Laserfiche WebLink
Francisco and to review the plan to see if any of its objectives have been met. She felt if <br />Pleasanton staff took four years to draft a plan, the City will be at buildout. <br /> <br />Mayor Pico invited public testimony on both items. <br /> <br /> Matt Sullivan, 7882 Flagstone Drive, repeated the definition of a sustainability <br />plan and felt that whatever a person's world view or politics, he could not believe there <br />would be a problem with the statement. Councils need to think beyond buildout and take <br />the next steps. There are hundreds of cities that have gone through this process, e.g. San <br />Francisco, Oakland, and Santa Monica. All natural systems and services that provide <br />clean air and clean water are in decline. There is scientific consensus for that. The <br />question is what can we do about this as a City. He acknowledged that some things have <br />been included in the General Plan process as well as other measures like the urban <br />growth boundary, housing cap, growth management, financial planning and discussions <br />of "green building" and energy plans. However, there has not been a comprehensive <br />approach to sustainability nor the establishment of a baseline. There are no goals of <br />where the city wants to go or methods of getting feedback on its progress. That is what a <br />sustainability plan provides. Ms. Hosterman raised this idea as part of formation of an <br />environmental commission and he felt either could come first. He believed this was a <br />logical next step for the City. He cares about the kind of world his children and <br />grandchildren will inhabit and he urged Council to make this a high priority. <br /> <br /> Regarding the energy issue, he quoted from the public facilities element of the <br />general plan which states "Pleasanton is provided with gas and electric service from <br />Pacific Gas and Electric Company." In 1996, that was true, but he did not feel it was tree <br />today and in that regard he felt the General Plan was out of date. PG&E will not solve <br />the energy problems and he felt the current crises is an opportunity for the City to solve <br />many problems. He suggested aggregate purchasing of electricity, the City owning its <br />own generation assets or in cooperation with other municipalities, demand-side <br />management programs, etc. The goal should be to develop energy solutions that are <br />accessible, affordable and kind to the environment. He clarified that this is not a program <br />that would invade private residences and force people to make changes, but rather <br />programs that would be available to residents and businesses to help this problem. He <br />felt there should be a community process with broad based participation of residents, <br />businesses, representatives from the energy industry, advocacy groups and <br />environmentalists to help develop the strategy. He believed an integrated approach was <br />necessary. It requires more energy generation in a highly efficient, clean method; <br />distributed generation at a site where the energy is used; review of renewable resources; <br />as well as conservation programs. He did not think we could rely on supply-side <br />solutions only at this time. Power plans take a long time to plan, design and build. The <br />Calpine plant would take three to four years to build and a nuclear plant takes about ten <br />years to build. There has not been one proposed in the United States for 25 years. In <br />addition, there is a 20,000 year legacy of the waste that he did not think anyone wanted to <br />deal with. He felt there was urgency to get started on this and asked Council to make a <br />decision tonight and not wait until the priorities workshop. If programs are to be in place <br />by summer, he did not want to wait another month and a half for the workshop. He felt <br /> <br />Pleasanton City Council 16 02/20/01 <br />Minutes <br /> <br /> <br />