HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-18-2016 Item 2, LopesCOUNCIL MEETING: (10
ITEM NO.;
To: Gallagher, Carrie
Subject: RE: Business Item #2: 2016 Climate Action Plan Progress Report
From: James Lopes [
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2016 4:53 PM
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OCT 17 2016
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To: Allan Cooper < ; E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Codron, Michael
<mcodron0slocit ..orV; Fowler, Xzandrea <XFowler@slocity.or >
Subject: Re: Business Item #2: 2016 Climate Action Plan Progress Report
Dear Mayor Marx and Council Members:
I agree with the points and encouragements of Allan Cooper in his email below.
Unfortunately, the City's LUCE plans for more commercial development than commensurate
housing, so that the current jobs -housing imbalance will continue to worsen. This imbalance in the
City's plan and zoning has existed a long time, due to the threat and annexation of the huge Airport
Area Specific Plan's commercial and industrial areas. The City and the County planned large areas
for vague business park development, without adopting commensurate plans for local housing areas
to balance them, creating the resulting congestion on the Highway 101 transportation corridor and
on local streets and roads. As the City, County and Cal Poly, continue to allow and encourage
students and "head of household" jobs, and the many jobs which underlie them, the City is causing
skyrocketing housing prices and causing regional economic dislocations between work, shopping
and decent living.
This imbalance in areas planned for jobs and housing is also causing an unconscionable rise in local
CO2 emissions from the resulting dislocated, metropolitan commuting pattern. The Climate Action
Plan should address and effectively set agendas for revising general plans and zoning, and reducing
the external and internal, climate -affecting impacts of the City's unfortunate tilt toward economic
development, regardless of the housing and transportation damage. Otherwise, the City's LUCE is
not a sustainable plan by any stretch. Thank you for considering my comments carefully.
James Lopes
James Lopes
1336 Sweet Bay Lane
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Ph. 805-602-1365
On 10/14/2016 8:14 PM, Allan Cooper wrote:
To: San Luis Obispo City Council
Re: Business Item #2: 2016 Climate Action Plan Progress Report
From: Allan Cooper, San Luis Obispo
Date: October 14, 2016
Honorable Mayor and Council Members -
I endorse the development of a San Luis Obispo Climate Action Coalition that
would advocate the direct involvement of the community in CAP
implementation efforts. I also support the hiring of a Sustainability Coordinator
to implement CAP and energy programs. The City is balking on this latter
suggestion as it will cost the City money. Addressing climate change should
be our number one priority and when it comes to our number one priority, we
should be "putting our money where our mouth is".
The Climate Action Plan states: "While there are incentive programs to
encourage projects that exceed Title 24 energy efficiency standards, they are
rarely used. The City should revise these incentive programs to make them
easier to apply to and more desirable." I couldn't agree more. Currently there
is a mad rush to build non -Net Zero Energy (NZE) housing prior to the 2020
deadline. In order to provide time for designers, builders and developers to
learn how to comply to the 2020 requirement the City should create a smooth
transition by gradually ramping up the number of NZE residences each year.
Per staff report, the "City's jobs -housing balance has continued at a constant
of approximately 1.6:1 since 2012, when the CAP was adopted." This ratio will
only get worse if we continue to grow jobs in SLO, as we are presently doing.
Instead of growing our housing stock (as well as the unsustainable growth in
population) in our attempt to accommodate more of our workforce, why are we
not instead putting more resources behind better low -carbon, regional transit
connecting our workforce to outlying communities? Our present focus on
bicycling and walking obviously fails to address this problem. The 2016 RTA
Short Range Transit Plan suggests that additional funding is needed to
implement weekday express service on Route 9 between San Luis Obispo
and Paso Robles in the mid-day period, a mid-day weekday express service
on Route 10 and evening service expanded on Routes 9, 10, and 12. There is
no question that San Luis Obispo should be providing this funding to reduce
vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
The Climate Action Plan recommends the use of "native and non-invasive
drought tolerant plant materials combined with conservative use of water and
landscape designs that prevent run-off." I agree with this. Native species are
ideal for carbon storage as they will thrive in most soils, best support local wild
life, are low -maintenance, disease -resistant and will do better without
greenhouse -gas -producing fertilizers and equipment. Staff states that "this
measure is difficult to implement because it is unclear whether the action
should be focused on municipal buildings only or on all new development." I
would argue that this measure should be implemented for all new
development. In addition to native drought tolerant plant materials, preference
should be given to reliable and versatile star -performers for carbon
sequestration already listed on San Luis Obispo's Street Tree Master List.
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Finally, the City should make a more concerted effort to discourage
developers and arborists from removing well-established, carbon -
sequestering trees in order to make room for future development.
The Climate Action Plan recommends the home installation of recycled water,
grey water or rainwater -harvesting systems. I am in support of this. The City is
also recommending the expansion of recycled water infrastructure to
encourage the use of grey water in new construction and landscape projects.
A construction contract for a $96 million Water Resource Recovery Facility
(WRRF) upgrade will be awarded in 2017. 1 am proposing instead that the City
use a wetland -based tertiary treatment facility - all natural, almost no energy
requirement and much less costly - where our existing secondary effluent
would achieve tertiary status while providing major habitat - like the City of
Arcata. The Arcata Wastewater Treatment Plant and Wildlife Sanctuary has a
series of oxidation ponds, treatment wetlands and enhancement marshes that
are used to filter sewage waste. The marshes also serve as a wildlife_ refuge,
and are on the Pacific Flyway. The Arcata Marsh is a popular destination for
birders. Despite being effectively a sewer, the series of open-air lakes do not
smell, and are a popular destination for cycling and jogging.
Staff recommends the creation of an incentive program to encourage the use
of photovoltaic systems. Unfortunately, the City does nothing to protect
photovoltaic systems from being shaded by neighbors. This problem exists
not only in residential neighborhoods but also in our Downtown Core where
taller buildings are being proposed (needless to say, if all buildings maintained
the same low -profile height throughout the City there would be greater
opportunity, not only for maintaining solar access for photovoltaic panels, but
also for natural daylighting through the use of skylights). As it is, State
regulations are too weak and require neighbor -to -neighbor litigation to enforce
solar access. If the City is serious about these systems, it needs to adopt fair
regulations to protect investments in sustainable electricity.
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