Environment Committee Meeting - April 13, 2017
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Environment Committee Meeting - April 13, 2017
This was a meeting of the Environment Committee of the San Diego City Council, covering a range of environmental and utility topics, including water conservation, Pure Water project updates, solid waste franchise amendments, and the bicycle master plan implementation. The meeting included committee member comments, public testimony, and unanimous votes on several items.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1-4: Approved unanimously by consent. Included routine approvals related to landfill capacity and other administrative matters.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Public Comment: Martha Welch spoke about GE Water and Pure Water, criticizing rate increases and questioning project costs. Ann Feige (Chair of Community Forest Advisory Board) urged increased staffing for the urban forestry program, noting a single arborist in street trees when 25-40 are needed.
- Item 5 (Recyclable Materials Franchise): Armin Der Derian (CEO, Resource Management Group) argued the new franchise ordinance would force his company to stop hauling 30,000 tons of recyclables per year (10% of the city's 2020 diversion goal), including 2,600 tons of organics. He requested a franchise permit or exemption.
- Item 8 (Pure Water): Three local fishermen (Dwayne Patnod, Michael Newt, Joe Ahrens) expressed concern that the discharge of ultra-pure water into Miramar Reservoir could harm the fishery, citing the loss of nutrients needed for the food chain. They called for a project-specific environmental impact report and mitigation.
- Item 11 (Bicycle Master Plan): Sophie Wolfram (Climate Action Campaign), Nicole Burgess (Bike Advisory Board), Dan Gallagher, and Kathleen Farrier (Circulate San Diego) supported the strategic implementation plan, emphasizing its role in meeting climate action goals and improving safety.
Discussion Items
- Item 5 - Recyclable Materials Franchise Exclusion Update: Environmental Services staff explained that amendments bring certain recyclables under franchise requirements to generate annual franchise fees ($1.6M) and AB 939 fees ($1.4M) totaling ~$3M, funding the Zero Waste Plan. The change takes effect July 1, 2017. Resource Management Group's request for a direct franchise was noted as legally requiring an open competitive process. Committee members expressed frustration that RMG's concerns were raised at the 11th hour, but encouraged continued dialogue.
- Item 6 - IROC Annual Report & 2018 Work Plan: Gordon Hess (IROC Chair) presented six key recommendations: cost driver visibility, rate structure review, CIP visibility, budget visibility, AMI cost allocation, and Pure Water review. He highlighted that water sales have been better than assumed in the cost-of-service study, and that multifamily rates are 12% higher than single-family tiers. Committee discussed water rate structure and an independent consultant for rate review.
- Item 7 - Water Restrictions & Conservation Update: PUD reported that San Diego has received 11.62 inches of rain (above the 10-inch average) and Sierra snowpack is at 149% of normal. Citywide water use reduction averaged 16% through February 2017. Governor Brown's executive order B-40-17 ended the drought emergency but continued mandatory water waste prohibitions and reporting. New state standards propose 55 gallons per capita per day indoor use and water budgets for outdoor use.
- Items 8, 9, 10 - Pure Water Program & Design Contracts: John Helminski (PUD) provided an update on Phase 1, which is on track for completion by end of 2021, producing 30 million gallons per day. Key milestones: all preliminary design wrapped, contracts to be awarded by June 2017; program EIR certified; project-specific EIR to be released mid-2017; Title 22 engineering report to be submitted May 2017; new Point Loma discharge permit approved by Regional Board (awaiting Coastal Commission). Two design contracts were presented: #9 ($26.8M with Corello Engineers for the advanced water treatment plant) and #10 ($5M with CH2M Hill for Metro Biosolids Center improvements). Committee discussed potential impacts to Miramar Reservoir fishery and committed to working with the fishing community.
- Item 11 - Bicycle Advisory Board Strategic Implementation Plan: Presenters outlined a plan to achieve 6% bicycle mode share in transit priority areas by 2020 and 18% by 2035, requiring protected bikeways, increased CIP funding to 6% of transportation budget, and a dedicated bicycle point person. The mayor's office noted 19 of 32 recommendations are already implemented or underway, with over 200 miles of bike lanes added recently. Committee requested staff analysis and plan to return in July.
Key Outcomes
- Items 1-4 (Consent Agenda): Approved unanimously.
- Items 9 & 10 (Design Contracts): Approved unanimously on staff recommendation. For item 9, an amendment directed the Public Utilities Department to work with the fishing community to address concerns about impacts to Miramar Reservoir fishery.
- Item 11 (Bicycle Plan): Motion passed unanimously to have the Bike Advisory Board meet with staff within 60 days and return to committee in July 2017 for further refinement before forwarding to City Council.
Other Business
- The committee noted that the next meeting will be on May 25, 2017.
Meeting Transcript
Environment committee meeting, noting that all members of the committee are present. We will begin today uh with non-agenda public comment. We have two individuals speaking on items not before the committee today. First Martha Welch and then Ann Feige. You each have two minutes. Good afternoon, Martha Welch. I've seen GE water up at Current Mansion. I walked around that place. I never see it on the agenda or the budget or anywhere. Now it's a part of a part of um Pur Water or San Diego water authority. I don't know. I know the city's part of that. I've talked to people have houses, and they have double uh uh double emotions and they save water and everything. What have the bill goes up, not down? Now I know we have no maintenance or code and all these people haven't maybe have a wall meters, maybe we don't have those people also because we don't have maintenance or code all the maybe don't have those all maybe we don't have the either, maybe wouldn't surprise me in this city. I know I've been to all these meetings, and you know the the same project comes all the time with pure water, public works, or San Diego water of water authority. Same thing, and it's going and uh other mayors before that. I looked it up. Uh the you build the same thing, you're wasting money. And if you have rates going up, I'm gonna talk about this everywhere I can. Because that's not right, but do do everything. Also, every time I see projects in here, there's no SAP. They talked about this is something you're wasting, also. They talked about else um Microsoft and all that stuff. You don't have SAP in that it was on the budget last year, and I don't think you have that's wasting money also right there. Uh you know, um I I had I looked at the reports of uh the snow, and it's very good still. Oravale is looking pretty good. Only one meat is still not in in shape right now with water, and that's where our money comes. Water comes. So the reader said 60 over 60 percent our water comes from the color color water, and that's where the problem is they don't have Sierra water and all that stuff, and so they won't get the water as much as it is. It's up some, but it's not where it was before. That's the likelihood to be the most dangerous, is like me. Thank you, and Fakey. Hello, let me give an update to this committee on the urban forestry program. Not to repeat anything that I was here yesterday, uh different committee, and but I will hand out uh um a few um information sheets. But you all are well known, uh well aware that trees are important environmental assets. They provide city services, they provide public health. Um you're aware that our tree health has declined because we've had deferred maintenance, a decreased budget. Um I've now been working on this for five or six years, and I'm here to just express that the city is truly understaffed. Uh normal city would have 25 to 40 people for this kind of a program. Um there's one arborist in street trees. There needs to be at least a team of five, probably a team of 15, but let's start with a um something that can actually manage a program and the contractors. We do have contractors that are doing work with probably very limited oversight with one person. Sergio, great guy. Uh City Forester Jeremy Barrett uh left in January. We're doing a national recruit, and I I think we're gonna get someone good. Hate to tell them that her or him that there's only one person in streets. So I I we really do think that we have got to put some kind of a team together. Um I know and I know it's a butt a tough budget year. And we also committed to increasing the tree canopy, so hopefully we can make an investment in city trees, um, planting trees and um increased in the shade tree maintenance because that's really really short.
openpublica.com