DRAFT MINUTES*

SUNNYVALE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING

SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2008

7:00 P.M. - Special Council Meeting

SALUTE TO THE FLAG

Mayor Lee led the salute to the flag.

ROLL CALL

Mayor Spitaleri explained that the workshop will entail staff first making their presentations and answering Council questions and then public comments will follow.

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mayor Spitaleri announced that the City Council meeting for August 12, 2008 has been cancelled. Items originally scheduled for Council consideration on August 12, 2008 will be moved to the August 19, 2008 Council meeting. Items originally scheduled for Council consideration on
August 19, 2008 will be moved to the August 26, 2008 Council meeting.

Mayor Spitaleri announced an upcoming community meeting for Parks of the Future has been scheduled for Thursday, September 18, 2008 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Sunnyvale Community Center.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

City Manager Amy Chan began her presentation with a discussion about Sunnyvale’s focus on environmental issues. City Manager Chan spoke about what is needed and what will be best for Sunnyvale as the City continues to move forward with it’s commitment to the environment.

City Manager Chan stated the purpose of this workshop is to provide an update on the City’s environmental activities since the January 2007 environmental workshop. The environmental update will include new and upcoming Council policies, department operational activities, capital projects, and any pending activities and projects that Council and the public can expect to see in the near future.

City Manager Chan stated that later in tonight’s presentation, staff will discuss the role of the new full-time sustainability coordinator position. Funding for this position was previously approved by Council for a half-time person, because the City had planned to partner with the City of Cupertino. Both cities planned to split funding for a full-time position, but that plan did not come to fruition. However, staff has been able to identify funding for a full-time position by utilizing City environmental outreach program funds, from Council’s recent allocation for a part-time position, and also from environmental needs grant money which the City recently received from the Bay Area Air Quality Management Board. City Manager Chan explained that a concentrated focus on community education will be part of this position’s mission and City Manager Chan explained that coordinator position should be filled by September.

City Manager Chan stated today’s agenda will include the following items:

• Why Environmental Sustainability?
• Sunnyvale’s Vision
• Council Leadership
• Community Support
• Department Updates since 2007 Workshop
• Path Forward
• Public Comment

Councilmember Lee stated he is happy to learn the City will be able to fund a full-time coordinator position.

Vice Mayor Hamilton verified that $55,000 in funding for the position will come from grant funding and that the anticipated total for the position will be approximately $120,000.

Councilmember Whittum inquired about the ability to support employee positions with grant money because he did not believe this was possible. City Manager Chan explained that this is a specific grant and it is meant for hiring a part-time person. Councilmember Whittum stated the City has a policy against using grant funds to hire an employee position. City Manager Chan explained that this funding will come from a one-time grant and next year Council will need to look at how to structure this position.

City Manager Chan explained that sustainability involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sunnyvale’s vision for sustainability states that the City strives to be a regional leader in environmental sustainability, advocating to reduce dependence on non-renewable resources. Sunnyvale takes environmental preservation and protection seriously and considers how each action will affect the City for future generations.

City Manager Chan explained about the importance of becoming sustainable because resources around the world are being used at an unsustainable pace. City Manager Chan offered examples of the City’s history of addressing sustainability issues such as:

• Landfill and digester gases power City’s water pollution control facility (1993)
• 56 percent of waste recycled (2005)
• Solar panels on City buildings (2003)
• Green Building incentives (2004)

City Manager Chan continued her discussion about sustainability within the City of Sunnyvale, now and into the future, in addition to the sustainability coordinator position.

Assistant to the City Manager Coryn Campbell gave a presentation on the different roles that the community plays in sustainability.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Directors from the Community Development Department, Public Works Department, and the Parks and Recreation Department presented updates on the activities, projects, and policies that their departments have implemented since the January 6, 2007, Green Sunnyvale Workshop. Assistant to the City Manager Campbell stated that additional departments who have also contributed will be highlighted as well.

Councilmember Whittum verified with Director of Community Development Hanson Hom that the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for neighborhood development is a pilot program and is currently in development prior to becoming more widespread. Director Hom stated this is a very promising level of certification; however there is not a pilot project currently operating in Sunnyvale.

Councilmember Swegles verified with Director Hom that the ordinance amendments that staff will be bringing to Council will incorporate any new state laws or changes.

Councilmember Swegles verified with Director Hom that staff has placed an order for “Build it Green” brochures. Once received, these brochures will be available at the One-Stop center in City Hall and will be a useful resource for homeowners and developers. 

