SC 08-29-2019 (Special) CITY OF CUPERTINO SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION l ��
Environmental Education Center,22221 McClellan Road
Thursday,August 29,2019 4:00 p.m.
MINUTES
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
At 4:05 p.m. Chair Weber called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present:Anna Weber,Gary Latshaw,Vignesh Swaminathan,Angela Chen,Meera
Ramanathan (arrived @ 4:09 p.m.).Absent:None.
Staff:Andre Duurvoort,Sustainability Manager;Sean Hatch, Permit Center Manager; Gian Martire, Senior
Planner;Gilee Corral,Sustainability Program Coordinator.
Guests:Ben Butterworth,DNV GL (via conference call);John Supp,Silicon Valley Clean Energy;Walker Wells,
Raimi&Associates;Blake Herrschaft,DNV GL;members of the public.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Draft minutes of August 15,2019 meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Chen moved and Commissioner
Swaminathan seconded to approve the minutes.Ayes:Weber,Swaminathan,Chen.Noes:None.Abstain:
Latshaw.Absent:Ramanathan.
POSTPONEMENTS
None.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Sophia Wang talked about concern over plastic waste and her desire for Cupertino to ban distribution of
certain types of plastics in restaurants.
Jennifer Zhao talked about policy to ban fossil fuels investment.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Gilee Corral distributed Late Written Communications to the Commission. Chair Weber noted that the Late
Written Communications could be discussed during the reach codes discussion.
OLD BUSINESS-None.
NEW BUSINESS
2. Presentation on draft 2018 greenhouse gas emissions inventory with consultant DNV GL and staff
update on Climate Action Plan report
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The DNV GL consultant,Ben Butterworth,gave a presentation on the City's draft greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG)inventory via conference call.2018 emissions have reduced approximately 23%for community and the
City has met its 2020 emissions reduction target ahead of schedule.
Corral provided an update on the Climate Action Plan(CAP)report;the report will be included in an Items of
Interest newsletter to City Council but will not be formally presented to Council.Staff will schedule a
presentation on the report for the Commission once it is complete.
Chair Weber opened and closed public comment(no comments).
Butterworth answered questions from the Commissioners.Issues raised:Ramanathan requested per capita
metric;this will be included in the final report.Latshaw asked about measuring leakage effects from natural
gas pipelines;he would like to know how to address the increase in nonresidential gas usage.
3. Subject:Receive presentation by Silicon Valley Clean Energy on model building reach codes and
provide any input to staff
John Supp with Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE)gave a presentation on SVCE's proposed electrification
reach codes and the process for local adoption.
Chair Weber opened public comment and the following individuals spoke:
James Tuleya talked about the County of Santa Clara looking into reach codes and declaring a climate
emergency.
John Supp answered questions from members of the public:
A member of the public asked why mandatory solar is not part of the proposed reach code.
A member of the public asked for clarification on the difference between"mostly electric" and dual energy
home.
A member of the public asked if the cost was lower to maintain a home with an electric heat pump and
furnace.
Chair Weber closed public comment.
The Commission discussed the presentation and Supp and consultant Blake Herrschaft answered their
questions.Issues raised:if rebates are included in increase cost estimates for dual fuel homes;the GHG impact
of new construction units;impact of new electric load on SVCE's capacity;levels of electric vehicle (EV)
charging infrastructure;what other cities are considering;how to mitigate issues with heat pump water
heaters,etc.
4. Subject:Discuss CALGreen Tier land Tier 2 options with Building and Sustainability staff and
consultant Raimi&Associates and provide any input to staff
Walker Wells,Raimi&Assoc. consultant,gave a presentation on CALGreen Tiers 1 and 2 and how the options
fit into the SVCE model code approach.
Chair Weber opened public comment and the following individuals spoke:
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Kitty Moore(Cupertino resident) asked questions about projects being modeled,i.e. Vallco, and the timing of
the codes going into effect;she talked about concerns about sufficient electrical capacity on City streets to
accommodate charging Tesla EVs.Wells answered her questions.
James Tuleya talked about the City of Mountain View's reach code adoption process,relationship of the code
to cities's CAP goals,and new construction code paving the way for market development.
