SC 01-21-21 PacketCITY OF CUPERTINO
SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION
AGENDA
This will be a teleconference meeting without a physical location.
Thursday, January 21, 2021
4:00 PM
Teleconference Meeting
TELECONFERENCE / PUBLIC PARTICIPATION INFORMATION TO HELP STOP THE
SPREAD OF COVID-19
In accordance with Governor Newsom’s Executive Order No-29-20, this will be a
teleconference meeting without a physical location to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Members of the public wishing comment on an item on the agenda may do so in the
following ways:
1) E-mail comments by 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 21 to the Commission at
sustainabilitycommission@cupertino.org. These e-mail comments will be received by the
commission members before the meeting and posted to the City’s website after the
meeting.
2) E-mail comments during the times for public comment during the meeting to the
Commission at sustainabilitycommission@cupertino.org. The staff liaison will read the
emails into the record, and display any attachments on the screen, for up to 3 minutes
(subject to the Chair’s discretion to shorten time for public comments). Members of the
public that wish to share a document must email sustainabilitycommission@cupertino.org
prior to speaking.
3) Teleconferencing Instructions
Members of the public may observe the teleconference meeting or provide oral public
comments as follows:
Oral public comments will be accepted during the teleconference meeting. Comments may
be made during “oral communications” for matters not on the agenda, and during the
public comment period for each agenda item.
To address the Commission, click on the link below to register in advance and access the
meeting:
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Online
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://cityofcupertino.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j0lTmBWaSc-wpWWazCrRgg
Phone
Dial 669-900-6833 and enter Webinar ID: 933 2284 2479 (Type *9 to raise hand to speak)
Unregistered participants will be called on by the last four digits of their phone number.
Or an H.323/SIP room system:
H.323:
162.255.37.11 (US West)
162.255.36.11 (US East)
Meeting ID: 933 2284 2479
SIP: 93322842479@zoomcrc.com
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about
joining the webinar.
Please read the following instructions carefully:
1. You can directly download the teleconference software or connect to the meeting in your
internet browser. If you are using your browser, make sure you are using a current and
up-to-date browser: Chrome 30+, Firefox 27+, Microsoft Edge 12+, Safari 7+. Certain
functionality may be disabled in older browsers, including Internet Explorer.
2. You will be asked to enter an email address and a name, followed by an email with
instructions on how to connect to the meeting. Your email address will not be disclosed to
the public. If you wish to make an oral public comment but do not wish to provide your
name, you may enter “Cupertino Resident” or similar designation.
3. When the Chair calls for the item on which you wish to speak, click on “raise hand.”
Speakers will be notified shortly before they are called to speak.
4. When called, please limit your remarks to the time allotted and the specific agenda topic.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), anyone who is planning to
attend this teleconference meeting who is visually or hearing impaired or has any disability
that needs special assistance should call the City Clerk's Office at 408-777-3223, at least 48
hours in advance of the meeting to arrange for assistance. In addition, upon request, in
advance, by a person with a disability, meeting agendas and writings distributed for the
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meeting that are public records will be made available in the appropriate alternative
format.
ROLL CALL
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1.Subject: Minutes from December 17, 2020 meeting
Recommended Action: Approve minutes from December 17, 2020 meeting
A - Draft Minutes
POSTPONEMENTS
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the Commission on any matter
within the jurisdiction of the Commission and not on the agenda. Speakers are limited to three (3)
minutes. In most cases, State law will prohibit the Commission from making any decisions with respect
to a matter not on the agenda.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
2.Subject: Order of Sustainability Commission default agenda items
Recommended Action: Discuss and consider reordering the default Commission
agenda items to move Staff and Commission Reports towards the beginning of the
agenda
3.Subject: Earth and Arbor Day planning
Recommended Action: Receive staff update on Earth and Arbor Day plans and
designate a Commissioner to work with staff on event planning
4.Subject: Staff update on youth engagement activities and programming
Recommended Action: Receive update and provide any feedback
5.Subject: Chair and Vice Chair Elections
Recommended Action: Elect Chair and Vice Chair for term ending January 30, 2022
STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS
FUTURE AGENDA SETTING
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ADJOURNMENT
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), anyone who is planning to attend this
teleconference meeting who is visually or hearing impaired or has any disability that needs special
assistance should call the City Clerk's Office at 408-777-3223, at least 48 hours in advance of the
meeting to arrange for assistance. In addition, upon request, in advance, by a person with a disability,
meeting agendas and writings distributed for the meeting that are public records will be made available
in the appropriate alternative format.
