amendment Chair Paton announced that this agenda item was canceled and will be rescheduled to a later date. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 18, 2020 1 20-0331 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of February 18, 2020 Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried with the following vote: Yes: 7 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 20-0399 Review Community Condition Indicators Vice Chair Wickham presented the findings and recommendations of the Subcommittee formed to evaluate possible inclusion of sustainability metrics into the Community Condition Indicators in the City’s Budget book. The Commission discussed the findings and recommendations. Chair Paton opened the Public Hearing. No public comments were made. Chair Paton closed the Public Hearing. Vice Chair Wickham moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to recommend that the following indicators (numbered N3-N12 in the Subcommittee’s report) be included in the Community Condition indicators: N3. All-electric buildings permitted in the year (% of all new building permits) N4. Electric building retrofits (% of homes and businesses built before 2020 that use electricity for space and water heating or are all electric) N5. Registered vehicles that are zero emission (%) N6. Commutes by workers and students (% that are not single occupancy vehicles) City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 18, 2020 N7. Landfilled disposal (pounds per person per day) N8. Tree canopy (% of total land area) N9. Community Climate Action touch points (#) N10. Air Quality Fine Particulate Matter PM2.5 (# days of ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’, ‘Unhealthy’, ‘Very Unhealthy’, and ‘Hazardous’) N11. Excessive heat advisory (# of days) N12. Drought D1 classification or above (# weeks) The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 The Commission generally agreed to make additional recommendations regarding Community Condition Indicators as a part of Public Hearing Item 3. 3 20-0518 Annual Review of the City Manager’s Recommended Budget Full budget available online at: Sunnyvale.ca.gov/government/budget.htm The Commission discussed the City Manager’s Recommended Budget for FY 2020/21 (Recommended Budget) and asked clarification questions of staff. Staff clarified that the main proposed expenditure reductions that affected the Sustainability budget were the hiring freeze on the Transportation Planner in the Department of Public Works and the Environmental Programs Specialist in the Environmental Services Department. Largest impacts to the Climate Action Playbook implementation, therefore, would be a delay in improving the City’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program and in the implementation of community engagement and outreach programs. Chair Paton opened the Public Hearing. City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 18, 2020 No public comments were made. Chair Paton closed the Public Hearing. Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Srinivasan seconded, a motion to provide the following recommendations on the Recommended Budget to the City Council: (1) Protect progress on Climate Action Playbook Strategies as a priority in case further budget cuts are needed. (2) Leverage opportunities offered during the pandemic, such as reduced traffic and improved air quality, to make more significant or new climate action changes and ensure transparency with the community. Specific suggestions include: a. A six-month trial of closing Murphy Avenue to vehicle traffic. This could support the opening of these businesses sooner while enabling them to meet social distancing guidelines. b. Delay purchase of fossil fuel infrastructure such as tank replacements and gas vehicles. c. Identify priorities for potential state and/or federal stimulus funding to emphasize climate action projects, like protected bike lanes and green infrastructure, considering potentially lower construction costs. d. Continue the benefits to City staff working from home and the reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by surveying City employees, offering staggered schedules, and continuing work from home options. e. Evaluate incentives to businesses to increase work from home options or offer shifted work hours as part of TDM programs. f. Utilize technology, such as a self-reporting online tool, for TDM program implementation instead of using personnel to gather data. (3) Conduct a full review and revision of the Community Condition Indicators to align with the Climate Action Playbook and other Council Priorities. (4) Add Departmental Performance Indicators that align with Playbook Strategies and Next Moves. (5) Support Budget Issue No. 1 “Bike Rack Installation Program in Commercial Areas” to help businesses and support transportation mode shift. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 18, 2020 Yes: 7 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 Commissioner Kunz moved, and Commissioner Padgett seconded, a motion to nominate Vice Chair Wickham to present the Commission’s recommendation on the FY 2020/21 Recommended Budget at the City Council Budget Workshop on May 21, 2020. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7 - Chair Paton Vice Chair Wickham Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Kunz Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Zornetzer No: 0 STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES None. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Kunz shared that the State Parent Teacher Association (PTA) convention rescheduled to an online meeting in June. This has resulted in a delay in the State PTA’s vote on Cumberland Elementary School PTA’s resolution to support schools phasing out greenhouse gas emissions. Vice Chair Wickham shared that the Sustainability Speaker Series event, originally scheduled for March 11, 2020, has been rescheduled as a webinar on May 27, City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final May 18, 2020 2020. She also shared information on a new documentary entitled “Story of Plastic” and recommended it highly. She also commended staff for including useful information in the May edition of the Sustainable Sunnyvale e-newsletter. Chair Paton shared insights from webinars he had attended about perceptions of sustainability in the media. -Staff Comments Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, announced that Madeline Willett has been hired as the new Sustainability Coordinator in the Environmental Services Department. She also shared that the sustainability team is examining ways to pivot outreach and community engagement opportunities to virtual platforms. She shared information on three virtual landscaping and gardening workshops being offered in June. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 20-0332 2020 Annual Master Work Plan ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:54 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 6