Page 1 of 12 MINUTES CLIMATE ACTION PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING OF JULY 17, 2014 STEWART-EBERHARDT BUILDING, ROOM 166, 22 EAST WEBER AVENUE, STOCKTON CA 1. ROLL CALL (8:17 AM) Roll Call Present: Trevor Atkinson John Beckman David Nelson Chris Pedroza Matt Richard Jeremy Terhune Vice Chair Dale Stocking Absent: Randy Hatch, Trudy Reed, and Chair Carol Ornelas. EXCUSED: Carol Ornelas, Matt Richard Committee Member Randy Hatch arrived to the meeting at 8:18 am 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES None. 3. ITEM(S) FOR PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION/ACTION: 3.01 Settlement Agreement Status Attachment A - Memorandum of Agreement Settlement Agreement Status July 2014 INFORMATION ONLY; NO ACTION AICP Planning Manager David Stagnaro provided the presentation Vice Chair Dale Stocking - the committee is years behind schedule meeting the agreement but it is a better product;
Page 2 of 12 today s climate is entirely different than when it was in 2007; this is a legal agreement and there are time limitations; continue to move ahead; good overview of the status Committee Member David Nelson - the Settlement Agreement was not a court decision; it was the California Attorney General Mr. Nelson - as community, where do we stand with GHG (Green House Gas) emissions and reductions; referred to the increase of GHG in the last PG&E presentation Bob Riding, Pacific Gas & Electric Community Energy Manager Business Impact - Sustainable Communities - spoke to the GHG increase; the data presented only went up to 2012; there is data now up to 2013, but the energy trend is that GHG is increasing; transportation is not included Mr. Nelson - how can we put our arms around the transportation aspect; are the activities of the Committee paying out the dividends as expected; the GHG reduction goal is substantial, 29 percent over Business As Usual; does the Committee need to think about a different tact AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro - once the Climate Action Plan is done, the Green Building Ordinance is adopted and in place, there will be an annual assessment report of GHG emission reduction; the Committee has not arrived to that point of the Settlement Agreement work program yet because we don t have an adopted Green Building Ordinance and Climate Action Plan; the idea is to evaluate, post-adoption, during implementation but not now; the annual reports are written in the ICF contract Mr. Nelson - the State now has a new Building Code; it has stringent requirements with a goal to reduce our energy consumption; aren t they things that we can look at now that would help us project where we as community are heading; does not want to spend a lot of time on activities that pay no dividends to us as a community; our goal is to reduce GHG emissions AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro - there has been several appeals to the Committee members to provide feedback on the Climate Action Plan; feedback of the content of the Climate
Page 3 of 12 Action Plan has been few and far between; staff is open to suggestions how enhance the City s ability to reduce GHG emissions Mr. Nelson - communication received from Ned Leiba prompted his questioning; felt a need to recognize his continuing efforts as a constant voice of the public, raising valid questions; ask the question if certain aspects of the Settlement Agreement are no longer pertinent; it s been 5 years, we ve moved beyond the point when it was critically important; there are new considerations the Committee may need to take into effect Mr. Nelson to Vice Chair Stocking - as a representative of one of the parties of the Settlement Agreement, there may some things you want to talk about Vice Chair Stocking - the parties of aware of those issues; we can't have another 2013 (due to a lack of a quorum, only 4 meetings were held); need to move forward; direction of the City is very favorable Committee Member Trevor Atkinson - regarding last month s discussion of the 8,500 retrofit target; getting recognizable GHG reduction from the retrofits; the City is unable to gather this data; PG&E has limitations on what they can provide; what we re getting from the scope of retrofits is extremely limited; we need to move onto something more concrete and productive; possibly consider accepting CALGreen as the substitute for the Green Building Ordinance Committee Member Randy Hatch - the state of new construction has changed with the new State Building Code; what was one of the Committee s charges was superseded by State action; the Committee doesn t have the data on retrofits; the City hasn t been doing any promotions in this matter; the City has some programs, but there is no publicity on them; agrees that it is hard to measure the effects of the retrofits; the City should publicize the City programs that are available; failed in doing General Plan amendments; we are moving in the right direction but we need to acknowledge we have failed at a lot of things Committee Member John Beckman - a Sacramento
