Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, August 17, 2020 7:00 PM Telepresence Meeting: City Web Stream 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 Wickham called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. via teleconference. ROLL CALL Present: 5 - Commissioner Bruce Paton Chair Kristel Wickham Vice Chair Douglas Kunz Commissioner Shana Padgett Commissioner Murali Srinivasan Absent: 1 - Commissioner Stephen Joesten Council Liaison – Mayor Larry Klein (absent) Commissioner Joesten’s absence is excused by general consent. Chair Wickham, Vice Chair Kunz, all Commissioners, and Councilmember attended via teleconference. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 20-0745 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of July 20, 2020 Commissioner Paton moved, and Vice Chair Kunz seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 17, 2020 The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Commissioner Paton Chair Wickham Vice Chair Kunz Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Srinivasan No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Joesten PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 20-0655 Forward a Recommendation to the City Council to approve a Phased Reach Codes program and implement Phase 1 for new Residential and Non-Residential Construction Projects: Introduce an Ordinance to Amend Chapter 16.42 (Energy Code) of Title 16 (Buildings and Construction) and Find that the Action is Exempt from CEQA Suzanne Park, Chief Building Official, presented on Sunnyvale’s Proposed Building Energy Reach Codes. She gave an overview of Reach Codes, relevant definitions, descriptions of the City’s phased roll out plan, and a summary of community feedback received on the proposal. The Reach Codes align with the Climate Action Playbook and will help the City reach its greenhouse gas emission targets through building and transportation decarbonization. Commissioners asked clarifying questions and staff provided responses. Chair Wickham opened public comment. Annabelle Law, a freshman at De Anza College with Sunnyvale Youth Climate Action, voiced support to strengthen the proposed Reach Codes. She suggested that the photovoltaic panel sizing calculations incorporate options with and without electric vehicle (EV) charging and with and without rooftop-mount solar to illustrate the potential savings. Radhika Agarwal, a sophomore at Homestead High School with Sunnyvale Youth Climate Action, voiced support for strengthening the proposed Reach Codes. She suggested that the electrification of all appliances be moved to an earlier phase and requested staff to consider developing a detailed timeline. Diane Bailey, a representative of Fossil Free Buildings for Silicon Valley, voiced City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 17, 2020 support for Reach Codes. She suggested collapsing Phase 2 into Phase 1, adding more EV charging infrastructure requirements to promote equitable EV adoption, and removing blanket exemptions. Kaushik Tota, a senior at St. Francis High School with Sunnyvale Youth Climate Action and the Sunnyvale Youth Public Policy Institute, voiced support for strengthening the proposed Reach Codes. He suggested that blanket exemptions should be reconsidered specifically for buildings with data servers. Beatrice Ho, a freshman at Homestead High School with Sunnyvale Youth Climate Action, voiced support to strengthen Reach Codes. She suggested EV infrastructure charging in Phase 1 should specifically call out multifamily housing and go beyond new residential infrastructure. Naomi Chow, a student at Homestead High School with Sunnyvale Youth Climate Action, suggested that the remodeling clause be adjusted to allow more homes to qualify. She recommended, for example, lowering the percentage of remodeled space required to trigger the Reach Codes. Malory Mitton, a junior at Homestead High School with Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, voiced support for strengthening the proposed Reach Codes by including stronger requirements for non-residential buildings to install EV charging ports. Dashiell Leeds, Conservation Assistant for Sierra Club Loma Prieta chapter, voiced support for Reach Codes. He echoed Diane Bailey’s comments of folding Phases 1 and 2 together. He also stressed the importance of minimizing blanket exemptions and the risks of adding more natural gas pipelines. Aakriti Adhikari, a student at Homestead High School with Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, voiced support for strengthening the proposed Reach Codes. She suggested enhancing the EV requirements proposed in Phase 1 to increase multifamily and non-residential EV charging options. Peri Plantenberg, a junior at Homestead High School with Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, voiced support for strengthening the proposed Reach Codes. She recommended lowering the threshold for the percentage of remodeled space that would trigger the remodel to conform to the all-electric Reach Codes. Bill Hilton, a resident of Sunnyvale, voiced his support for the proposed Reach City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 17, 2020 Codes. He proposed combining Phases 1 and 2 and requested that the City consider challenges that residents may have in transitioning to all-electric retrofits if utilities are underground. Bruce Nagel supported combining Phases 1 and 2. He highlighted the health risks from gas stoves. He also suggested that the City consider requiring the installation of software controls that can make it easier to expand charging infrastructure networks. James Tuleya, a resident of Sunnyvale and a member of Carbon Free Silicon Valley and Sunnyvale Cool, observed that the proposed Reach Codes did not clearly specify that the EV requirements in Phase 2 applied only to remodels. He also noted that the proposed Reach Codes only meet the state requirements for EV charging and recommended reviewing the Reach Codes requirements for EV charging adopted by the City of San Jose as a model. Rathik Murtinty, a junior at Homestead High School with the Sunnyvale Youth Public Policy Institute, voiced support for strengthening the proposed Reach Codes by emphasizing infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles. Rani Fischer, a Sunnyvale resident and member of Peninsula Interfaith Climate Action, voiced her support for the proposed Reach Codes. She recommended moving EV requirements from Phase 2 to Phase 1 and highlighted the need for adding EV charging infrastructure for multifamily homes. Sannath Mathapathi, a student at Lynnbrook High School with the Sunnyvale Youth Public Policy Institute, voiced support for the proposed Reach Codes. He requested staff to consider changing section 5.106.5.3 to increase the percentage of parking spaces required to be EV-ready. Linda Sell, a resident of Sunnyvale and adult advisor for Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, requested that the City provide a more detailed timeline for Reach Code implementation. Chair Wickham closed the public hearing. Commissioner Paton moved, and Commissioner Srinivasan seconded, a motion to recommend Alternative 2 to City Council to adopt the ordinance to implement the Reach Codes for Residential and Non-Residential projects, with the following City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 17, 2020 modifications: (a) Increase the percentage of spaces that are EV-ready for multi-family residential and non-residential new construction in Phase 1. (b) Move EV pre-wiring requirements (additions/remodels) from Phase 2 into Phase 1. (c) In Phase 1 eliminate Exception 1 (buildings with industrial and process loads) and Exception 4 (non-residential kitchens), since these uses can be addressed, where needed, through Exception 5. (d) For non-residential kitchens, require Energy STAR appliances (as per the currently described Phase 2), if the exception is granted through the Exception 5 process (assumes Exception 4 is eliminated). (e) Consider defining milestones to be met for implementation of Phases 3 and 4. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Commissioner Paton Chair Wickham Vice Chair Kunz Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Srinivasan No: 0 Absent: 1 - Commissioner Joesten PRESENTATION 20-0741 PRESENTATION - Best Practices in Mobility and Transportation Planning Commissioner Paton presented on the strategies and tactics of urban mobility planning. Commissioner Paton described the key components of other urban mobility plans and what the new objectives of mobility planning are. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, gave an overview of the Study Issue Sponsorship Process. Commissioners asked clarifying questions and staff provided responses. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments None. City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final August 17, 2020 -Staff Comments None. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 20-0747 2020 Annual Master Work Plan ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:18 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 6