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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGTF Minutes 01-05-10 GREEN TASK FORCE MINUTES JANUARY 5, 2010 Roll Call Members Present: Chair Mario Guerra Vice Chair Luis Marquez Dan Pruitt Nancy Swenson Bob Ciatti Bill Kalpakoff Lars Clutterham Sally Flowers Tom Davidson Janet Molinaro Sylvia Southerland Calvin Davis Also Present: Desi Alvarez Michael Finn Absent: Bob Phillips Robert Rubio Jesse Kalashyan Julia Emerson Dan Pruitt Jonathan Leonard The meeting was called to order at 12:15 pm by Chair Guerra. Chair Guerra welcomed everyone, wished them a Happy New Year and stated now is the time to focus on what the group wants to recommend to the City Council in May. Minutes Member Clutterham noted corrections on Page 2, paragraphs 2 and 4 in the spelling of Anna Valcarcel’s table name and noted paragraph 4, line 6 should read “she has a and photos at KDB.” He also noted a correction on Page 3, paragraph 2, line 3, which should read “and there are 18 panels and also copper total about 400 lbs. pipes that Member Bob Ciatti noted his name is incorrectly noted as Bill in the first paragraph of the Sustainability Working Group’s report on Page 1. It was moved by Sylvia Southerland, seconded by Nancy Swenson and carried to approve the Minutes from December 1, as corrected, with Member Sally Flowers abstaining, as she was absent from the December 1 meeting. Proposed Amendments to Building Code and Future Direction Mr. Alvarez noted the purpose of this item was the group’s recommendation to make the City’s Building Code a Green Building Code. He pointed out the Building Code is currently going through an amendment process, explaining that every three years we get a new Building Code and each agency adopts it formally. The City of Downey is adopting the 2007 Building Code this year and it will have - 1 - modifications included that are unique to Downey. The 2010 Building Code is coming up next and will be adopted sometime next year and then the City will adopt it later. He said this is the time for the Green Task Force to consider what they wish to see modified in the Building Code. He explained the 2007 Code, going to Council shortly, reflects changes in terms of green technology, such as the reduction in solar permit fees, energy inspections, energy conservation requirements and details on how to insulate walls. He suggested issues for the group to consider, such as low impact development requirements, stronger water conservation measures and increasing some of the energy requirements, which could become formalized into the Building Code. Both subcommittees can work on this and then bring their ideas to the City Council in a couple of months. He advised the LEED’s consultant was supposed to attend today but could not and will come to the next meeting. He also pointed out that LEED certification is more for commercial rather than residential projects. Sylvia Southerland asked if the group’s Mission Statement was being taken into account when making changes and if staff worked with it in mind. Desi responded they are familiar with it and the information is out there. Sylvia felt unless it is written and assigned to someone, it is not concrete. Chair Guerra said this could be one of the biggest emphases when bringing recommendations to the Council and noted one of the things blessed by the Council is links on the website for the Green Task Force. Sylvia felt it was important for the City to adopt the Mission Statement and Desi thought this has been done. Bob Ciatti asked what the timeframe was for the committee to come up with things for the Building Code and was advised 3 or 4 months for the next cycle. It was asked if the group can still get things incorporated into the 2007 Code and Desi advised this would be needed within the next 30 to 60 days and any recommendations would need to be flushed out. He felt it was best to look at the next cycle. He did say the group can start to focus on the issues and noted there are some new things that will be included in the 2010 Building Code, such as AB 32 which passed two years ago and addresses green house gases and also has transportation requirements. Lars asked if part of AB 32 is for water conservation through which city and community water conservation codes default to state standards if cities have not adopted their own and also asked where the city stands on AB 1881, noting it affects all new landscape instructions. Desi advised, from an ordinance point of view, our water ordinance meets all requirements but from an enforcement view, we don’t aggressively enforce it. This is partially due to the tradition of the community, the cost and real need to enforce. He said Downey’s water consumption numbers are pretty good and we are on the low end of per capita consumption. If tomorrow we realize there is a big issue, we can gear up. Lars noted one of the concerns of other communities is suits. He said he would like to see the city impress those standards in the most positive way possible. Desi said this is something one of the committees can focus on and bring forward. Lars said they will work on this and use AB 1881 as a starting point. Chair Guerra said we need to get some of the things in there now and asked Desi how they should go about it. Vice Chair Marquez asked, do we bring it as an idea, and Desi responded yes. He said there is a big range of activities and noted the City of Los Angeles provides drums for rainwater collection for use in irrigation. Bill Kalpakoff pointed out that some things in AB 32 take until 2020 to be enforced and suggested the group look at what can be made feasible now. - 2 - Mike Finn noted AB 32 reduces carbon emissions and asked if we are on the registry which documents what progress we are making? Desi said he can make a presentation on AB 32. Chair Guerra asked for 6 or 7 ideas next month. Mike Finn asked what the direction of the 2010 Code was, asking if it is more international and Desi responded yes it is. He noted the 2010 Code comes out at the end of this year. Sally Flowers said Rosario Marin talked about the Governor’s plan for cities and said we might be able to gather something from the Governor’s website. Chair Guerra asked Desi to obtain this information for the next meeting.Desi said he wouldappreciate having the two subcommittees meet and will work with them to bring something back. Chair Guerra said he envisions having a draft by March on what we want to present to the City Council in May. Sylvia Southerland asked is this not what we have recommended so far. She said if we could show the impact on the carbon footprint, that would be a powerful statement. Sally said Richards and Watson have a binder titled “The Greener Path,” which they give to all if their cities and she will bring a copy. Sustainability Working Group Bob Ciatti advised Sylvia Southerland has a presentation on “The Future of Energy and You.” Sylvia presented a PowerPoint program depicting President