Page 4 of 12 Association of Realtors program that may work here; meeting with Lodi Association of Realtors to see their level of interest in the Sacramento program; with grant funds, the Sacramento program works with the Sacramento Air District to determine how to reduce GHG at the lowest cost; they identify lowincome homeowners, provide $200 per household for compact florescent light bulb upgrades, window caulking, water heater blankets, water heat pipe insulation and some other small upgrades; the Sacramento Air District has found it removes one ton of GHG per year, saving the homeowner $300 per year Bob Riding, Pacific Gas & Electric Community Energy Manager Business Impact - Sustainable Communities - there are number of similar PG&E programs available - Direct- Install, Medi (a middle-income program), and Home Tune-up (now available in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced Counties); the Local Government Commission Statewide Coordinator, Joseph Oldman, is available to provide a presentation of the Fresno program that became a PG&E program Mr. Beckman - the realtors may want to partner with PG&E Vice Chair Stocking - it's a good idea; it's moving in the direction that's needed; good to keep it cost effective Mr. Nelson - it s less about regulation, and more about behavior; a lot is about education; a fan of better education rather than more regulation; are there programs out there we can adopt; it would be helpful if the Committee could begin to talk about some of the policy issues AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro - the ICF contract was paid through 3 grants; the grants were specifically for work to provide and develop a Climate Action Plan Mr. Nelson - had we known what we know now, we might have applied for grants for work on policy issues or work on studies that would lead to policies which might have had a more material impact Committee Member Jeremy Terhune - referred to a document posted in 2008 by Sustainability Professionals International
Page 5 of 12 that listed 10 simple things cities can do to reduce GHG; there were some behavioral changes that can be adopted Mr. Atkinson - in response to Committee Member Hatch s comments; the failure to publicize the need for retrofits is not entirely the City s fault; the realtors had agreed to publicize the need of retrofits by the general population 3.02 Green Building Ordinance - Adopted and Proposed Versions; Comparison of Green Building Ordinance and CalGreen Requirements Stockton Municipal Code, Chapter 15.72 Green Building Standards Proposed Green Building Ordinance Staff Report to City Council Powerpoint Presentation INFORMATION ONLY; NO ACTION Vice Chair Stocking - provided a brief overview; from the Sierra Club s perspective, we like the direction and agree to move forward; the City needs to adopt something in Green Building Ordinance (GBO); encouraged the Committee to develop something acceptable; the outline looked very encouraging; the BGO, as presented, is a draft document AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro - provided a brief background; feedback from the CA Office indicated stopping the implementation of the GBO as adopted and let s work on a GBO that will be acceptable to the State; do we stay the course with the existing GBO or propose to change the GBO to make it more amenable to all parties Vice Chair Stocking - at least 2011 GBO got us going someplace; in his opinion, it s not a supportable ordinance; heading in the good direction; agreed with Deputy Direct Ebbs last presentation of an analysis and direction; we have probably already met many conditions just through the new State Building Code; need develop something reasonable and feasible to send to the Council that is economically attainable; if the proposed GBO all we have, the committee then should
Page 6 of 12 come up with,... Mr. Beckman - based on the current CalGreen standards and what appears to be future standards which are becoming very tight; is perplexed what more should be done in Stockton, more so than CalGreen has already required Discussion: does the ordinance have to apply to only new construction; it is for remodels, existing homes; because of the amount of potential in the existing home stock, this may be a better focus; as for new construction, CalGreen is pretty tight Vice Chair Stocking - we can go by State standards, but there is an opportunity to address a remodel and the old housing stock; that would bring a GBO into the spirit of the Settlement Agreement, would be willing to say this puts us in the top 25 percent; we need a GBO with language to address the older stock; read that there are requirements for HERS assessments in the GBO Mr. Riding - that could be a free component because of the way the PG&E Home Tune-Up program is structured; a full HERS audit is not completed on every home because of cost; a phone consultation with a computer analysis or a walkthrough is conducted for homes not requiring a HERS audit; a HERS audit was conducted in 30 percent of all cases; if it's warranted, could possibly work this into the ordinance as a free service of PG&E Discussion: what is staff considering on changing in this proposed GBO; the threshold for the GBO to be effective is $20,000 valuation for a residential structure, there is room for adjustments for the thresholds; a lower cost alternative, maybe an equivalent to the HERS whole-house energy rating audit that isn't completed 100 percent of the time, perhaps one-third of the time Vice Chair Stocking AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro Mr. Beckman - comments regarding the Applicability Differences slide of the Powerpoint Presentation; initial GBO fell short of the CalGreen standards; the new standards of
