HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 19
Environmental Initiatives Committee
Meeting Minutes DATE: Monday, April 19, 2010
TIME: 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Parks & Recreation Building,
26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills
1. Roll Call
Attendees: Rich Larsen, Kunjan Shah, Breene Kerr, Andy Colman, Peter Evans
(chair)
Community Members: Bill Mehner, Rick Weiss, Gary Waldeck, Steve Schmidt
2. Approval of Minutes
3. Town Newsletter Article Approval
The committee approved an article for the town newsletter drafted by Steve Schmidt.
4. Palo Alto Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Master Plan
The committee decided not to designate a delegate to the master plan committee, but to
continue to monitor the matter by email.
5. GHG Inventory Update Proposal
Peter Evans presented a proposal by Steve Schmidt to update the town’s data reporting
supporting the GHG inventory to support ICLEI’s new GHG inventory software. This
would provide a template to enable ongoing inventory updates (and evaluation of
progress towards the town GHG goals) with minimal staff effort. Cost of $4,000. The
committee agreed to recommend that the town accept the proposal.
6. Community Choice Aggregation:
The committee discussed community choice aggregation as one way to make 100%
renewable retail power available to town residents, implementing one element of the
town’s GHG reduction plan. PG&E residential customers do not have any other option to
purchase renewable or green power from other providers. The committee noted that
Proposition 16 on the June ballot would subject community choice aggregation to a 2/3
vote of residents. The committee agreed to present a report to the town council on the
impact of Proposition 16 on community choice aggregation and the potential carryover
impact on the town’s GHG reduction goals.
NOTICE TO PUBLIC
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the Environmental Initiatives Committee regarding any
item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s office located at Town
Hall, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California during normal business hours.
7. LAH Green Building ordinance:
The committee discussed a potential recommendation to increase the green building
requirement for new homes to 75 points, in light of two rationales –neighboring
municipalities have adopted a similar standard, and nearly all of the projects that have
been approved by the town under the existing ordinance already meet this requirement.
The committee also discussed an increasing point scale for homes over a certain size.
The committee discussed the application of the green building ordinance to existing
homes undergoing remodels, including what the triggers might be.
8. LAH PV Inventory Update
Peter Evans provided comparison of the town PV permits issued between 2005 and 2009
with the assumptions and projections embedded in the town’s GHG reduction goals. At
the end of 2008 the number of installations actually exceeded what the GHG reduction
goals assumed, but the town will have to sustain the strong rate of penetration to reach
the 2015 goal of 846 installations.
9. Acterra/High Energy Homes assessment program/partnership update
The Acterra/High Energy Homes assessment program is scheduled for consideration at
the CEC’s April 28 business meeting.
10. BACC Update (3/24 meeting)
Rich Larsen provided an update on the Bay Area Climate Cooperative. LAH has one
rotating position on the steering committee. Rich suggests that the committee pick one of
the ten initiative working groups to participate in.
11. Public Comment
Peter Evans noted that the town’s “design guidelines” committee had requested input on
their draft.
12. Adjournment