Councilmember Whittum inquired what the City’s vision is with respect to walkable parks and trails. Director Hom explained that anything that promotes using alternative transportation, other than a car, such as encouraging walking, parks, sidewalks and trails would receive points toward obtaining LEED neighborhood development certification for the City.

Councilmember Lee mentioned that the Green Building Collaborative with the Santa Clara Cities Association is using a regional approach when looking at sustainability and Sunnyvale is an active partner in this process. Director Hom stated that when staff presents the sustainability study issue to Council, they will recommend that the City take a more aggressive approach beyond the county recommendations.

Assistant Public Works Director Mark Rogge presented an overview of the sustainable activities that the Public Works Department has implemented since the 2007 environmental workshop.

Councilmember Swegles inquired whether there is any plan to address the possible water shortages. Assistant Director Rogge explained that the City may be in a better situation with the Hetch Hetchy water and current water supplies than anticipated, but the solution is to continue to look at water conservation and expanding the use of recycled water.

Councilmember Swegles verified with Assistant Director Rogge that additional conservation programs have not been added to the City’s current programs for conservation.

Councilmember Swegles inquired whether fluorescent tubes can be recycled at the SMaRT station. Assistant Director Rogge stated he would need to verify if that ability exists and then return to Council with that information.

Vice Mayor Hamilton questioned whether there is any timeframe established for the rubberized sidewalk pilot project, which is being tested as a means to mitigate tree roots. Vice Mayor Hamilton explained that tree roots take a long time to push sidewalks up and questioned at what point would the decision be made whether to continue the project. Assistant Director Rogge stated staff is already aware that the flexible sidewalks will be better for locations where street tree roots would be hurt by the concrete pavement. Assistant Director Rogge explained that staff is currently reviewing the rubber sidewalks in a general sense as to how are they wearing, how do they work, what citizens responses are to them, maintenance requirements, and whether they service as well as the other concrete sidewalks. These issues will be evaluated over the next year at which time staff will return to Council.

Vice Mayor Hamilton inquired whether the City has the jurisdiction to put together a program regarding unused pharmaceuticals. Assistant Director Rogge explained that the award the City received for pharmaceutical disposal was related to the water pollution control plant and their treatment of pharmaceuticals in the water, which is an ongoing concern. City Manager Chan explained that several local pharmacies have drop off locations for unused medicine. City Manager Chan stated she will provide Council with an update on that program and the drop off locations in the next city manager’s weekly report.

City Manager Chan responded to the question about the water conservation program that Councilmember Swegles inquired about earlier. City Manager Chan explained that although the City does not currently have a problem, water is a finite resource, and the City plans to continue to offer education to the community and to encourage water conservation. 

Councilmember Moylan stated that the Department of Public Works and Council are working together to obtain more mass-transit options, so as to reduce car usage within Sunnyvale, which is a huge sustainability item. Mass-transit options are handled by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), which is run by board members who were not voted in by the community. Councilmember Moylan explained that several people are diligently working to correct that issue and allow the community the ability to vote for board members.

Councilmember Moylan explained that he serves on the policy advisory committee and Transportation and Traffic Manager Jack Witthaus serves on the technical committee and they keep each other informed. Councilmember Moylan explained that although the terminus for the light rail was placed in Mountain View, Sunnyvale was given the assurance that they would receive a bus rapid transit line. Although the City is still on the list to receive the bus rapid transit line, Councilmember Moylan explained that the VTA is trying to drop the City’s priority on that list. Councilmember Moylan explained that he and Witthaus are working very hard to keep Sunnyvale’s mass-transit options as good as they can be and to ideally straighten out the governance issue. Councilmember Moylan stated there is a move afoot to reduce Sunnyvale’s level of representation at the VTA so that it can get transferred to South County. Staff and Council are doing everything they can to stop any such action.

Mayor Spitaleri inquired if staff is looking at converting the City’s vehicles to plug-in vehicles. Assistant Director Rogge explained that Tony Vargas, the City’s fleet manager, continues to monitor and evaluate that option; however, some issues connected to electric vehicles involve the high cost of maintenance as compared to other vehicles. 

Director of Parks and Recreation David Lewis presented an overview of the sustainable activities that the Parks and Recreation Department has implemented since the 2007 environmental workshop.