Page 7 of 12 CALGreen are above and beyond what we wanted; the State is going so far beyond where we thought we would be, we no longer need the GBO Carl Hefner, City Building Official - spoke to new Energy Codes enforced as of July 1, 2014; it addresses residential, commercial, alterations, replacements, and the HERS testing and verifications of all kinds of heating and cooling systems Mr. Nelson - does not support advancing the proposed GBO; it does not address existing building stock; in his opinion it will not accomplish anything; instead the Committee should develop a policy that encourages the City to put programs in place that will materially improve the existing housing stock Mr. Atkinson - clarify the difference between alteration and retrofit as applied to existing housing stock; Mr. Hefner responded Mr. Riding - is there an efficiency component to a retrofit; does the efficiency have to increase with a retrofit Mr. Hefner - it would trigger the efficiency to increase Vice Chair Stocking - the 2011 GBO is non-functional; it appears the last version is out-of-date as of July 1, 2014; is there staff time over the next month to outline where state law has taken us today; if the last version of the GBO has been pre-empted then let s make a recommendation, as a committee, that today we are beyond whatever the Settlement Agreement envisioned then move on addressing the 8,500 older homes; transportation is a part of San Joaquin County s Sustainable Communities Strategy; transportation will be addressed with the General Plan Mr. Terhune - the conversation has been focused on the older home retrofits; what kind of analysis has been done on transportation; interested in conversations of conservation, reducing waste and incentive based programs; there should be a HERS assessment on sales of old homes Vice Chair Stocking responded to Mr. Terhune s comments Mr. Riding - we have the tools now that were not available a
Page 8 of 12 few years ago; it will point you to an area of the most potential, it may be the older housing stock or not; we have the data to find this now Vice Chair Stocking - next month, is it feasible to have staff bring back a recommendation how to address the GBO aspect of the Settlement Agreement with a proposal? Discussion: we need incentives; the behavioral conditions of City staff that could be addressed - getting people out of their cars, using less City gas and trucks, 10-80 work weeks, carpooling, home retention for City vehicles, special rates for bus routes during certain times of the day; would these fall under a GBO?; let's come to a conclusion regarding the GBO Mr. Hefner Vice Chair Stocking Mr. Hefner - the Green Building Codes continue to get greater along with the Energy Standards Vice Chair Stocking - part of the Settlement Agreement - we need to develop something that I can take back to my group and take to the Attorney General's Office Discussion: referring to the new standards as of July 1st, it is focused on HVAC systems; is there any way to have the other major items (insulation and double-pane windows) of older home retrofits folded into the standards?; those are in the Energy Standards and the Green Building Codes Mr. Atkinson Mr. Hefner Discussion: will the requirement of a permit encourage the retrofit to older homes; we don't want to discourage people from getting permits; we're hoping as owners can afford it, they will make the improvements; find grants, deferred loan programs or funding to assist owners with these improvements Mr. Atkinson Mr. Hefner
Page 9 of 12 Discussion: action for the August meeting, have an updated version of the GBO as an action item for the Committee; clarification of direction to staff; have a proposed GBO that is up-to-date with State Law presented to the Committee for approval; also provide any changes within State Law that have pre-empted language in the proposed GBO; provide a red-line version with foot notes of the State Law reference; weaving in the energy analysis Vice Chair Stocking AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro Mr. Terhune Discussion: what is missing is the promotional aspect; how do we build into the GBO what can effectively influence the older stock home owners to make retrofits?; after the GBO is addressed, the recommendation is to promote voluntary