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the members after publication of the agenda will
be made available for public inspection. Please contact the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall located at
10300 Torre Avenue during normal business hours.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please be advised that pursuant to Cupertino Municipal Code 2.08.100
written communications sent to the Cupertino City Council, Commissioners or City staff concerning a
matter on the agenda are included as supplemental material to the agendized item. These written
communications are accessible to the public through the City’s website and kept in packet archives. You
are hereby admonished not to include any personal or private information in written communications to
the City that you do not wish to make public; doing so shall constitute a waiver of any privacy rights
you may have on the information provided to the City.
Members of the public are entitled to address the members concerning any item that is described in the
notice or agenda for this meeting, before or during consideration of that item. If you wish to address the
members on any other item not on the agenda, you may do so during the public comment.
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Legislation Text
Subject: Minutes from December 17, 2020 meeting
Approve minutes from December 17, 2020 meeting
File #:21-8687,Version:1
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CITY OF CUPERTINO SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION
Teleconference meeting without a physical location.
Thursday, December 17, 2020 4:00 p.m.
MINUTES
At 4:05 p.m. Chair Latshaw called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present: Chair Gary Latshaw, Vice Chair Vignesh Swaminathan, and Commissioners Ram
Mohan, Meera Ramanathan, Anna Weber. Absent: None.
Staff: Gilee Corral, Climate and Utilities Analyst.
Guests: Members of the public.
Chair Latshaw read a statement regarding provisions of the Brown Act and a recent Executive Order issued by
the Governor to facilitate teleconferencing to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at public meetings. He
read a statement noting an update to the phone number to access the teleconference meeting by telephone.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1.Subject: Minutes from November 19, 2020 meeting
Commissioner Weber moved and Vice Chair Swaminathan seconded to approve the minutes. The motion
carried unanimously.
POSTPONEMENTS
None.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Gilee Corral, Staff Liaison, noted two items that were posted to the meeting website: an email regarding
Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation and an email from Vice Mayor Chao.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
2.Subject: Sustainability Commission 2021 meeting schedule
Corral gave a brief presentation on the item, noting budget and staff constraints to hold monthly meetings in a
virtual environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff propose the following meeting schedule for 2021 to
align with the municipal code: January 21, April 15, July 15, and October 21. Generally, Chair and Vice Chair
elections occur in January, and Earth Day in April, July is the beginning of the new fiscal year, and October
would be final Regular meeting. She reminded the Commission that the Chair can schedule (or the
Commission can vote to schedule) a Special meeting at any time.
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Corral answered clarifying questions from Commissioners, including:
- Timing of the Chair / Vice Chair vote in years when new Commissioners are appointed (Weber)
o Corral noted that the first meeting date of the year could be adjusted if needed.
- Scheduling a meeting in March to plan for Earth Day (Ramanathan)
o Corral: Earth Day planning could begin in January and another meeting added to the calendar
as a Special meeting if needed.
- Differences between Special and Regular meetings (Latshaw)
Commissioner Ramanathan moved and Vice Chair Swaminathan seconded to adopt the Sustainability
Commission 2021 meeting schedule as presented by staff. The motion carried unanimously.
3. Subject: Sustainability Commission suggestions for FY 2021-22 City Work Program
Corral introduced the topic, reviewed general guidance and the Commission’s core directive, and provided
background to the discussion. She reviewed themes from public comment received in Commission meetings
over the past year, noting that most of the topics were either addressed throughout the year or could be
addressed as part of the Commission’s current Work Program projects. Staff recommends including the
current two Work Program projects to carryover to next year: CAP update project and Single-Use Plastics
Ordinance. Corral noted that the two projects are substantial, multi-year projects, and there is uncertainty on
what impact the pandemic will have next year on staff resources.
