TASK FORCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The meeting was convened at 7:20 p.m. Task Force members in attendance: Sandy Grant, Mark Gold, Bill Selby, Matt Petersen and Tom Nelson. Santa Monica City staff in attendance: Craig Perkins and Dean Kubani. Others: Louisa Fish, Laurel Roennau, Wendy Wert, and one other member of the public.

Minutes

Minutes from the meetings of June 26, 2000 and August 7, 2000 were unanimously approved.

Discussion Regarding Environmental Programs Division FY 2000-01 Budget

Craig Perkins and Dean Kubani provided an overview of the Division’s budget for public education and outreach for FY 2000-01. Task Force members discussed the need to weigh in early in the budget process for the next fiscal year to advocate that sufficient funding be allocated for sustainable business and school outreach programs. Sandy Grant recommended that the Task Force review the Division’s proposed outreach efforts in light of Sustainable City Program goals. Mark Gold also recommended that the Task Force provide input to staff regarding recommended follow-up to the Sustainable City Program outreach strategy developed last year by Rogers and Associates. Continuation of discussions regarding business outreach, sustainable schools, and updating Sustainable City Program targets were agendized for the October 2 meeting.

Continuation of Discussion of Task Force Role in Major Development Projects

This item was a continuation of previous discussions at the March 6, April 3 and May 22 meetings. As part of those previous discussions the Task Force agreed that its role should be to review only projects that require EIRs, using the Green Design and Construction Guidelines as the primary review criteria, and to provide input and advice to the Planning Commission and City Council. Because the list of projects requiring EIRs is currently so large, discussion focused on how to best determine which projects the Task Force will review. This question was left unresolved and was agendized for the October 2 meeting. A list of projects with active EIRs will be included in that agenda packet to help with the discussion.

Discussion then turned to the proposed RAND development. Craig Perkins reported that the Task Force’s May 22 recommendation that the project should be designed and constructed to meet or exceed the United States Green Building Council’s LEED Gold level certification was considered but not included as part of the project development agreement. Mark Gold expressed disappointment that the Task Force failed to review and comment on the EIR for the project. With the EIR and development agreement scheduled to go before Council on September 19, Mark and Matt Petersen agreed to attend the meeting to present the Task Force positions that the project at least meet the basic LEED certification level and that the City partner with RAND to help cover costs to connect the project to the SMURRF to provide water for irrigation and non-drinking uses.

The Task Force unanimously passed the following motion:

The Task Force on the Environment recommends that Council require the proposed RAND development to, at a minimum, be designed and constructed to meet or exceed the United States Green Building Council’s basic LEED certification level.

Sustainable Business Outreach Discussion

Mark Gold presented for discussion a draft of a joint statement by the Task Force and the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce calling on the City to initiate a forum with representatives of the business community, elected officials, City staff and residents and ultimately develop an action plan regarding local economic development and sustainability. This paper was the result of a meeting Mark had with Chamber Executive Vice President Dan Ehrler regarding how to encourage the business sector to become more involved in sustainable city issues. The statement is intended to provide a catalyst to generate productive dialogue around this issue. Task Force members unanimously adopted the proposed statement with minor wording changes. Craig Perkins recommended that Mark and Dan forward the final adopted statement directly to one or more Council members to introduce as a Council Agenda item at a future City Council meeting.

Report on Community Based Social Marketing Pilot Study

Sandy Grant reported on this study piloting the application of community-based social marketing (CBSM) methods to further progress in the Sustainable City Program. The pilot will focus on facilitating behavior change to reduce the amount of paper waste generated by offices and retail businesses in Santa Monica. The goal of the pilot is to evaluate the effectiveness of CBSM in furthering the progress of the SCP and the feasibility of using CBSM to address a broader range of issues in the future.

Metropolitan Water District Update

MWD Board Member Judy Abdo was not present at the meeting so this item was not addressed.

Public Input

Louisa Fish recommended that to facilitate public access to cash back recycling centers, the City should consider setting one up at the Sunday Farmer’s Market on Main Street. Craig Perkins indicated that he would discuss the feasibility of this recommendation with the appropriate staff and report back at a future meeting.

Laurel Roennau provided some background on the Neighborhood Council – a coalition comprised of two members from each of the city’s neighborhood groups. This group has asked the City to provide it with better notification regarding proposed development projects and City activities within the neighborhoods. In response, the City is now referring proposed projects to the Neighborhood Council for review and input. She suggested that City staff and Task Force members make themselves available to the Council to provide sustainability advice related to these reviews.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40pm