Assistant to the City Manager Coryn Campbell gave a presentation on sustainable activities that have occurred in the Information Technology Department, Department of Public Safety, Library, Department of Finance, and the Office of the City Manager.

Vice Mayor Hamilton verified with Director of Information Technology Cuong Nguyen that the reduction from eight to two virtual servers is being accomplished through consolidating the computing power from the eight servers. The consolidation allows the City to increase computer power as needed.

Councilmember Lee verified with Director Nguyen that the amount of computer power from the consolidation will be the same; however, the electricity usage will be substantially less.

Councilmember Lee inquired as to the likelihood that the City might receive the one-time grant money again in the upcoming years to assist with funding the sustainability coordinator position as full-time. Councilmember Lee stated he would also like the dialogue to continue between the City of Cupertino and Sunnyvale with respect to having the sustainability coordinators from each city work closely together.

Assistant to the City Manager Campbell responded that the funding received was a capacity-building grant established for the implementation of a sustainability coordinator. It is not likely that the grant will be available in future years. Assistant to the City Manager Campbell responded to Councilmember Lee’s suggestion about sharing resources and explained that she will be attending a meeting with sustainability coordinators from neighboring cities. The meeting’s purpose is to share ideas and practices and see where the cities can leverage resources.

Councilmember Swegles inquired if the City of Cupertino is also utilizing this grant program or if they are fully funding it out of their budget. City Manager Chan stated it is her understanding that 100 percent came out of their general fund.

Councilmember Swegles spoke about the benefits of cities collaborating together to share information and ideas.

Councilmember Whittum inquired how the sustainability coordinator job description would change if it was a part-time position. Assistant to the City Manager Campbell responded that there is a separate part-time job description and that developing the green house gas community inventory is not part of the half-time position job description.

SUMMARY

City Manager Chan concluded the presentation by acknowledging Council’s support of funding for environmental issues and innovative, forward-thinking policies. City Manager Chan stated it is important for City departments to search out innovative ways to apply green technologies as a way of life in Sunnyvale. City Manager Chan stressed the importance of the City’s engaged community support to ensure progress and staff’s continued efforts to work closely with local cities and businesses. City Manager Chan stated these efforts will create a good quality of life in Sunnyvale. City Manager Chan closed her presentation by stating that although it’s a global issue, many times decisions are made locally, and sustainability is a local responsibility. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Mayor Spitaleri opened the Council meeting to anyone who would like to address the Council.  

Jan Boehm spoke about Sunnyvale looking forward toward its residential and business areas and offered suggestions and ideas for promoting alternative transportation.

Narendra Pathak thanked Council for their service to the City of Sunnyvale. Pathak spoke about green technology and special grants which are available for cities that are progressive in this area.

Werner Gans congratulated staff for their work on environmental issues both in the past and currently. Gans suggested that the City institute online billing and online bill payment capabilities in an effort toward saving trees, transportation costs and paper. Gans suggested residents add insulation to their homes and questioned if the City’s buildings are adequately insulated. Gans recommended implementation of an employee suggestion process in which employees can suggest additional ways to save energy. Gans stated the City should encourage the purchase of electric plug-in vehicles as they become available and the use of Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) because they use a quarter of the amount of electricity of a standard light bulb. Gans explained that lower cost solar panels are on their way to the market. Gans expressed concern that the City’s community center uses a lot of water and electricity as a part of their display system and although it’s nice to see, only a small portion of the community gets to enjoy it. In order to be more energy conscious, the City should cut back on the hours of the display or shut it down completely.

Arthur Schwartz explained he recently added a solar system to his house and he noted the wasteful billing he received from Pacific Gas and Electricity (PG&E). Schwartz explained that the billing invoice is oversized and a large envelope was included, which was a waste of paper. Schwartz explained that he is not getting full credit for having his electricity go back to PG&E, because they are charging $13.00 for his billing of which $1.00 is just for the postage due to the size of their mailing. Schwartz urged the City to work with PG&E to be green and not to just promote solar. Schwartz requested that the City attempt to influence stores such as Home Depot, OSH and Lowes, because they have small displays of CFL lights and large displays of incandescent bulbs. The displays need to be reversed. Schwartz stated he would like to see PG&E pay for power beyond net zero.

Eleanor Hansen confirmed that the SMaRT station does accept fluorescent lights and batteries and used electronic equipment; however, they will only take used smoke detectors on a hazardous waste day.

