Mar Vista Community Forum

SM TASK FORCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT - April 19, 2004 minutes

The meeting was convened:

The meeting was convened at 7:12 p.m. Task Force members in attendance: Susan Mearns, Bill Selby, Erik Neandross, Sandy Grant, David Hertz, Mark Gold and Matt Petersen. Santa Monica City staff in attendance: Craig Perkins, Brian Johnson, Greg Reitz, Gwen Pentecost, and Dean Kubani. Others: Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown, Recreation and Parks Commissioner Jennifer Wolch, Planning Commissioner Arlene Hopkins, MWD Board Member Judy Abdo, Louisa Fish, Laurel Roennau, Marty Rubin, Adam Holt, Jonathon Aurthur, and Stacy Brown.

Minutes
The minutes from the meeting of February 23, 2004 were unanimously approved following an amendment. The minutes from the meeting of March 15, 2004 were unanimously approved.

Presentation and Discussion Regarding Tourism and Local Economic Development

The City’s Senior Economic Development Analyst, Gwen Pentecost, presented information on tourism and the local economy. Specifically, she presented data from an August 2001 report commissioned by the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau on the Economic Impact of Tourism, as well as data on tax receipts from tourism, local employment data and data on the jobs/housing balance. She noted that the Sustainable City Plan target for jobs/housing balance of 1.0 is unlikely to be reached, because most households in the City have more than one wage earner. In response to questions regarding wages of the local tourism labor force, Gwen indicated that although the City doesn’t collect wage data for specific sectors, she would forward data collected by the Westside Economic Collaborative. The discussion on tourism and local economic development will continue with a presentation by the SM Convention and Visitors Bureau at the May 17 meeting of the Task Force.

Discussion and Recommendations Regarding Synthetic Turf at Airport Park
Dean Kubani and Brian Johnson presented a memo prepared by City staff responding to specific questions posed by the Task Force at their January 2004 meeting regarding the proposal to install synthetic turf at Airport Park. Following discussion, the Task Force opted to remain neutral on the synthetic turf issue. Task Force members felt that the material safety data sheets for the synthetic turf material provided insufficient data for them to fully evaluate the potential environmental and health impacts of the proposed materials.

Green Building Program Discussion and Feedback

Green Building Program Discussion and Feedback
The City’s Green Building Advisor, Greg Reitz, asked the Task Force for input on a proposed green certification program for multi-family residential buildings and/or property management companies. The Task Force asked Greg to forward the proposal directly to David Hertz and to Walker Wells at Global Green USA for review and input.

Greg announced that the City’s green building grants program would be launched April 23. The program will provide between $20,000 and $35,000 to commercial and multi-family building developers that achieve LEED certification of their projects. He also noted that Santa Monica’s Green Building Resource Center at 2218 Main Street is scheduled to open on April 22. And he announced that a free seminar on green building materials would be held at the Resource Center on May 3 at 7pm. The seminar is open to the public.

Status Report on Urban Runoff Master Plan
Brian Johnson presented an overview of the Urban Runoff Master Plan project. The project’s goals are to reduce urban runoff and flooding and increase water conservation, recreational opportunities, open space and wildlife habitat in Santa Monica. The project is a joint effort of the City’s Engineering, Water Resources and Environmental Programs divisions, working in conjunction with consultants Brown and Caldwell. The project involves creation of a GIS database of all existing urban runoff facilities in the city, and development of a plan to update all system deficiencies. The project is scheduled for completion in August 2004.

Presentation on Santa Monica Ecological Footprint
Dean Kubani presented the findings of the ecological footprint analysis prepared for the
City by Redefining Progress. The analysis found that Santa Monica has reduced the size of its footprint by 5.7% between 1990 and 2000. The analysis also found that in 2000 the average Santa Monica resident’s footprint was 13% smaller than the US average, but still more than 4 times as large as the fair earthshare of 4.5 acres per person. Dean described outreach efforts planned around the release of the footprint report.

2004 Sustainable Quality Awards Update
Dean Kubani reported on the results of the judging of the 2004 Sustainable Quality Awards. There were 23 businesses and organizations nominated and, of those, 11 received awards. This year’s top winners were Hines Lantana, New Directions, Inc, and the American Red Cross of Santa Monica.

Subcommittee Update

Subcommittee Update
Brian Johnson presented an update regarding the efforts to address air quality issues at the Santa Monica Airport (SMO). He noted that SMO staff have been working with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to include SMO in SCAQMD’s planned MATES 3 air monitoring study. SMO is currently on the “alternate” list of monitoring sites for the study. As it appears likely that the MATES 3 study will not be a feasible option for completing detailed air monitoring at SMO, the Task Force passed the following motion:
"The Task Force on the Environment recommends that City apply for an EPA 'National Air Toxics Community-Based Program' grant to fund an air quality study at the Santa Monica Airport to better quantify air quality impacts related to the airport operations."

The closing date for the EPA grant is May 17, 2004. The Task Force asked staff to provide an update on action taken on this recommendation at the May 17 Task Force meeting.

Metropolitan Water District Update
The update was provided by MWD Board member Judy Abdo. She noted that the US Department of Defense is aggressively trying to evade responsibility for cleaning up perchlorate and MTBE contamination at its facilities. MWD is fighting these efforts. She reported that desalination was a topic of discussion at the recent Local Government Commission conference. It is becoming more cost competitive and she predicts that there will be more calls for it in the future, particularly if there are future water shortages. She also noted that MWD is beginning an integrated resources planning process. Mark Gold recommended that broad level policy changes to promote stormwater reclamation should be a key component of the plan.

Review of Environmental Calendar
Brian Johnson presented the updated calendar and noted modifications made based on previous Task Force input.

Public Input
Kevin McKeown provided an update on the Playa Vista Phase II Environmental Impact Report public input process. He noted that he may agendize discussion of this topic at a future City Council meeting.

Laurel Roennau provided an update on recent City Council discussion of Downtown Development Standards. She indicated that the proposal staff presented to Council on this would reduce public input during the development review process. Council directed staff to return with alternate proposals that include public input.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40pm