PC 101711 Special Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Smith stated that the City also has a huge water reclamation presentation within its robust water conservation program where high efficiency toilets can be installed with rebates to pay not only for the toilet but also for its installation; and an irrigation program where staff will evaluate irrigation landscape and help upgrade it with rebates to a weather-based one. Mr. Smith stated that the CAP has short-term, mid-term, and long-term strategies for plan implementation from zero to five years, which staff organized where the most important things are done first. He indicated that the City has an interim goal to meet a reduction goal of 9 percent by 2015 in order to reach 15 by 2020. He noted that because the City cannot do this do alone, it has a large public awareness program working with the Hacienda Business Park, which just had its second annual Green Fair, which was hugely successful with about 600 people in attendance. He further noted that the Energy and Environment Committee has also been successful with its regular outreach program for outreach. He added that Taking It Personally, a booklet that explains how people can participate, is a great movie that is impartial on this whole issue and is well worth watching on internet. Mr. Smith explained the elements of a qualified plan, which Council qualifies and the BAAQMD comments on. He noted that one of the benefits of a qualified Climate Action Plan is that a developer who comes forward with a project will not have to do the GHG emission part of CEQA. He indicated that the City meets all the elements of the qualified action plan, and how to get there is through community education and redefining development standards, which is where the Planning Commission comes in by helping to conserve water on designs and be more efficient in our Green Building Ordinance. He emphasized the Plan for the City. Mr. Smith stated that the City is doing performance contracting right now, which is how the City leverages outside money to upgrade the rest of the municipal buildings such as putting solar panels on the OSC and a lot of other programs; partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce and local realtors who will help advertise program, and using local contractors for this so that it becomes a win-win for both Pleasanton and the businesses and residents. He indicated that we need to walk the talk and to do it in the City if we are going to ask residents and businesses to help us; and to dedicate resources and funding to this sustainable framework, for ongoing and monitoring. He stated that the CAP is just a plan on how we are going to get there, and we will need to adjust that plan as we move forward and learn more, which is something that will be done in collaboration with the Community Development Department to determine the success of the program. Ms. Stern concluded the presentation by discussing the Planning Commission involvement in the coming months following the adoption of the CAP. She stated that as has been previously mentioned, the City will be looking at ways to do GHG reduction strategies through development policies related mainly to transportation, land use, and PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, October 17, 2011 Page 31 of 36