MINUTES MARCH 15, 2010 MEETING OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA TASK FORCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Transcription

1 MINUTES MARCH 15, 2010 MEETING OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA TASK FORCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT Task Force members in attendance: Susan Mearns, Bill Selby, Matt Peterson, Erik Neandross and Mark Gold Staff in attendance: Brenden McEneaney, Susan Munves, Neal Shapiro, Josephine Miller, Shannon Parry and Dean Kubani Community members in attendance: Jerry Rubin, Martin Rubin, Sarah McBride, Michael Caan, Howie Young, Ted Flanigan, Esther Schiller, Marlene Gomez, Chandler Hadraba, Daniel Salisbury, Kirk Anderson and Louisa Fish Others in attendance: Community Gardens Committee Liaison Cris Gutierrez, Metropolitan Water District Representative Judy Abdo and Council Member Kevin McKeown The meeting started at 7:16 pm. Public Input on Agenda Items Marlene Gomez, Assistant Director and Esther Schiller, Director of S.A.F.E. Smokefree Air for Everyone, requested to be put on the Task Force on the Environment agenda for April 19, Additionally, Ms. Schiller requested that the task force review the City Attorney s staff report, Report on Implementation and Enforcement of the Ordinance Governing Residential Common Area Smoking and Update on Other Areas of Secondhand Smoke Regulation. Jerry Rubin stated that Tree Hugging Day II will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 12:00 Noon at the Santa Monica Palisades Park, Children s Tree of Life at Ocean Avenue and Colorado Avenue. Approval of Minutes from the February 22, 2010 Meeting Susan Mearns commented that she did not attend the February 22, 2010 meeting. Josephine Miller commented that Chandler Hadraba attended the January 25 and February 1

2 22, 2010 meetings. Louisa Fish requested that the noted bike paths, not bike lanes, be identified as lanes that are separate. The amended February 22, 2010 were unanimously approved. Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Bees Report Shannon Parry introduced the item at Task Force on the Environment October 19, 2009 meeting. The task force recognized a need for a more thorough report on the logistics of handling bees and recommended that Daniel Salisbury and Kirk Anderson develop a bee response management plan. In response to the Task Force on the Enviroment s request, Daniel Salisbury provided an overview of the submitted report, Honeybee Rescue for the City of Santa Monica: A Two Year Pilot Project to capture and relocate bee swarms instead of the current response to exterminate the bees. Daniel Salisbury suggested the north east corner of the Santa Monica Airport as an area for a Bee Yard. Bill Selby suggested that a radious of safe space needs to be identified if a bee yard is developed on city property. After discussion, the task force unanimously approved the following motion: MOTION 1: The Santa Monica Task Force on the Environment recognizes a need for a more thorough report on the logistics of handling bees and recommends that the City Council direct staff to assess the viability of a Honey Bee Rescue Project. Additionally, the task force recommends reviewing the current municipal code in relation to bee keeping in Santa Monica. Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Urban Runoff Ordinance Revisions Neal Shapiro introduced the item and stated that the draft Urban Runoff Ordinance revisions with task force member s feedback and revisions. Mr. Shapiro agreed to assemble and present additional feedback at a future meeting. Additionally, he will be reviewing and considering Ventura County s recently updated ordinance and evaluate third party certification as well as self monitoring systems. The draft Urban Runoff 2

3 Ordinance revisions will be delivered to Council in early summer and will include the new language, additional metrics, and best management practices. Mr. Shapiro will bring the item to the task force when appropriate. Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Green Building Brenden McEneaney, Green Building Program Advisor, reviewed on-going city projects and updated the task force on the new CAL Green: State Green Building Code, effective January 1, He also reviewed the proposed draft changes to the City of Santa Monica Proposed Green Building Measures in light with the changes presented in the new state code. Brenden McEneaney announced two upcoming events. 1) The LEED Platinum Homes Open House on March 20, 2010 and 2) Altbuild on May 7 th and 8 th. Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Solar Santa Monica Susan Munves, Energy and Green Building Programs Administrator for the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, and Ted Flanigan, CEO of Eco Motion, provided an update to the task force which included an annual report and the economic status of Solar Santa Monica. After discussion, the task force unanimously approved the following motion: MOTION 2: The Santa Monica Task Force on the Environment strongly opposes the loss of funding for Solar Santa Monica in FY 2010/11. We urge City Council to direct staff to identify a permanent scalable financial model for Solar Santa Monica. This program efficiently and effectively assists the city in achieving stated energy independence goals, established Sustainable City Plan goals for distributed generation, community-wide targets for greenhouse gas emissions, and the creation of local green jobs. A permanent scalable financial model for Solar Santa Monica could include revenues from a city implemented AB811/PACE fund, energy use fees, application fees or other scenarios that secure $250,000 per year. The immediate need is to fund Solar Santa Monica for FY 2010/11 with the intention to develop a permanent scalable financial model that makes Solar Santa Monica self funding in the long term. 3

