CITY OF SANTA MONICA

TASK FORCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The meeting was convened at 7:10 p.m. Task Force members in attendance: Bill Selby, Susan Mearns, Matt Petersen, Bobby Rees, Mark Gold, Tim Carmichael, and Sandy Grant. Santa Monica City staff in attendance: Craig Perkins, Marty Tachiki, Bob Trimborn, Andy Agle, and Dean Kubani. Others: City Council members Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathy Dodson, MWD Board member Judy Abdo, Planning Commissioner Arlene Hopkins, Housing Commissioner Jason Perry, Louisa Fish, Barbara Filet, and Laurel Roennau.

Minutes

The minutes from the meeting of November 19, 2001 were unanimously approved.

Introduction of new Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathy Dodson

Task Force members welcomed new Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathy Dodson to the community and expressed a desire to continue to work with the Chamber to disseminate information to businesses on environmental issues and potential legislation. Mark Gold summarized the history of the Task Force’s interaction with the Chamber, including the joint letter regarding sustainable business sent to City Council last year and the Task Force proposal for a ban on Styrofoam products. Kathy recommended in addition to presenting this information to the Chamber’s Environmental Affairs Committee, in the future the Task Force should also present it to the Government Affairs Committee. She also commented on the lack of representation by business on the Sustainable City Working Group. She encouraged the Task Force to actively pursue input from local businesses prior to forwarding the updated Sustainable City Program to Council.

Santa Monica Airport Air Quality Follow-up Discussion

Deputy City Attorney Marty Tachiki and Airport Manager Bob Trimborn discussed the recently completed lawsuit brought by homeowners adjacent to the airport against the City, as well as the ability of the City to address concerns of the plaintiffs and Task Force members regarding noise and air pollution. Marty noted that the City is precluded by the FAA from regulating air emissions at the airport or restricting the type of aircraft that use the airport. The City has applied to the FAA to shorten the runway seven times but the request has always been turned down because it would limit the type of aircraft that could land at the airport. Bob noted that the City has done what it can to change the location of where planes idle while awaiting take-off in order to reduce exhaust impacts to neighboring houses, however the guidelines are voluntary and can be overridden by the control tower, which is operated by the FAA. The City is in the process of constructing a blast wall at the east end of the runway to deflect the air blast from jets up and away from neighboring homes. It is a goal of Airport staff to install sound walls around the perimeter of the airport to help mitigate noise impacts – funds for this have been requested in the City’s CIP budget proposal. Following additional questions and discussion Task Force members asked that a copy of the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Airport Park be forwarded to them when it becomes available.

Report on Sustainable City Program Update Process

Dean Kubani reported on the update process. The Sustainable City Working Group (SCWG) met on December 13 to reach final agreement on the proposed goal areas, goals and indicators for the SCP update. The City’s consultants, Sustainable Measures, will prepare a summary report of progress to date and present it along with their recommendations to the SCWG and to the Task Force on January 28, 2002.

Sandy Grant noted that the proposed goal areas for the SCP now include areas such as Community Education and Civic Partnership, Human Dignity, and Housing – areas that the Task Force on the Environment has little expertise in. A discussion followed regarding the role that the Task Force should play in the future of the SCP. Task Force members suggested three possible options:

1.) Task Force can remain in the lead on the SCP and bring in experts for new areas

2.) Task Force continues to focus on environmental issues and hands over leadership on the SCP to a new Sustainable City Task Force or Commission

3.) Task Force shares leadership on SCP with other existing City boards and commissions

Sandy also raised questions about who will collect data and produce reports in the future - should this continue to be a City function or should responsibilities be distributed to a broader group throughout the community?

Task Force members agreed to continue this discussion at the January meeting.

Santa Monica College “Project Engagement” Update

Bill Selby provided the update. He discussed the schedule for the public speakers series on environmental issues beginning in February 2002 at SMC and thanked Task Force members for agreeing to participate.

Metropolitan Water District Update

MWD Board member Judy Abdo provided the update. MWD has begun to discuss the issue of fluoridation. There was a presentation at the last board meeting from the pro-fluoride camp with no opposing viewpoint presented. In recent legislative action a $3.5 - $4 billion bond measure – the Water Security Bond Measure – will be on the ballot to fund improvements in the security of the state’s water system. A reorganization of all committee chairs and vice-chairs was initiated by MWD board chair Phil Chase. In the future committee chairs and vice-chairs will be rotated on an annual basis. As a result of the reorganization Judy is no longer the vice-chair of the legislative committee.

Civic Center Master Plan Discussion

Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development Andy Agle described the history of the Civic Center planning process and discussed the proposed Civic Center Master Plan. He noted that the proposed plan will be presented to City Council in January 2002 for approval in concept and to authorize the Civic Center Working Group and staff to begin preparation of the written Civic Center Specific Plan and Environmental Review. Following discussion, the Task Force made the following recommendations to Council regarding the Civic Center project:

1) Require all new buildings in the Civic Center to meet or exceed LEED silver criteria and all housing should meet or exceed the LEED housing standard.

2) Set a goal of installing solar photovoltaic panels on every rooftop and to meet at least 25% of building energy requirements with solar power

3) Space should be designated at the Civic Center as affordable office space reserved for local non-profit organizations that promote sustainability

4) A Sustainable Resource Center should be included in the final plan

5) Design and construction of the Civic Center should be consistent with (illustrative of) all pertinent aspects of the Sustainable City Program. All development of the site should comply with all aspects of environmental law.

Public Input

There was no public input

The meeting was adjourned at 10:00pm