Hansen stated she has a request that she plans to send to Mayor Spitaleri. Hansen stated she would like to receive information as to what the City is doing at the regional level regarding the overall subject of land use and transportation. Hansen requested that the information include the name of the organization and their contacts. Hansen stated it would be a good idea to use sustainability as a theme when reviewing the land use and transportation element.

Councilmember Swegles explained that Hansen could go to the City’s Web site and click on each Councilmember to find out the committees that they serve on, which would be an easy way to gain the information that she is looking for.

Douglas Daetz stated he applauds Council’s efforts since 2007 and urged Council to keep sustainability as a high priority. Daetz stated he did not hear anything mentioned about wind power, which could be an alternative energy source for the City. Daetz thanked Council for joining the City of Cupertino on the pedestrian/bike path at the end of Mary Avenue, over highway 280. Daetz recognized the innovations being used by staff with their recent investigation of rubber sidewalks. Daetz recommended Council allow left turns onto Homestead from the Kaiser facility. Daetz announced local churches are also looking at promoting solar energy.

James Tuleya spoke about his electric scooter and more options that are coming over the next couple of years. Tuleya spoke about educational outreach efforts that he has been involved with in the community. Tuleya stated he agrees with the City Manager’s decision that a major role for the sustainability coordinator position will be to perform educational outreach in the community. It is important for the community, because if they don’t understand enough about sustainability, then they won’t know enough to do the right thing.

Ursula Syrova, member of Cool Cities, stated she is looking forward to working with the future sustainability coordinator. Syrova explained that the Santa Clara Water District will perform a free water assessment for residents at their homes, and they also offer free low-flow water items and rebates.

Harley Barber stated he set up his own rooftop solar system in 2001 and also recently installed a solar water heater. Barber spoke of the benefits of a solar water heater and encouraged Council to find ways to streamline solar water heater installations so that more residents will change over their traditional water heaters. Barber stated he agreed with the previous speaker about PG&E’s wasteful large invoice billing practice.

Judi Nickey stated she attempted to drop off her old medicines at pharmacies within the community, but has not found any pharmacy with a program set up to accept expired medicine. Nickey stated if pharmacies do exist that will accept expired medicine, then she would like that information printed in the City’s Quarterly Report or formally announced. Nickey stated the SMaRT station may take medicines on hazardous waste days, but that is a problem for elderly people without cars. 

Nickey stated it is hard to get information out to the public and she suggested that a goal for the sustainability coordinator would be to find ways to assimilate information on how to become a greener citizen within the community. Nickey suggested that adding a column to the Quarterly Report which lists all types of environmental information and offers creative ideas for members of the community to become greener, would be beneficial to the community.

Nickey suggested that the larger residential complexes offer shuttle service to and from the transportation hubs, which would assist residents needing to individually drive to the transit stations. Nickey also suggested having a shuttle service from noon to 2 p.m. that would run from the Moffett area into the downtown area in order to assist with lunchtime traffic.

Mayor Spitaleri thanked staff for their reports and the community for coming to the workshop. 

Mayor Spitaleri recognized two groups in the community who are environmentally active; the Mayor’s Green Ribbon Committee, and Cool Cities. Mayor Spitaleri thanked these groups for taking a very active role in the community.

Mayor Spitaleri suggested that the concept of forming an Environmental Sustainable Advisory Committee, advisory to staff, be discussed by Council at a future Council meeting. Currently, there are operational items and activities that need attention. Having a staff-level committee, rather than a Council-level advisory committee, would be beneficial in assisting staff in thinking about best strategies and implementation of such strategies. Mayor Spitaleri requested Council consider forming this committee to work with the new sustainability coordinator once hired.

Vice Mayor Hamilton inquired whether a study issue would be needed regarding the formation of this committee. Mayor Spitaleri deferred to the city manager.

Assistant City Manager Walker explained that Council does not determine advisory committees to staff, rather that falls within the city manager’s purview. Mayor Spitaleri inquired if he has the ability to form this committee without Council action. Assistant City Manager Walker explained that the mayor can form advisory committees to the mayor, and Council can create advisory committees to Council; however, the city manager creates advisory committees to staff.

Mayor Spitaleri requested the city manager create an advisory committee to staff concerning sustainability and the City’s ongoing green efforts.

ADJOURNMENT

Mayor Spitaleri adjourned the meeting. (time not recorded).

Gail Borkowski                                                                   Date: _____________

City Clerk