Obama’s Green Plan goals, Southern California Edison’s Renewable Energy Program, Green Jobs in California, job trends, preparing yourself and available resources. Sylvia reviewed where Edison is now and where it will be when its Tehachapi area transmission lines are up. She mentioned how the economy has affected Edison and advised they have installed new smart meters. The program also included California Environmental Energy Policies included in Assembly Bills 32 and 380 and Senate Bills 1368 and 1078. Desi suggested Edison consider undergrounding utilities when upgrading infrastructure and Sylvia responded they are primarily concerned with above ground. Vice Chair Marquez noted a big issue has been that communities don’t want the big towers located in their communities. Sylvia advised the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) has been approved and also legislation that has a deadline of 2020. Chair Guerra thought Page 12 of the program, a sheet showing how the City is doing its part to save the environment, could be a link on the web page. Sylvia said she will also forward Page 14, City of Downey potential project recommendations for 2010-2011 with potential greenhouse gas reductions. Vice Chair Marquez asked Sylvia how residential meters are read when there is no way the Edison worker can see it and she advised the prior generation could be read from the street. She noted they are about 95 percent installed now with new smart meters which will be read from an office, eliminating the need for someone to obtain the reading on foot. Sylvia referred to Page 13 of her PowerPoint, advising the City’s staff did things in 2007-08 and Edison wrote a story about the City of Downey and uses it as a benchmark of what cities can actually do. Chair Guerra noted the subcommittees will meet again this month to discuss recommendations for the Council to consider adopting. He said if they have it earlier, we can present a draft next month. Desi - 3 - rd advised he would start writing it and Sylvia asked if this was something a 3 subcommittee could do to not put the entire burden on Desi. Lars volunteered to assist. Education Working Group Lars Clutterham advised their group did not meet but did have activity. He said he, Robert Rubio and Anna Valcarcel attended the December 15 Council Meeting regarding the Day Without A Bag program sponsored by Heal the Bay and passed out bags to the Council. He noted Robert attended on behalf of non-government organizations (NGO’s) and to speak for vocational and parochial schools and Anna attended on behalf of public education. Lars gave everyone at the GTF meeting a bag from Kohl’s. He noted his involvement in the group this year has increased his own commitment. He advised he was disappointed in our local supermarkets and said he spoke with Rick Crandall, Director of Environmental Stewardship Operations, with Albertsons, who is interested in the program. He also mentioned a program, “Brag About a Bag,” from the L.A. Department of Public Works and advised that Luke Walton was the spokesperson for this program. He noted Anna Valcarcel, substitute teacher at Warren High School, made presentations at Griffith’s Middle School and distributed bags. She also gave away bags at KDB and has been a presence there for several months. Lars mentioned thanking Dr. Wendy Doty, DUSD Superintendent, for writing the letter that Anna took to the schools. Chair Guerra asked Lars to forward the photos of the classes. Lars explained some things he is doing and mentioned social networking and creating a Facebook group page called “Downey Green.” He is working on a Downey Green website, doing weekly articles for the Downey Patriot, will be joining the Chamber of Commerce and said he and his wife have discussed donating $3,000 to the City to buy bags for the Downey Unified School District’s reusable bag program. He said he is also planning to xeriscape his front yard in 2010, which is landscaping that fits the environment, and said he will use California native plants and get rid of his front lawn, which will create lower water usage. He did note the old tree in his front yard will be staying! Lars said the initial idea is to use one school as a pilot school and then expand. They will have bags go home with instructions. He showed the Downey Green page he and a friend are working on and its Mission Statement. He mentioned when leaving the Council Meeting of December 15 he noticed about 6 feet of overspray from the City’s sprinkler system and said we need to lead by example. He said the City should direct maintenance to curtail water overspray, which will reduce water significantly in the winter months. Desi stated we have some parks that have old systems that are inefficient and it is expensive to do and is fund driven. He said when we are able to obtain grant funding we have upgraded systems. He noted general fund money is limited in the City. Chair Guerra said this afternoon he will have a Downtown Subcommittee meeting and will take Council Member Brossmer to a park in Bellflower. He noted the new field in our new park, Columbia Sports Complex, is just mud. Nancy Swenson advised the City of Irvine gives home owners a discount and said their system is operated by satellite and if the satellite shows rain, the sprinklers don’t come on. Calvin Davis noted his schools have this too and they have reduced by about 27 percent this year. He said their overall utilities are down 40 percent. Nancy Swenson advised Keep Downey Beautiful added water reduction as part of its projects. - 4 - Discussion of Future Agenda Items Chair Guerra said we need to focus back in on how you want to proceed and asked if the group thought it was favorable to have a rough draft by March. Lars said there was talk about combining the groups strd and having two group meetings a month. Chair Guerra suggested the 1 and 3 Tuesdays and said you could have your meetings and then give 15-20 recommendations to Desi. He said to envision short points. Chair Guerra said to forward the points to Desi before the next GTF meeting and we will decide what we need and can eliminate any duplicates. Chair Guerra noted Carol Rowland, Keep Downey Beautiful Coordinator, advised that May 8 is Kids Day and said the GTF can have a booth that day. He also noted the annual Street Faire is May 1. Bill Kalpakoff asked if there was any update on Tesla and was advised we are still working together and have been asked by Elon Musk to complete a filing with the Department of Energy. Chair Guerra said it surprised him that Lars and the others came to the City Council meeting and would have put the item on the Agenda where the item could have been discussed. Lars advised he wanted it to be a surprise. The meeting was adjourned at 1:55 p.m. to Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 12:00 pm in the Cormack room at the Downey City Library. _____________________________ ______________________________ Shirley Conte, Secretary Chair, Dn. Mario A. Guerra - 5 -