MINUTES
MARCH 12, 2007
MEETING OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
SUSTAINABLE CITY TASK FORCE
Task Force Members in attendance: Dennis Woods, Jim Ries, Genevieve Bertone,
Carol Rosskam, Al Rosen, Leonard Mitchell, and Christina Erickson
Staff in attendance: Dean Kubani and Shannon
Parry
Community Members in attendance: Louisa Fish and
Jerry Rubin
The meeting was convened at 7:30pm.
Public
Input on Agenda Items
Louisa Fish expressed concerned about Solar Santa
Monica’s ability to meet the needs of tenants and multi-family residents.
Jerry Rubin commented on the proposed changes to Horizons
West on Main Street
and encouraged the Task Force to comment on the proposed project. A LEED
certified project would support the goals of the Sustainable City Plan. He also commented on proposed changes at the
Santa Monica Pier and highlighted the need for improved pedestrian access.
Approval of
Minutes from the February 12th, 2007 meeting
Leonard Mitchell moved to approve the minutes.
Christina Erickson seconded and the minutes were approved unanimously.
Update on
the Sustainability Advisory Team
Shannon Parry gave the update. The Sustainability Advisory Team is moving forward with their
plans to develop strategies to express sustainability throughout the city of Santa Monica, coordinate
city activities to ensure consistency with the Sustainable City Plan, and
provide guidance for future sustainability efforts. Shannon Parry provided a copy of the
Sustainability Advisory Team’s Draft Action Plan. The Task Force commended the Sustainability
Advisory Team on their efforts and asked staff to keep them involved as the
Draft Action Plan develops in order to identify opportunities for comment and
collaboration.
Update on the
Community Sustainability Liaison
Shannon
Parry gave the update. In January 2007,
staff released an RFP for the Community Sustainability Liaison and received
five proposals. In February 2007,
members of the Sustainable City Task Force and staff from EPD reviewed
proposals and interviewed four finalists.
Based on the proposals and interviews the review panel recommended Traci
Spencer be appointed as the Community Sustainability Liaison.
After
discussion, the Task Force made the following motion to formally approve the
subcommittee’s recommendation.
Motion:
The Sustainable City Task Force endorses the
subcommittee’s recommendation to appoint Traci Spencer as the Community
Sustainability Liaison.
The motion was approved unanimously.
After discussion, Dennis Woods made the following
motion.
Motion:
The Sustainable City Task Force requests that Traci
Spencer present her Community Sustainability Liaison proposal at the May Task
Force meeting.
After further discussion, Dennis Woods refined the motion
as follows.
Motion:
The Sustainable City Task Force moves to change the
regularly scheduled April 9, 2007 meeting to April 23, 2007. This purpose of
the April 23, 2007 meeting will be to introduce the Community Sustainability
Liaison’s project plan and timeline. The
project plan and timeline should reflect integration of input from staff and
the Community Sustainability Liaison subcommittee. Opportunities for the subcommittees to provide
feedback will also be prioritized.
The motion passed unanimously.
Staff agreed to contact Traci Spencer to see if she
is available on the proposed new date.
Subcommittee
Meetings
Jim Ries made the following motion:
The Task Force moves to cancel the agendized
subcommittee meetings.
After discussion, the motion failed by a vote of 2 to
5. The subcommittees met.
Subcommittee
Reports
- The Resource
Conservation subcommittee has identified ‘team captains’ to begin
developing implementation measures.
Laura Berland Shane will be focusing on waste. Al Rosen and
Genevieve Bertone will be focusing on Water. Genevieve Bertone will be focusing
on Energy. Mark Olson will be focusing on green house gasses and the
subcommittee will work jointly on ecological foot printing. They have also
identified opportunities for Community Sustainability Liaison interaction.
- The Environmental
and Public Health subcommittee attended the March Task Force on the
Environment meeting and solicited input on the TAC indicator. Carol Rosskam is working on increasing
access to organic foods. Dean Kubani suggested that the subcommittee focus
on integrating organic foods into healthcare provider and hospital
operations. Christina Erickson suggested addressing the needs of the
senior population as well.
- The Economic
Development subcommittee is working on the Sustainable Economic
Development Strategy. They look forward to utilizing the Community
Sustainability Liaison to solicit input and participation in the
development of the Sustainable Economic Development Strategy and to
outreach the strategy’s findings.
Discussion
and Recommendations Regarding the Santa
Monica Sustainable City Plan
After discussion, the Task Force made the following
motion.
Motion:
The Santa Monica Sustainable City Task Force
recommends that Council, staff and consultants consider sustainable principles
in developing the scope, plan and design of projects in the city. In particular, projects should incorporate
sustainable practices such as urban runoff reduction, waste reduction and
energy and water conservation.
The motion passed unanimous.
Liaison
Updates
- Shannon
Parry provided the SMMUSD update and encouraged Task Force members to be
involved in the update of the facilities master plan.
- Shannon
Parry provided the LUCE update. The monthly newsletter was included in
Task Force packets.
- Al Rosen
provided the Solar Santa Monica update. Genevieve Bertone also provided
input. Solar Santa Monica
is moving forward. Absolutely Solar, Advanced Solar Electric, Permacity Solar and SunTechnics
have signed on as Package Providers.
Some challenges have arisen, but they are being addressed. The
biggest challenge is that
changes to Time-Of-Use Rates will
impact the buy back period on a number of the package offerings.
- Shannon
Parry provided the Chamber of Commerce update. Shannon
Parry will be leading a sustainable infrastructure tour June 28 and 30,
2007.
Discussion
and Recommendations Regarding City Council Liaisons
After discussing the importance of a strong relationship
with their City Council liaison, the Task Force agreed to pursue an informal
liaison relationship with the City Council in order to keep them updated on the
Task Force’s endeavors and to solicit input.
Discussion
and Recommendations Regarding Future Sustainability Presentations and Agenda
Items
The Task Force requested a presentation detailing the
findings from the Sustainability Directors Conference hosted by the Rocky
Mountain Institute and attended by Shannon Parry.
The Task Force requested a summary of pier relates
issues including maintenance, pier gangway and pedestrian access.
Public
Input on Non-Agendized Items
Louisa Fish commented on a newspaper article that
specifically mentioned the use of polystyrene in a local restaurant. She noted
that this indicates the significant outreach and community education that will
be necessary leading up to the implementation of the ban on all non recyclable
food service containers
Comments
and Announcements
Dennis Woods suggested staff create a press release
announcing the creation of the Community Sustainability Liaison and introducing
the person appointed. This is an opportunity to increase the profile of the
position and to highlight the role of the community in meeting the goals established
in the Sustainable City Plan.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 10:05pm.
