Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Sustainability Commission Monday, March 15, 2021 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: 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 – Councilmember Fong (absent) Chair Wickham, Vice Chair Kunz, and all Commissioners attended via teleconference. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Tim Oey, Sunnyvale resident, stated that Bike Month will be celebrated in May and encouraged everyone to bike. He expressed appreciation for the Commission’s work on sustainability. CONSENT CALENDAR 21-0402 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of February 16, 2021 Commissioner Padgett moved, and Commissioner Joesten seconded, a motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 15, 2021 Yes: 7 - Chair Wickham Vice Chair Kunz Commissioner Joesten Commissioner Padgett Commissioner Paton Commissioner Srinivasan Commissioner Veitch No: 0 PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 21-0229 Single Use Plastics Strategy (Study Issue ESD 19-01): Recommend that the City Council Direct Staff to Develop Two Ordinances to Reduce Use of Single-Use Plastic Foodware and Condiment Containers and Return to City Council for Approval after Completion of CEQA Review. David Krueger, Solid Waste Division Manager, and Karen Gissibl, Environmental Programs Manager, presented the findings of Study Issue ESD 19-01 on Single Use Plastics (SUPs) Strategy. They gave an overview of the challenges with disposal of SUPs and best practices for reducing SUPs through local ordinances and bans. Commissioners asked clarifying questions, and staff provided responses. Chair Wickham opened the Public Hearing. Tim Oey asked questions and provided comments about specific materials, best practices for incentivizing and reducing waste, and recommended a few local resources. Barbara Brunasso asked if restaurants will be supplied with resources to enable them to comply with the proposed ordinances. She also asked a clarification question about the microfiber containers. Staff responded to questions from the public. Chair Wickham closed the Public Hearing. The Commission discussed the two alternative recommendations. MOTION: Vice Chair Kunz moved, and Commissioner Veitch seconded, a motion to City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 15, 2021 recommend a new Alternative 3, which would combine Alternatives 1 and 2. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Commissioner Paton offered a friendly amendment to revise the wording in Alternative 2 from "an updated recommendation" to "additional recommendations." Vice Chair Kunz accepted the friendly amendment. Ramana Chinnakotla, Director of Environmental Services, clarified that the Alternatives were mutually exclusive and cannot be combined. He explained that Alternative 2 recommended doing nothing on this topic until the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic had passed. Vice Chair Kunz withdrew his motion. MOTION: Vice Chair Kunz moved, and Chair Wickham seconded, a motion to recommend to City Council Alternative 1, with the modification that staff return to City Council to recommend future phases of the program, after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have passed. Commissioners discussed the motion. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Commissioners Paton and Veitch offered a friendly amendment to revise the motion to recommend Alternative 1 to City Council, with the modification that staff return to City Council in late 2022 with a Phase 3 proposal that includes additional recommendations for the program. Vice Chair Kunz accepted the friendly amendment. 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 City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 15, 2021 STUDY SESSION 21-0400 Climate Action Playbook Quarterly Update Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, and Madeline Willett, Environmental Engineering Coordinator, presented Climate Action Playbook implementation and planning updates. Staff discussed progress on key moves, the current Game Plan extension, and the process for drafting the next Game Plan. Commissioners asked clarifying questions, and staff provided responses. Chair Wickham opened public comments. Barbara Brunasso indicated that the Sunnyvale Neighborhood Association group would like to learn more about programs and events put on by the City. Staff clarified where to find this information on the City’s website. Chair Wickham closed the public comments. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES No new Study Issues were submitted. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Chair Wickham shared that she attended the City Council Study Issues and Budget Workshop in February. Study Issue ESD 17-01 was ranked and DPW 20-04 was dropped by Council. She shared that the online calendar of Board, Commission and Council meetings is now available. She reminded Commissioners that the last two Sustainability Speaker Series events will be held on March 17, 2021, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and May 19, 2021, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The March event will feature Meghan Weir who will discuss decarbonizing transportation, and the May event will feature Karen Gissibl and Mark Bowers from the City’s Solid Waste Division. Commissioner Veitch shared that the County of Santa Clara’s Sustainability Master Plan website is live at www.sccgov.org/sustainabilityplan. -Staff Comments Ms. Willett shared that the Sustainability Speaker Series proposal for FY 2021/22 was approved by Council on February 23, 2021. She announced that the City is cohosting a webinar with the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency on City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 15, 2021 March 24, 2021, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. She reminded Commissioners that the City will be hosting virtual Earth Week events from April 17-24, 2021. She noted that the Single Use Plastics Strategy Study Issue report presented to the Commission at this meeting is scheduled to go to Council on April 20, 2021. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 21-0401 Updated Annual Work Plan March 2021 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 5