MINUTES
FEBRUARY 24, 2003 MEETING OF THE
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, Bill Selby, Tim Carmichael, Matt Petersen, Bobby Rees and
Mark Gold. Santa Monica City
staff in attendance: Craig Perkins, Brian Johnson and Dean Kubani. Others: Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown,
Council member Mike Feinstein, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Lori Nafshun,
Planning Commissioner Arlene Hopkins, Laurel Roennau, Marty Rubin, Gene Burke,
Genevieve Bertone, Alan Frankel, Peter Benjamin, Stacy Brown, Gary Shultz, and
one other member of the public.
Minutes
The minutes from the January 27, 2003 meeting were
unanimously approved.
Water Efficiency Program Update and Discussion of Water
Budgeting Concept
Brian Johnson presented a summary of the City’s past,
current and planned water efficiency programs and policies and discussed the
recently completed three-year strategic plan developed to help the City meet the
water efficiency targets adopted in the Sustainable City Plan. The primary focus of future water
efficiency and public educations efforts will target commercial and outdoor
water use.
Planning Commissioner Arlene Hopkins discussed the concept
of a water budget for Santa Monica and described examples from Peoria, AZ and
Santa Fe, NM. She noted that the
City currently doesn’t look at the cumulative demand on water supply from new
development and suggested that a water budget that sets a sustainable threshold
for cumulative water use could help the City set criteria for future land use
and development decisions. She asked
the Task Force to consider sending a recommendation to City Council to ask staff
to study this idea. She suggested
that a water budget could be included in the City’s Master Environmental
Assessment. Following discussion,
the Task Force agreed to re-agendize this for discussion at the March 17th
meeting and to broaden the scope of the discussion beyond water to include all
environmental areas in the Sustainable City Plan. Task Force members agreed that the future
discussion should focus on how to ensure that all City departments are working
together to meet Sustainable City Plan goals. Mayor Pro Tem McKeown indicated that he
would place an agenda item on the Council agenda in early April directing staff
to develop specific departmental strategies to implement the Sustainable City
Plan within City operations, community planning and economic development, and to
provide preliminary feedback in time for Council to consider them prior to
adoption of the FY 2003-04 budget.
Sustainable City Plan Governance Discussion
Mark Gold provided background on this item. When Council adopted the Sustainable City
Plan on February 11 they did not endorse the creation of a Sustainable City
Steering Committee as proposed in the draft plan, due to the City Attorney’s
concerns that the proposed Steering Committee differs in structure from other
City advisory bodies and may conflict with the City Charter. Brian Johnson indicated that
Environmental and Public Works Management Department staff would arrange a
meeting with the City Attorney and City Manager and a Task Force representative
to discuss possible options and prepare an alternate governance proposal for
presentation to City Council.
Mark Gold agreed to represent the Task Force at this meeting.
Airport Park EIR Discussion
Tim Carmichael and Susan Mearns recommended that this item
be re-agendized for discussion at the March 17th meeting to allow
them additional time to review the Environmental Impact Report. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Lori
Nafshun requested that Task Force members attend a future Parks and Recreation
Commission meeting to discuss their concerns about air quality issues at Airport
Park. Task Force members agreed to
do this following their discussion of this item at the March 17th
meeting.
Polystyrene Update
Dean Kubani provided the update. He presented preliminary information
collected by Environmental Programs Division staff regarding cost and
availability of alternatives to polystyrene foam food packaging. He indicated that he would provide
additional information as it becomes available. Tim Carmichael noted that Los Angeles
City Council member Eric Garcetti is considering introducing a prohibition on
single use plastic packaging in LA.
Tim indicated that he would look into this and provide additional
information at a future meeting.
Further discussion on this item was agendized for the March 17th
meeting. Mark Gold indicated that he
would bring a video produced by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation to show
at that time documenting the impact of plastics to the marine environment.
Discussion of Potential Candidates to Fill Task Force
Vacancies
Task Force members discussed possible replacements to fill
Task Force vacancies due to the upcoming resignations of Bobby Rees and Tim
Carmichael this spring. Task Force
members agreed that candidates with expertise in green building and air
quality/transportation should be sought to fill the vacancies. Continuation of this discussion was
agendized for March 17th. Task Force members agreed to contact the
various candidates that were discussed to determine their interest and
availability and report back at that time.
Airport Ad Hoc Committee Update
Tim Carmichael reported that the planned meeting between
the committee and staff from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to
discuss options for addressing air quality issues at Santa Monica Airport had
been postponed due to weather and is being rescheduled for March or April.
Santa Monica College Speakers Series
Bill Selby distributed the speakers’ series schedule for
Spring 2003 and noted that the series begins Thursday, March 6.
Metropolitan Water District Update
This item was postponed until the March 17th
meeting because MWD Board member Judy Abdo was not present. Task Force members had a brief discussion
regarding a recent decision by the MWD Board to fluoridate all MWD water.
Public Input
Laurel Roennau made several recommendations regarding the
new Sustainable City Plan and City planning issues. She stated that the City’s General Plan
should be updated and made consistent with the goals of the Sustainable City
Plan. She also recommended that the
City should begin tracking cumulative traffic, energy demand and water demand
impacts related to new development to verify that mitigations discussed in EIRs
for development projects are effective over the long term.
Marty Rubin congratulated the Task Force and staff on
adoption of the Sustainable City Plan and noted that discussion of air quality
issues is agendized at the next meeting of the Airport Commission.
Gene Burke, speaking on behalf of Santa Monicans for Safe
Drinking Water, noted that a recent conference of scientists in the United
Kingdom found that no studies regarding the safety and effectiveness of
hydrofluosicilic acid (HFA) as a water-fluoridating agent have been completed in
the UK, US or anywhere else in the world.
Stacy Brown voiced her concerns regarding population growth
and its impacts on the environment and achieving sustainability goals.
Gary Schultz provided information regarding the differences
between fluoride and HFA and noted that HFA is a hazardous waste product.
He indicated that no studies have ever been completed regarding the health
effects of HFA when used as a water-fluoridating agent.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:50pm
