CITY OF SANTA MONICA

TASK FORCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The meeting was convened at 7:10 p.m. Task Force members in attendance: Susan Mearns, Sandy Grant, Tim Carmichael, Matt Petersen, Tom Nelson, Bill Selby and Mark Gold. Santa Monica City staff in attendance: Craig Perkins, Brian Johnson and Dean Kubani. Others: Council members Mike Feinstein, Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor, Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Dan Ehrler, MWD Board member Judy Abdo, Laurel Roennau, Sylvia Schniad, Jerry Rubin, and Louisa Fish.

Minutes

Minutes from the meeting of January 22, 2001 were unanimously approved.

Discussion of Task Force / Chamber Sustainable Business Proposal

Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Dan Ehrler provided background on the proposal. In October and November the Chamber and Task Force drafted, and both bodies approved, a letter asking City Council to convene a forum to discuss local economic development and sustainability. Signed copies of the letter were sent to all Council members in November. At the January 9 Budget Priorities Council meeting both Dan and Sandy Grant spoke about the letter and Dan included a copy in the packet he forwarded to Council. To date Council has not responded to the Task Force or the Chamber. The Task Force unanimously adopted a motion to send a letter to Council stating that since the Task Force hasn’t received any Council feedback on the proposal it assumes Council is supportive. The letter will also state that the Task Force and Chamber will proceed with plans to convene a sustainable business forum unless they hear otherwise from Council prior to March 9. Mark Gold agreed to draft and send the letter. Mark, Tim Carmichael, and Sandy Grant agreed to meet with Dan Ehrler on March 7 to plan next steps.

Proposed Polystyrene Ban – Progress Update

Dean Kubani presented a draft letter that the Chamber of Commerce agreed to send out to all of its members, as well as potentially affected non-members, announcing a meeting where Task Force members would present and discuss this proposed ban on polystyrene foam (PSF) packaging. Dan Ehrler indicated that he is interested in facilitating a discussion between potentially affected businesses and the Task Force and recommended that the Task Force clearly communicate the reasons it supports a ban. Following discussion, the Task Force recommended collecting additional information on costs for switching to alternatives to PSF and other potential impacts to businesses prior to arranging the meeting. Bill Selby indicated that his students could collect this data. He will report back on progress in March. Once this data is collected the Task Force will set a date for the meeting and have the Chamber send out the letter to businesses.

Parks and Recreation Commission Sustainable Landscape Discussion

Sandy Grant presented minutes of a meeting she had in January with Parks and Recreation Commissioner Heather Trim, who is the commission’s liaison to the Task Force. She noted that Heather proposed several areas where the commission and the Task Force can work together including: setting new targets for SCP indicators for trees, open space and community gardens; working to create a sustainable landscape ordinance or guidelines; and developing recommendations for use of Proposition 13 funds for improvements at Marine Park. At the most recent Parks and Recreation Commission meeting Heather proposed that the commission develop Sustainable Landscape Guidelines for public land. The commission liked the idea but felt that the leadership on this project should be taken by the Task Force because the commission lacks sufficient technical expertise. Craig Perkins indicated that the City has developed residential and commercial sustainable landscaping guidelines, which would provide a good starting point, but there are currently no published guidelines for landscaping on City-owned land.

Sustainable City Program Indicators and Targets – Progress Update

Dean Kubani presented a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for facilitating a process to update the goals, indicators and targets of the SCP. Task Force members recommended minor changes, which Dean agreed to make prior to mailing. The RFP is scheduled to be mailed to sustainability consultants by early March with responses due by April 5, 2001.

Discussion of Civic Center Planning Process

Craig Perkins led the discussion. City Council established a Working Group to guide the Civic Center planning process. The Working Group will hold regular public meetings and will facilitate public workshops, beginning in March. Tom Nelson, Sandy Grant and Matt Petersen agreed to represent the Task Force at these meetings as liaisons to the Working Group. Craig indicated that he will provide the liaisons with background information and meeting dates.

Sustainable Schools Program Follow-up

Sandy Grant provided an update. Efforts to arrange a meeting with Council members to discuss how to proceed with the Sustainable Schools program have so far been fruitless. She recommended trying to arrange a meeting with School Board members as a way to get the ball rolling. Judy Abdo recommended meeting initially with Pam Brady, Maria Leon and Jose Escarce because they would likely be receptive to the proposed program. Matt Petersen, Mark Gold and Tim Carmichael agreed to attend the meeting and Dean Kubani agreed to schedule it.

Tim Carmichael noted that he would be attending a meeting of the SMMUSD board on February 27 and wanted to present the board with a Task Force recommendation regarding the District’s purchase of alternative fuel school buses. The Task Force unanimously approved the following motion to be transmitted to the school board: “The Santa Monica Task Force on the Environment recommends that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District purchase the cleanest alternative fuel (i.e. non-diesel, non-gasoline) buses available, taking advantage of all public funds available in order to help achieve the goals of the Santa Monica Sustainable City Program.”

Metropolitan Water District Update

MWD Board member Judy Abdo provided the update. MWD has reorganized and downsized its Board from 51 to 36 members. Judy remains on the water planning , rules, and communication and outreach committees. The Board will begin to address the Cadiz groundwater storage proposal soon. This is a difficult decision from an environmental standpoint because it can potentially damage the ecosystem, but it provides an opportunity for groundwater storage, which environmentalists have been pushing for. She welcomes input from the Task Force on this issue. In other news, the rate structure issue is going forward under the guidance of a subcommittee chaired by Tim Brick.

Proposal to Ban Smoking in Outdoor Dining Areas

Jerry Rubin addressed the Task Force and asked them to support his call for a ban on smoking in outdoor dining and beverage areas in Santa Monica. Jerry noted that this is an environmental and public health issue and that it has the support of Adam Radinsky in the City Attorney’s office. Following much debate the Task Force voted on the following motion:

“The Task Force on the Environment recommends that City Council adopt an ordinance banning smoking in outdoor dining and beverage areas such as coffee shop patios and outdoor sidewalk dining areas in Santa Monica. The Task Force recommends that the proposed ordinance be discussed with the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups prior to implementation.”

The motion received three votes for and two against with two abstaining. In light of the split, the Task Force agreed to table this issue and revisit it at the March meeting.

Public Input

Laurel Roennau introduced long-time community activist Sylvia Schniad to the Task Force. Regarding SCP indicators, Laurel recommended that the Task Force consider measuring street capacity in addition to things such as parking and intersection level of service (which are the only two traffic indicators currently measured in Santa Monica EIRs).

Jerry Rubin asked the Task Force to encourage the business community to distribute free Big Blue Bus passes to promote ridership. He noted that UCLA currently provides free passes to its students. He also gave an update on the City’s Disability Task Force and mentioned that they will present a staff report to Council on March 27 recommending the creation of a Disability Commission.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:25pm