Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, November 16, 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 p.m. via teleconference. ROLL CALL Present: 7 - Chair Kristel Wickham Vice Chair Douglas Kunz Commissioner Stephen Joesten Commissioner Shana Padgett Commissioner Bruce Paton Commissioner Murali Srinivasan Commissioner Tonya Veitch Council Liaison Mayor Larry Klein (present) Chair Wickham, Vice Chair Kunz, all Commissioners and Councilmember attended via teleconference. PRESENTATION 20-0966 PRESENTATION - Climate Action Playbook Quarterly Update Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, and Madeline Willett, Environmental Engineering Coordinator, presented an update on the Climate Action Playbook. Ms. Willett presented the Sunnyvale 2019 Community-wide Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory results. Ms. Hiremath presented the Climate Action Playbook Moves progress update. Commissioners asked clarifying questions, and staff provided responses. The Commission expressed interest in the timeline and participation in the development of the next Game Plan. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 16, 2020 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 20-0964 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of October 19, 2020 Commissioner Paton moved, and Vice Chair Kunz seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Wickham Vice Chair Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Paton Commissioner Veitch No: 0 Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Srinivasan abstained as he was not present at the October 19, 2020, meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 20-0963 Approve 2021 Annual Master Work Plan The Commission reviewed and discussed finalizing the Draft 2021 Annual Master Work Plan. The Draft Work Plan was prepared by staff in consultation with the Commission and reflects topics prioritized by the Commission. The Commission requested staff to add a discussion of priorities for the next Game Plan to the list of items yet to be scheduled. Staff clarified that items identified as Staff Presentations in the Draft would be revised to Study Sessions in the final Work Plan, per guidance from the City Clerk. Chair Wickham opened the public hearing. No public comments were made. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 16, 2020 Chair Wickham closed the public hearing. Commissioner Paton moved, and Commissioner Srinivasan seconded, a motion to approve the Draft 2021 Annual Master Annual Work Plan, as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7 - Chair Wickham Vice Chair Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Paton Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Veitch No: 0 20-0965 Discussion of Effectiveness of Commission Meetings Commissioners discussed challenges and potential approaches that could improve the effectiveness of Boards and Commissions. Key suggestions for improvement included: (1) defining a process for addressing time-sensitive topics not contemplated in the Commission’s Work Plan; (2) improving the Study Issue process; (3) clarifying a mechanism to provide input on non-Study Issue items, such as the Climate Action Playbook’s Game Plan; (4) enhancing opportunities for public participation in Commission meetings, including consideration of virtual participation opportunities for the public and Commissioners; and (5) allowing longer review time for content-heavy agenda packets. These suggestions will be conveyed by Chair Wickham and Vice Chair Kunz to City Council at the 2020 Board and Commission Chair and Vice Chair Study Session on November 17, 2020. 20-0967 Draft Proposal for FY 2021/22 Sustainability Speaker Series The Sustainability Speaker Series Subcommittee, composed of Chair Wickham, Vice Chair Kunz, and Commissioner Padgett, presented the Draft FY 2021/22 Sustainability Speaker Series Proposal. The theme for this Series is “Equity and Resilience,” and includes the following six proposed topics, for up to four events to be hosted in FY2021/22: (1) Consumption Emissions; (2) Home Electrification; (3) Water Resiliency; (4) Healthy Community; (5) Sea Level Rise; and (6) Health and Adaptation. The Subcommittee also presented potential speakers for each topic and introductory text for inclusion in the Subcommittee’s report. The Commission discussed the pros and cons of each topic and Commissioner Veitch suggested additional speakers for topic (6) Health and Adaptation. Each Commissioner City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 16, 2020 individually proposed an initial ranking of the topics, with the understanding that this selection could change depending on speaker availability. Staff tabulated the individual rankings and provided the following ranked list of topics: (1) Home Electrification; (2) Health and Adaptation; (3) Consumption Emissions; (4) Sea Level Rise; (5) Water Resiliency and Healthy Communities (tied). Commissioner Paton moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to approve the FY 2021/22 Sustainability Speaker Series topics as prioritized and to incorporate the introductory text from slide 4 of the presentation into the Subcommittee’s report. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7 - Chair Wickham Vice Chair Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Paton Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Veitch No: 0 STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES No new Study Issues were submitted for 2021. The Commission will rank Study Issues in January 2021, which will include three Study Issues returning from previous years. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Vice Chair Kunz commended staff, City Council and the community for the ongoing work on Reach Codes, which were presented to Council in October 2020. He also highlighted the key components of Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s (SVCE) recently adopted Building Decarbonization Joint Action Plan. Commissioner Srinivasan thanked the Environmental Services Department for their presentation to the Ortega Park Neighborhood Association. Commissioner Veitch shared that Santa Clara County Office of Sustainability and City of Sunnyvale are collaborating to host the Bay Area Regional Energy Network City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 16, 2020 (BayREN) Home+ Program workshop on December 9, 2020, from 6 to 7:15 p.m. BayREN also just released an Energy Atlas database which provides insight into building energy consumption on the local level. Chair Wickham also commended staff, City Council and the community for the ongoing work on the Reach Codes. She announced that the first Sustainability Speaker Series event with speaker Jared Blumenfeld would be held on December 3, 2020, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. She also shared a reminder that the Moffett Park Specific Plan Sea Level Rise workshop would be held on November 30, 2020, at 4 p.m. -Staff Comments Madeline Willett, Environmental Engineering Coordinator, shared that the City is hosting the first event in the Drive Electric program on November 18, 2020 from 7 to 8 p.m. She also shared that the next Sustainability Speaker Series event in January 2021 focuses on sustainability in schools and requested the Commission’s assistance with promoting the it to the broader community served by Sunnyvale schools. Mayor Larry Klein encouraged Commissioners to join the 2020 Board and Commission Chair and Vice Chair Study Session with City Council on November 17, 2020, to provide input on Board and Commission effectiveness. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 20-0968 Updated Annual Work Plan November 2020 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 5