CCMIN 11022021 - Laserfiche WebLink

In response to Councilmember Balch, City Manager Fialho reported the City has an aggressive HVAC replacement program and the operations team has been investing in more energy-efficient equipment over the years. He noted HVAC efficiency is looked at when opening cooling centers in Pleasanton. Councilmember Balch expressed concern that in wanting to incentivize residents to move to newer HVAC units they will need to deal with roof screening structures. He believes the City should be evaluating its building codes to determine if a roof screen not be required to be altered if there is a certain measurement or distance where the new HVAC unit is installed because roof screens are expensive and heavy. In response to Councilmember Balch, Associate Planner Campbell explained that items on the primary list focused on the actions that were GHG mitigating and reduced emissions. She advised there are drought and water issues but converting a lawn does not reduce GHG emissions, so the staff thought it being a secondary action was more appropriate. She also noted the costs of converting are high and can be reviewed when funding opportunities or partnerships arise. She advised the emissions inventory does consider the electricity generation caused by water usage, so it is accounted for and is a small fraction when looking at the rest of the inventory. Councilmember Balch believes residents will jump on board with the reduction of single-use plastics. He believes the Urban Forest Master plan concept is outstanding. He expressed concern about relying on compost and mulch for SB 1383 compliance citing supply chain issues. He encouraged educating on grid reliability and believes the City needs to continue to educate the public that HVAC units that use heat pumps will not provide immediate heat. He appreciated that older buildings' wiring and upgrade of the panels to increase electrification was noted in the detailed description on Exhibit A. He believes the City should be looking at electrification of the entire City municipal as best it can. He looks forward to seeing how Action 1383 Robust Food Recovery Program can be implemented. He encouraged source sorting and working with City haulers to address challenges will be key. He noted the housing jobs imbalance and the impact on transportation is something that this City should strongly be investigating because most people cannot afford a $2 million starter home. He encouraged reevaluation of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for growth. In response to Councilmember Arkin, Associate Planner Campbell confirmed that water conservation will continue to be an ongoing item and advised the reason why more of the water items did not make it onto the primary list is that the primary list is for GHG emissions and water is not a big piece of that emissions picture. She advised the City has a robust water program as it is so the staff thought it best on the secondary list. She noted a recommendation can always be made to move that to primary if that was the wish of the City Council. City Manager Fialho advised the City tries to embark on initiatives utilizing existing resources to implement the change and if cannot be done there is a process for adding staff through the budget process. He explained staffing requirements can be discussed through the budgetary process rather than through a planning document which is why staff did not recommend the position. In response to Councilmember Arkin, Associate Planner Campbell advised several actions proposed on the primary list speak specifically about new developments. She believes the speaker in public comments suggested having new development pay to mitigate the GHG impacts and noted it is an interesting topic. She advised staff has seen a GHG impact fee for new developments being discussed in other communities and may be considered for future projects. She explained the action of solar batteries on new developments did start as "required" but ended up as "encourage". She advised with the City Council's recent decision to move the community into Renewable 100 the community's power mix will by default be 100% renewable energy which is wind and solar and means adding private solar to a home which is not GHG mitigating but more of a resilience and adaptation action. She also advised it would not improve the City's grid reliance because more people would be generating power at their houses. She also noted it would be a huge burden to require properties to install it if it was not a good City Council Minutes Page 15 of 19 November 2,2021