upgrades in the existing housing stock; there has to be incentives; Mr. Atkinson Mr. Hatch Mr. Hefner Mr. Terhune Discussion: is it appropriate for the members of the Settlement Agreement to sit down to revisit this one particular issue?; if the Committee shows that we're moving forward in a positive direction (General Plan Amendment process and policies), confident that we can come up with an agreeable solution; there are certain legal constraints; maybe it's time to revisit the Settlement Agreement; from a regulatory standpoint, State Code has achieved what we originally set out to accomplish; we as a group now feel it will make more of an impact by advancing policies; it has to have a good possibility of Council's approval; we're running out of time; in his opinion, the Committee can't take just one part of the Settlement Agreement, like the GBO, and try to amend the Settlement Agreement right now; that would be counter-productive; we need to wait until the Climate Action Plan and the General Plan Amendments are adopted, then at the end all of the parties should look at it to say the Settlement Agreement was complied with, or not; for clarification, there is no requirement
Page 10 of 12 the Committee adopt anything; the Committee recommends to the Council; does not feel constrained by time, it's more important to get it right; Mr. Nelson Vice Chair Stocking Deputy City Attorney Guy Petzold Discussion: does it have to be called the Green Building Ordinance, can it be called something else?; according to the Settlement Agreement, there has to be a Green Building Ordinance (GBO); we should not present a GBO that is 80 percent obsolete, it should be a GBO that is 100 percent up-todate Mr. Terhune Deputy City Attorney Petzold Vice Chair Stocking Discussion: regardless of what we write, the GBO have to comply with State Code; is the biggest add-on between State Code and the proposed GBO is the Tier-1 threshold requirement?; that is correct; are we proposing that the GBO acknowledges that you have to comply with State regulations, but in addition to this, you have to comply with Tier-1 Threshold requirements; and there are some electives; the electives are what gets you to the Tier-1 Threshold Mr. Nelson Mr. Hefner Discussion: do we need the HERS facet as a requirement for residential?; HERS is triggered by the State; we can eliminate the reference to a HERS Rating; instead of the $20,000 trigger for residential, the State Code does not have a trigger; the State Codes pre-empts the $20,000 trigger for residential AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro Mr. Hefner Mr. Nelson to staff - provide a list of the Tier-1 electives to committee members 3.03 General Plan Amendment Process
Page 11 of 12 Staff Report to City Council INFORMATION ONLY; NO ACTION AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro - provided the presentation; spoke to the July 24, 2014 Planning Commission General Plan Workshop - Neighborhoods and Communities; promoting the workshop to the public via the Department s General Plan website, flyers, Channel 97 and the newspaper; suggestions how to further publicize are welcomed Mr. Hatch - suggested promoting the workshop to the general public with a Stockton Record article Mr. Terhune - asked about bi-lingual material AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro - suggested Committee members to distribute the flyer through their email lists Vice Chair Stocking - the second Planning Commission meeting of each month is dedicated to the General Plan process; encouraged the Sierra Club and CCG (Campaign for Common Ground) to participate in the process 4. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS Discussion: is there statute of limitation which sets a date that the Settlement Agreement is null and void; not aware of any time constraints that would make it null and void; there is a time limit, a question the attorneys can best answer; there is nothing written in the agreement stating it is null and void after a set time limit; there are timelines for specific work items, there is nothing stating that all of the work has to be completed by a date certain Mr. Atkinson Deputy City Attorney Petzold Vice Chair Stocking AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro Vice Chair Stocking - there are some legal time lines 5. STAFF COMMENTS / INFORMATION
Page 12 of 12 AICP Planning Manager Stagnaro - reiterated comments on the General Plan public workshops previously made during Agenda item 3.03 6. PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Riding, Pacific Gas & Electric Community Energy Manager Business Impact - Sustainable Communities - asked if would the Committee would like a presentation from PG&E and/or Joseph Oldman, Local Government Commission at the next meeting; a presentation of the history of their existing programs, barriers and pit falls, and how it's been made successful Vice Chair Stocking - expressed interest 7. ADJOURNMENT (9:57 AM) SCOTT CARNEY INTERIM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR