HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/18/2007, COMMUNICATION - COMMUNICATIONS ITEM FOR DECEMBER 18, 2007 MEETING Council MEMORANDUM
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DATE: December 14, 2007 ATTORNEY PW DIR RECEIVED
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SUBJECT: Communications Item for December 18, 2007 Meeting
Consistent with the implementation of the Conservation Element of the General Plan is a program
opportunity offered by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Attached is a
Memorandum from Kim Murry, Deputy Director of Community Development, regarding an opportunity
for a Greenhouse Gas inventory of the City of San Luis Obispo. At our December 18, 2007 Council
Meeting, I would like to provide the Council with a brief status report on this concept and ask for
Council concurrence to bring forward the program to Council for formal consideration of endorsement.
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//°,"" MEETING AGENDA
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Rcco hlrmo
m e m o m n b u m
DATE: December 11, 2007
TO: John Mandeville, Community Development Director
Ken Hampian, City Administrative Officer
Christine Mulholland, City Councilmember
FROM: Kim Murry, Deputy Director of Community Development
SUBJECT: Greenhouse Gas inventory for the City of San Luis Obispo
The Conservation and Open Space Element (COSE) contains policies related to finding ways to
develop sustainable practices for both City operations and private development practices.
Specifically, policy 4.3.5 indicates that the City will cooperate with Federal, State and local
governments and other appropriate entities to accomplish energy conservation objectives
throughout the state, and inform employees, its contractors, staff and the general public of the
need for and methods of energy conservation. The COSE contains other policies that work
together to address sustainability — 4.3.7 addresses the City's form and how it should support
energy efficiency and the use of sustainable energy sources; 4.3.4 indicates the City will
promote the use of cost-effective, renewable, non-depleting energy sources wherever possible,
both in new construction projects and in existing buildings and facilities; 4.4.2 and 4.4.3
reference development of compact, high-density housing and fostering alternative modes of
travel. These policies are followed by programs that set out actions for carrying out these policy
goals.
At the state level, AB 32 promotes greenhouse gas emissions reporting and reductions. While
standards and thresholds to implement this bill have yet to be developed, the expectation is that
local agencies will address Greenhouse Gas Emissions in CEQA evaluations of updates of their
general plans and with larger projects. The Land Use and Circulation elements update is
anticipated to begin in 2009 and understanding the impact of policy choices on emissions
strategies will be a key component of the environmental evaluation.
Finally, the City of San Luis Obispo signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement,
joining what is now a list of nearly 700 cities and counties across the nation. The agreement
states:
"We urge the federal government and state governments to enact
policies and programs to meet or beat the target of reducing global
warming pollution levels to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012...
"...we will strive to meet or exceed Kyoto Protocol targets for
reducing global warming pollution by taking actions in our own
operations and communities such as:
(1) Inventory global warming emissions in City operations and
in the communities,set reduction targets and create an action
plan;
GHG invemon status memo
(2) Adopt and enforce land-use policies that reduce sprawl,
preserve open space, and create compact, walkable urban
communities;
(3)Promote transportation options such as bicycle trails, commute
trip reduction programs, incentives for car pooling and public
transit..."
-The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
(2005)
To this end, it would behoove the City to understand the setting or baseline of emissions that
currently exists.
The purpose of this memo is to provide a status update for this project. On October 19th,
Christine Mulholland and I met with APCD.staff and an intern, Geoffrey Chiapella. Geoffrey
had written an ambitious prospectus to perform an inventory of the City's Greenhouse gas
emissions, and develop an emissions reduction plan for the City of San Luis Obispo as part of his
masters' thesis. APCD staff was urging the City to take advantage of Mr. Chiapella's
willingness to work on this project and be the first City in the County to perform an inventory.
At the end of the meeting, Christine and I both committed to doing some follow.up to understand
what staff time and resources might be involved in conducting an inventory so that we would
understand if this project would require consideration by the Council.
Councilperson Mulholland and I have contacted several jurisdictions that have completed their
inventories to understand the amount of time and resources involved in conducting an inventory.