Joan Chin(Cupertino resident) asked if CALGreen addressed health and issues related to proximity to the
freeway.Walker answered her question.
Bruce Karney supports Cupertino adopting all electric codes and talked about hydrogen fuel cell powered j
vehicle adoption considerations in planning for EV reach code. j
Chair Weber closed public comment and the Commission discussed the presentation and asked questions:
- Vice-Chair Latshaw asked about the Commission's role in the code adoption process. Corral answered
that staff requests process recommendations and general impressions currently, and later,the
Commission will make a recommendation to Council on the codes at a future meeting.
- Chair Weber asked about the process of adopting CALGreen Tier 1 or 2 and Andre Duurvoort
answered it would be part of the whole code adoption process if the timing works out;Tier 1 or 2 could
also be adopted at any time after the other codes go into effect.
- Commissioner Chen asked if training would be needed if the Tiers were adopted;Wells answered that
the subject matter is familiar to plan checkers,but some training may be needed.
- Staff and consultants answered questions on how remodels would be treated.
- Gian Martire gave examples of large mixed-use projects in the pipeline or approved:DeAnza Hotel,
Westport development, some mid-sized 10-15 unit projects.
- Commissioner Swaminathan asked if other items could be considered for adoption,i.e.impervious
pavement.Wells answered that this is generally covered under Low Impact Development
requirements.This started a brief discussion on storm water management.
Other issues raised included:level of stringency in CALGreen Tiers and maintenance of the reach codes after j
the code cycle ends,coordination with neighboring cities's model codes,etc. {
5. Subject:Discuss model reach building codes and CALGreen Tier 1 and 2 options,reach code
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adoption process planning, and provide recommendations to staff on next steps j
Chair Weber opened public comment and the following individuals spoke:
Dashiell Leeds on behalf of Sierra Club Loma Prieta talked about concerns about safety risks related to natural
gas infrastructure,City of Menlo Park electrification reach code, and support of the Commission adopting an
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all electric building code. 3
Commissioner Chen left the room at 6:25 pm.
James Tuleya representing Carbon Free Silicon Valley supports all electric code but if moving forward is
difficult, supports SVCE mixed fuel model code for a year and later pursuing all electric code.
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A student representing the Cupertino Action Team supports all electric code and spoke about their desire for
the Sustainability Commission to recommend to City Council to add a natural gas ban to the City Council's
Work Program.
Kitty Moore(Cupertino resident) asked if the presentation slides would be publicly available. Staff explained
files are posted to the Commission meeting website after meetings.
Chair Weber closed public comment. Commissioner Chen returned to the room at 6:32 pm.
Commissioners Weber and Swaminathan gave an update from the Reach Codes Subcommittee's discussions.
The Subcommittee prefers new construction to be all electric and for the Commission to consider Tiers 1 and 2.
The Commission discussed how this might affect remodels and staff and consultants answered technical
questions.
Commissioner Chen expressed her preference for all electric code but would like to understand how it would
affect residents before giving specific recommendations.She left at 6:40 p.m.
The Commission discussed stakeholder involvement. Commissioner Swaminathan asked if the Planning
Commission was involved and staff responded that the proposed reach codes affect the building code and
therefore are outside the Planning Commission's purview;if staff proposed changes that touched the planning
side, involving the Planning Commission may become necessary.
Other items discussed included water conservation,natural gas cooking,looking forward to the 2022 code
cycle,etc.
Vice-Chair Latshaw noted that eliminating natural gas would reduce 25%of atmospheric warming from GHG
emissions and supports fast and aggressive reach code adoption.The Commissioners expressed a desire to
push toward more aggressive all electric measures,but to consider the implications for renovation.
Next steps:
- Wells will look into implications and risks for the CALGreen Tier 1 and 2 options.
- The Reach Codes Subcommittee will meet with staff to begin plans for the public meeting.
- Commissioners to email Corral with suggestions of stakeholders for outreach.
STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS
Commission updates: -None.
Staff updates:
- Zero Waste Home—Bea Johnson Speaker Series event scheduled for Sep.23 at 6:30 pm.
- City of Cupertino is officially supporting AB 1080(Gonzalez) and SB 54(Allen)—California Circular
Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act
ADJOURNMENT-7:05 p.m.
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