Sustainability Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Sustainability Commission Tuesday, January 16, 2024 7:00 PM Online and Bay Conference Room (Room 145), City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Kunz called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Bay Conference Room (Room 145) at City Hall. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Kunz led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Chair Douglas Kunz Commissioner Kathryn Besser Commissioner Bobbykin Makwana Commissioner Jeffery Nabhan Commissioner Kristina Pistone Commissioner Kristel Wickham Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Tonya Veitch Vice Chair Veitch's absence was excused by general consent Council Liaison – Councilmember Din (absent) PRESENTATION 24-0202 PRESENTATION - Artificial Turf (Commissioner Presentation) Commissioner Wickham invited Susan Hinton, Plastic Prevention Chair of the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, to provide an overview on the impacts of artificial turf. Commissioners asked clarifying questions, and Ms. Hinton provided answers. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Residents Eric Krock and Pramod S., residents of the Cherry Chase neighborhood, requested the Sustainability Commission support a recent Council sponsored Study City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 Issue to turn several vacant lots in the Cherry Chase neighborhood owned by Pacific Gas & Electric into miniature parks that would be an extension of the existing Greenwood Manor Park. Stephen Meier commented that the public golf courses in the city consume many resources to manage and operate. Mr. Meier asked the Sustainability Commission to support converting the golf courses into multi-use spaces for the community. CONSENT CALENDAR 24-0203 Approve the Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2023 Commissioner Besser moved and Commissioner Pistone seconded the motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Chair Kunz Commissioner Besser Commissioner Pistone No: 0 Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Veitch Abstain: 3 - Commissioner Makwana Commissioner Nabhan Commissioner Wickham PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 24-0205 Rank 2024 Study Issues Madeline Khair, Environmental Programs Manager, provided an overview of the ranking process for Study Issues (SIs) as well as an overview of each of the seven SIs. Commissioners asked clarifying questions, and staff responded. Chair Kunz opened the public hearing. Mary Brunkhorst, Carrie Levin and Cortney Jansen each spoke on Study Issue ESD 24-01: Evaluate the Use of Artificial Turf versus Living Groundcovers, and City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 requested the Sustainability Commission rank this SI highly. Chair Kunz closed the public hearing. MOTION: Commissioner Makwana moved, and Commissioner Nabhan seconded, a motion to defer SI DPW 23-07. Commissioner Makwana recommended deferring this Study Issue as it is a newly proposed action in the Draft Game Plan 2028. Commissioners deliberated deferring Study Issue DPW 23-07. Commissioners discussed the importance of banning gas-powered leaf blowers and other small two-stroke motors and the risk that the action could be dropped in Draft Game Plan 2028. Ms. Khair informed Commissioners that if SI DPW 23-07 is deferred, it will come back to the Commission for ranking in 2025. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Kunz Commissioner Besser Commissioner Makwana Commissioner Nabhan Commissioner Pistone Commissioner Wickham No: 0 Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Veitch Commissioners discussed SI ESD 24-02. MOTION: Commissioner Pistone moved, and Commissioner Besser seconded, a motion to drop SI ESD 24-02. Commissioner Pistone expressed that staff’s response to the SI was adequate and made this motion to follow staff’s recommendation. Commissioner Wickham voiced concern about dropping the SI since it is a Sustainability Commission sponsored SI and would not be seen by the City Council City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 if dropped. Ms. Khair clarified that City Council directed staff to re-examine the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) target in Draft Game Plan 2028 and will present those findings during the upcoming Study Session with Council in March. Chair Kunz expressed concern about dropping SI ESD 24-02 because reducing VMT in the city is a high priority for the Commission, but also agreed with staff’s recommendation that this SI could be redundant work. Commissioner Makwana stated he believes there are other SIs to rank as higher priorities for the Sustainability Commission. He recommended that the Commission prioritize the top two they want to rank and allow the Climate Action Playbook to achieve the objectives of this SI. Commissioner Nabhan asked for clarity on the process the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) would take ranking ESD 24-02 if the Sustainability Commission were to drop it. David Carnahan, City Clerk, clarified that the ranking would not go to Council. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Chair Kunz offered a friendly amendment to defer Study Issue ESD 24-02. Commissioners Pistone and Besser accepted the friendly amendment. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Kunz Commissioner Besser Commissioner Makwana Commissioner Nabhan Commissioner Pistone Commissioner Wickham No: 0 Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Veitch The Commission discussed the potential impacts and feasibility of the remaining three Study Issues. Commissioners Besser, Pistone, Makwana, Wickham and Chair Kunz expressed their support for studying the impacts of artificial turf as well as sustainable landscaping and holistic approaches. City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 Each Commissioner ranked the Study Issues individually. Staff consolidated the results and provided the final consolidated ranking to the Commission. Commissioner Besser moved, and Commissioner Nabhan seconded, a motion to accept the following consolidated ranking: Rank 1 – ESD 24-01 Evaluate the Use of Artificial Turf versus Living Groundcover Rank 2 – ESD 22-02 Promotion and Assessment of Sustainable Landscaping Strategies Rank 3 – CDD 24-04 Peery Park Specific Plan Amendment (area east of Mathilda Avenue) The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Chair Kunz Commissioner Besser Commissioner Makwana Commissioner Nabhan Commissioner Pistone Commissioner Wickham No: 0 Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Veitch STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES None. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Wickham praised staff for coordinating the Joint Study Session to discuss Draft Game Plan 2028 with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory, Planning and Sustainability Commissions. Commissioner Wickham encouraged Commissioners to attend the Council Strategic Study Session on January 25 as well as attend and promote the upcoming Sustainability Speaker Series events. Commissioner Wickham commended staff for launching the Reusable Foodware Pilot Program in Sunnyvale and encouraged Commissioners to visit the participating restaurants in the program. City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 Commissioner Besser announced the Cherryhill Neighborhood group received approval for funding through Sunnyvale’s Neighborhood Grant Program. Chair Kunz commended staff for their efforts coordinating the community workshops for Draft Game Plan 2028 as well as the Joint Study Session and outreach campaign to collect community feedback. Chair Kunz provided a summary of Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Recharge and Reflect event he attended that took place on December 13, 2023. -Staff Comments Christina Raby, Environmental Engineering Coordinator, reported on previous and upcoming events and provided upcoming City Council meeting details for ranked Study Issues and Game Plan 2028. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 24-0206 Updated Annual Work Plan January 2024 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:34 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 6