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SC 3-16-23 (updated)1 CITY OF CUPERTINO SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING Cupertino City Hall, 10300 Torre Avenue, Conference Room C Thursday, March 16, 2023 5:30 pm MINUTES At 5:40 p.m. Chair Swaminathan called the meeting to order. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Chair Vignesh Swaminathan, Vice Chair Anna Weber, and Commissioner Steve Poon. Absent: Sonali Padgaonkar and Meera Ramanathan. Staff: André Duurvoort, Sustainability Manager Guests: No members of the public present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1.Subject: Minutes from January 21, 2023 meeting Vice Chair Weber moved and Commissioner Poon seconded to approve the minutes. The motion carried unanimously with Commissioners Ramanathan and Padgaonkar absent. POSTPONEMENTS None. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS None. STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS -Commissioners expressed interest in having a hybrid Zoom option for members of the public to engage with the meetings while remote. -Chair Swaminathan agreed to attend the upcoming Mayor’s special meeting on March 27 regarding CREST awards. -Chair Swaminathan reported that the Valley Transportation Authority is seeking public comment for VTA 2050 planning process. -Sustainability Manager Duurvoort had the following project updates: o Grant award from Silicon Valley Clean Energy to support a new Virtual Reality public engagement pilot program o Staff has engaged a consultant to conduct a vehicle fleet analysis with zero carbon fleet for the City operations use o Staff is proceeding to plan for charging infrastructure related to the expansion of the VIA shuttle system into the City of Santa Clara Minutes approved by majority vote at April 20, 2023 regular meeting. 2 o The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) has issued rulings that will phase out gas appliances at point-of-sale beginning in the year 2027. OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS 2.Subject: 2023 CREST Awards Sustainability Champion of the Year Sustainability Manager Duurvoort gave an overview of the CREST Sustainability Champion of the year program. Staff received two applications for the champion of the year award. The Communications team has informed us that only one applicant has submitted a valid application that meets the intent of the CREST awards program. Both applications are included in the packet for transparency. -The nomination of Nathan Liu was considered. Commissioners discussed the merits of the application contents. -Commissioners noted that some of the links in the packet were not working. Sustainability Manager Duurvoort independently looked up some of the information provided in the packet and confirmed some of the information independently during the meeting. -Commissioners discussed the relevance of the applicants achievements including wildfire relief golf tournament. -Commissioners expressed that they are impress ed with the achievements of the applicant. Vice Chair Weber and Chair Swaminathan expressed that the connection to the Cupertino Community is not clear in the applicant’s packet. Question posed to staff if the Commission can forego the award this year if there is not a good fit for the program, or if the Commission can request further information from the application to substantiate the relevant outcomes to the community. -Staff replied that there may not be enough time to request this information from the a pplicant, as it may not be fair to others who may have not submitted their information by the nomination deadline. After checking in with the Communications team, staff confirmed that they could arrange for further information request from the nominee, and another special meeting held before April to select a winner. -Commissioner Weber and Chair Swaminathan expressed their discomfort with requesting more information. Chair Swaminathan made a motion to decline to award the Sustainability Champion of the Year award for 2023. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Poon. The motion carried unanimously with Commissioners Ramanathan and Padgaonkar absent. FUTURE AGENDA SETTING Commissioners discussed future agenda items and agreed to modify the future agenda items list as follows: • Environmental Programs Team on waste hauler and discussion around landfill. 3 • Discussion on Master Plan for decarbonization: how will be approach public outreach in the short term (this year) and next year. ○ Include discussion on cooking. ○ Block parties or education/incentivize. • Landscaping Tours of Victory Gardens. Building community and meeting neighbors. Staff can come up with ideas to highlight those activities. • Get an update from Transportation Division on progress of the Bike and Pe d Master Plans. • Youth Engagement Options specifically for sustainability • Recycled Water Discussion • Update on Housing and Economic Development. Bring staff from CDD and Economic Development. Vice Chair Weber made a motion to approve the future agenda items list as shown, Chair Swaminathan seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously with Commissioners Ramanathan and Padgaonkar absent. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m.