4 Kevin McKeown requested that staff forward him the motion immediately in order to present it to the City Council at its next meeting. Discussion and Recommendations Regarding an Update on Environmental Studies at Santa Monica Airport Susan Mearns updated the task force on the state of the emissions studies performed and recently presented at the Airport Commission s 2010 Annual Environmental Workshop. The three studies reviewed were: 1) A recently completed UCLA study entitled: Aircraft Emission Impacts in a Neighborhood Adjacent to a General Aviation Airport in Southern California by Professor S.E. "Susanne" Paulson, Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences and The Institute of the Environment, Aerosol Atmospheric Chemistry Group, University of California Los Angeles. 2) A South Coast Air Quality Management District report entitled: General Aviation Air Quality Study Conducted at Santa Monica and Van Nuys Airports by Dr. Philip Fine, Atmospheric Measurements Manager, South Coast Air Quality Management District. 3) The recently completed US EPA study entitled: Development and Evaluation of an Air Quality Modeling Approach for Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft Operating on Leaded Aviation Gasoline by Dr. Arnold Den, Senior Toxicologist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9. After discussion, the Santa Monica Task Force on the Environment recognized a need for a more thorough recommendation on aviation air quality and issues currently affecting Santa Monica Airport. Items to be considered would include a risk assessment to evaluate human health exposure from lead, black carbon and ultra fine particles matter, Piston-Engine Aircraft Operation, and leaded aviation gasoline. The task force requested that both Susan Mearns and Martin Rubin return in April with specific recommendations. Update on Single Use Carry Out Bags 4

5 Dean Kubani provided the update and reported that the City of Santa Monica s Nexus Study on Single Use Carry Out Paper Bags and the Master Environmental Assessment on Single-Use and Reusable Bags are complete. Additionally, the Administrative Draft Initial Study of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is almost complete and will be made public in late March. Currently, the EIR is scheduled for completion in late Summer Update on Measure V Mark Gold stated that a discussion was had at the Measure V March meeting on a potential retrofit of an infiltration system for an Ocean Park Blvd Project at Los Amigo Park. Update on Metropolitan Water District Judy Abdo stated that the board discussed funding concerns for conservation projects and that RAND Corporation will provide consulting services for the Blue Ribbon Committee. Comments or Additions to the Task Force Calendar No update was provided. Setting of Agenda for April 19, 2010 Meeting Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Safe Routes to School Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Single Use Carry Out Bag Ordinance Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Update on Environmental Studies at Santa Monica Airport Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Urban Runoff Ordinance Revisions Public Input on Non-Agendized Matters Within the Task Force s Jurisdiction 5

6 Louisa Fish stated that the Library Series now identifies the Big Blue Bus contact information on all of their flyers. Additionally, Ms. Fish stated that it would be helpful if the new city manager attended a task force meeting. Kevin McKeown stated that the city is reviewing the illegal actions that took place at the Hump Restaurant at the Santa Monica Airport. Mark Gold remarked that the whale served at Humps Restaurant is Sei Whale, an endangered species. Additionally, Councilmember McKeown was contacted by staff from Earth Day LA. They requested that the 2010 Earth Day LA Celebration be relocated back to the Bayside District. The City of Santa Monica is a Silver Sponsor for the this years event. Comments and Announcements Community Gardens Committee Liaison Cris Gutierrez announced that city staff from the Office of Sustainability and the Environment responsible for Sustainable Food will present at the next Community Gardens Committee meeting. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm. 6