Corral answered clarifying questions from Commissioners, including:
- Council process for approving any recommended items (Weber)
o Corral: Council will receive a list of Commission suggestions for items along with the
Department recommendations, and Council would vote on the final City Work Program.
- Clarification on outcomes reported from current Work Program (Mohan)
o Corral: outcomes from this current year will likely be reported out in late spring.
- How Commission’s work aligns with staff work on the CAP development (Latshaw)
o Corral: the Commission would work alongside staff through the different phases of the CAP
Update project (i.e. outreach, planning, resiliency, etc.). She noted that the Council could at any
time request the Commission to consider or address something outside of these core projects.
- Timing and depth of work with the two projects (Ramanathan)
o Corral: given the difficulty to plan out given the uncertainty ahead, staff will adjust timelines as
needed. She emphasized that these are City Work Program projects, and Commission and
departments work together toward the outcomes.
- Subcommittee for Single-Use Plastics (Swaminathan)
o Corral: staff does not have a specific “ask” of the Commission yet on this Work Program item,
but are working in the background on this project.
Vice Chair Swaminathan moved and Commissioner Mohan seconded to include the Commission’s current
Work Program items as the Commission’s suggestion list to Council for the FY 2021-22 City Work Program.
The motion passed unanimously.
4. Staff update on FY 2019-20 Sustainability Grants for Students Program
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Corral gave an update on the grant projects:
-Grant #103 Montclaire Elementary vegetable planter project: request to extend the deadline to the
spring due to issues with Shelter in Place and school closure.
-Grant #105 Monta Vista High composting project: still working on their project.
-Grant #108: Lawson Middle Bring a Fork to School: student has received reimbursement and staff has
requested a final report.
Staff has carried over the funds for the program and can accommodate a further extension to the end of May. If
the Commission chose to extend the deadline for receipts to the end of May, the deadline for reports could be
extended further out.
Corral answered clarifying questions from the Commission, including timing of the calendar year vs fiscal
year closure, process for reimbursing students for expenses, etc. Commissioner Ramanathan asked if funds
could be carried over past May or if the scope of the project could be adjusted. Corral replied that because the
program was competitive, there would have to be a process to adjust this. Staff would not request to carryover
the funds past this fiscal year.
Commissioner Weber made a motion to extend the deadline for accepting receipts for the grant funds to May
31, 2021. She asked if the reports deadline could be separate. Corral responded that the Commission could vote
on a new date for reports or vote to leave this up to staff to decide. Commissioner Weber amended her motion
to extend the deadline for accepting receipts for the grant funds to May 31, 2021 and leave the final report
deadline to be decided by staff. Commissioner Ramanathan seconded the motion as amended. The motion
passed unanimously.
STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS
Commission updates: Vice Chair Swaminathan reported that VTA has a new Chair and Vice Chair. He noted
that the McClellan Road to Stelling project is now open. He answered a question from Chair Latshaw
regarding the status of the Route 85 bus transit corridor, noting there is a study of all the light rail corridors
underway. The Capitol Expressway project is on hold to determine if a bus option could work rather than light
rail. There will be a new price lane expressway going on 85.
FUTURE AGENDA SETTING
None.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion to adjourn was made by Vice Chair Swaminathan and seconded by Commissioner Weber. The
motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 5:01 p.m.
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Legislation Text
Subject: Order of Sustainability Commission default agenda items
Discuss and consider reordering the default Commission agenda items to move Staff and
Commission Reports towards the beginning of the agenda
File #:21-8682,Version:1
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Legislation Text
Subject: Earth and Arbor Day planning
Receive staff update on Earth and Arbor Day plans and designate a Commissioner to work with staff
on event planning
File #:21-8683,Version:1
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Legislation Text
Subject: Staff update on youth engagement activities and programming
Receive update and provide any feedback
File #:21-8684,Version:1
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Legislation Text
Subject: Chair and Vice Chair Elections
Elect Chair and Vice Chair for term ending January 30, 2022
File #:21-8685,Version:1
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