Title
Study Session Summary of April 15, 2019 - Draft Climate Action Playbook (Joint Study Session of the Sustainability Commission, Planning Commission, and Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission)
Summary
Call to Order:
Sustainability Commission Chair Bruce Paton called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m.
Commissioners Present:
Sustainability Commission:
Chair Bruce Paton
Vice Chair Kristel Wickham
Dan Hafeman
Stephen Joesten
Doug Kunz
Shana Padgett
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission:
Chair John Cordes
Vice Chair Susan Bremond
Richard Mehlinger
Leia Mehlman
Planning Commission:
Sue Harrison
John Howe
Public Comment:
James Tuleya, member of the public, expressed his support for the Climate Action Playbook (“Playbook”) and encouraged public support to enable Sunnyvale and cities in Silicon Valley to be climate action leaders.
Study Session Summary:
Ramana Chinnakotla, Director of Environmental Services, in collaboration with Melody Tovar, Regulatory Programs Division Manager, and Nupur Hiremath, Environmental Programs Manager, of the City of Sunnyvale Environmental Services Department, delivered a presentation describing the structure and content of the Draft Climate Action Playbook.
The presentation covered an overview of the history of climate action in Sunnyvale and progress to date; the targets of the new Climate Action Playbook; and the proposed Strategies, Plays, targets, and Moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Attendees participated in live polling and an interactive dot-voting activity to indicate the Plays and Moves they were excited and concerned about (see following pages).
Commissioners and members of the public asked questions and made comments on the information presented, which included:
• Questions regarding reliability of the electric grid, given the greater dependence on renewable electricity as the community shifts away from natural gas use.
• Questions regarding the possible inclusion of consumption-based emissions accounting in greenhouse gas inventory.
• Interest in the type of infrastructure needed to support electric vehicles.
• Interest in expanding Safe Routes to School plan to include Safe Routes to Work.
• Recommendation to revise the sports metaphor used in the Playbook to replace it with a simpler, more relatable metaphor.
• Interest in developing quantifiable metrics to inform completion of Moves, such as miles of bike lanes built and level of concern about the environment.
• Comments about the City processes needed to act quickly on climate change.
• Comment that short-distance trips should be targeted for mode shift away from cars.
• Comments about expanding accepted plastics in the City’s recycling collection or to work with suppliers and regulators to ban plastics not accepted in recycling.
• Questions about the outreach plan for the Playbook and opportunities for the community to provide input.
Note: Comments made by more than one individual are only listed once.
Commissioners and members of the public provided input on Plays via a live poll using mobile devices and provided input on Moves via a dot-voting exercise.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Attachments:
1. Joint Study Session Live Poll Results for Plays
2. Joint Study Session Dot Voting Exercise for Moves