The information varies widely between jurisdictions ranging from 60 hours of work done by
several interns to $40,000 in consultant fees and several months of time. Geoffrey and I met
again to develop a plan to further "scope" this effort. We discussed his timeframe, the
information he had already compiled, the regulatory framework, and the desire to have a product
that he could use for his thesis.
Most jurisdictions that have completed their Greenhouse Gas inventories have joined ICLEI: the
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. As members, these jurisdictions are
eligible for technical assistance through the Cities for Climate Change initiative. With
membership comes access to a computer model that will generate the inventory for a jurisdiction
given a range of input fields. ICLEI membership costs $600/year and, when joining, a City is
asked to commit to a five step process. The process involves the following milestones:
1. Conduct a baseline emissions inventory and forecast
2. Adopt an emissions reduction target for the forecast year
3. Develop a Local Action Plan
4. Implement policies and measures
5. Monitor and verify results
I spoke with Susan Ode at the ICLEI offices in Berkeley to understand what level of
commitment the City would be required to make when joining ICLEI. Susan indicated that the
City determines its own timeframe and level of participation when it agrees to join the
organization. ICLEI is not an enforcer but is a resource to assist the City in its efforts to address
global climate change within the context of the local reality. In order to join, the City Council
would need to adopt a resolution that commits to following the five milestones within whatever
timeframe seems appropriate for the City.
GHG inventory stains memo
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The following is a rough draft of the path that Geoffrey and I discussed in our last meeting:
Mid September through November 2007
Review existing local action plans from various jurisdictions to understand:
What sources of greenhouse gases were inventoried? What sources of information were used to
complete the inventory? What strategies and actions were recommended or adopted to reduce
future greenhouse gas emissions?
November 2007 through February 2008
Review regulatory framework for GHG emissions inventory and reduction plans. Write
preliminary draft chapter explaining this regulatory background, the anticipated responsibilities
of the affected state and local agencies, and how the City of San Luis Obispo's efforts fit into
this framework.
Review the ICLEI model to determine required input fields. Build a spreadsheet to document the
required fields; the information needed (along with any conversion factor) to populate the fields;
the information currently available (and identify the source and any extrapolation required); and
the information that will need to be developed.
The identification of data needs and sources will take the most time to evaluate. Sources of
information will need to be fully explored. It may seem intuitive, but some of the inputs may
rely on a per-square-foot conversion factor for commercial and/or residential area. Depending
on the base year chosen, this will mean finding a way to determine the amount of development
that existed for the base year.
The City of San Luis Obispo may have some of the information but it may require customized
programming to obtain the information from permit records or associated GIS data. In addition,
any information that is collected at the County level and interpolated for the City's impact will
need to be supported with documentation of the method used to distribute the data and impacts
fairly between jurisdictions. GIS and other data source needs must be identified so that City staff
can evaluate work-program needs against existing City priorities.
December—February 2008
Draft first section of document: The Science of Climate Change, Existing policy response to
climate change, Literature Review, Review of other Climate Change Action plans.
February 2008
Review information and evaluate areas identified where data is lacking. Meet with City staff to
discuss data needs and assemble a team of stakeholders to see what resources the City has to
offer. City staff will schedule an item for City Council review for adoption of a resolution to
join ICLEI (required for membership) and consideration of funding if required to complete the
data needs in order to conduct the inventory.
February—March 2008
City will join ICLEI and obtain the computer model for conducting the emissions inventory.
Inventory for base year and forecast year will be completed. Evaluation of existing General Plan
policies and programs as they relate to emissions reduction will be completed. Practices and
measures being used by other jurisdictions to address emissions will be conducted and evaluated
for their applicability to San Luis Obispo. Geoffrey has a particular interest in transportation
GHG inventory status memo
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impacts to greenhouse gas emissions and it may be appropriate to consider the practices and
measures he evaluates as part of the Land Use Element/Circulation Elements update.
I will continue to work with Geoffrey in order to monitor the project and if he has time available,
help identify additional tasks. Since he will need to submit a draft of his work in March and
work to revise and complete the final version of his thesis by the end of May, time may be
limited for additional work.
GHG inventory.status memo
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