San Diego Environment Committee Meeting - March 14, 2024
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San Diego Environment Committee Meeting - March 14, 2024
The Environment Committee met on March 14, 2024, at 9:00 AM, chaired by Councilmember Joe LaCava. The meeting included a consent agenda, non-agenda public comment, and four discussion items: a $10 million urban forestry grant, a zero-emissions vehicle strategy, a fleet electrification overview, a public EV charging contract, and the DeAnza Natural Amendment to the Mission Bay Park Master Plan. The committee approved the consent item and the forestry grant, received information on the ZEV strategy and fleet electrification, forwarded the EV charging contract to full council without recommendation, and recommended approval of the DeAnza Natural amendment with additional staff direction.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Second amendment to as-needed engineering services agreements with Kleinfelder (contract 3) and HDR (contract 4), increasing not-to-exceed amounts by $1.21 million and $1.88 million respectively. Approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Public Comment: Speakers addressed weather modification, home occupation permits, homelessness and trash on Pacific Beach, electric vehicle tire pollution, petroleum dependence, pedicab safety, smoke-free air, and Ukraine peace efforts.
- Item 3 (Forestry Grant): Public comment included support from the Urban Collaborative Project (Craig Jones) and a call for stronger community engagement, local hiring, and tree survival checks (Ann Feige). One speaker questioned cost breakdowns and tree care capacity.
- Item 6 (ZEV Strategy): Speakers voiced support for collaboration and outreach (Joyce Sonata), concerns about grid capacity and manufacturer pullbacks (original), and IBEW Local 569's readiness for EV infrastructure work (Christina Marquez).
- Item 5 (Fleet Electrification): Comments included concerns about lithium battery risks and cost (original), appreciation for the presentation (Joyce Sonata), and support for skilled workforce (Christina Marquez).
- Item 2 (EV Charging Contract): A member of the Climate Equity Working Group (Kelly Linden) stressed the need for quantitative equity metrics in the contract and noted difficulty meeting with staff. Additional speakers from Campland and the Boat and Ski Club urged protection of existing facilities.
- Item 4 (DeAnza Natural): Extensive public comment from over 40 speakers, including representatives from environmental groups, recreational users, campers, boaters, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Key positions: support for maximum wetland restoration (Rewild Coalition, San Diego Audubon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife) with requests for buffers, lighting protections, and timeline; support for maintaining existing camping and boating uses (Campland, Mission Bay RV Resort, Boat and Ski Club) with amendments to ensure operations continue until construction is ready; and calls for preserving active recreation fields and golf course.
Discussion Items
- Item 3: Ready Set Grow San Diego IRA Urban and Community Forestry Grant ($10 million) – Staff presented a plan to plant over 5,000 trees and protect 700 existing trees in disadvantaged communities. The city will water and maintain trees for three years. The grant includes community engagement and tree steward training. The committee approved unanimously.
- Item 6: Draft Zero Emissions Vehicle Strategy – Staff outlined five pillars: policy/planning, ZEV infrastructure, community engagement, partnerships, and charging deployment. The strategy aligns with CAP goals for 16% EV VMT by 2030. Discussion included updates on building codes, utility coordination, and the need for a circulator in District 5. Information item only.
- Item 5: Fleet Electrification Strategy Overview – The Department of General Services reported on the city's 4,800 vehicles, current 135 EVs, and plans to replace 500 ICE vehicles per year by 2035. Challenges include vehicle availability, grid upgrades, and costs. Savings from rebates estimated at $11 million. Information item only.
- Item 2: Public EV Charging Contract Award to True Upside Consulting – Staff proposed a 10-year concession for public EV charging on city parking lots, with revenue held in a new fund to buy out infrastructure at contract end. The contractor will install chargers at libraries, rec centers, and beaches within 2 years. Concerns were raised about contract terms, revenue projections, and equity metrics. The committee voted to forward to full council without recommendation, with a request for further analysis from the IBA.
- Item 4: DeAnza Natural Amendment to Mission Bay Park Master Plan – Staff presented the plan, which adds 138 acres of wetlands, maintains active recreation, provides 48.5 acres of low-cost camping, and includes a nature center. The plan has been refined through extensive public outreach since 2016. The Planning Commission recommended adoption; the Parks and Recreation Board did not recommend. The committee chair proposed six staff directions (e.g., preserving existing uses until construction, minimum 100-foot wetland buffers, lighting protections, wetland management plan, agency coordination, public access compatibility). Councilmember Campbell offered two friendly amendments: (1) ensuring existing camping/recreation facilities remain operational until permits and financing are in place, and (2) studying motorized boating before any ban. The committee approved the staff recommendation with these directions.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Item 1: Approved unanimously.
- Item 3 (Forestry Grant): Approved unanimously.
- Item 2 (EV Charging Contract): Moved to full council without recommendation (unanimous).
- Item 4 (DeAnza Natural): Recommended to full council with staff to incorporate six directions from Chair LaCava and two amendments from Councilmember Campbell (unanimous).
- Next Meeting: Environment Committee, April 11, 2024, at 1:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
All right. We're going to get started. We got a full house in many ways. So good afternoon, and welcome to the environment committee meeting of March 14th, twenty twenty-four. I'm Joel Ocalva, Council Member for District One and Chair of the Committee. Our committee's manager, Ty Birch will go over instructions for today's meeting. Thank you very much, Chair Locava. While members of the public are able to attend this meeting in person, the meeting is also being televised and live streamed on the C's website. And Council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual speaking queue by raising their hand before the virtual queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking, or five minutes after in-person testimony concludes, whichever occurs first. Thank you very much, Chair. If you're in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it on top of the box indicate the speaker's lecture and at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper main management. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins. Members of the public can join the Zoom webinar by computer tablet or smartphone by accessing the link, which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage. If you need to participate by phone, you may dial 1 669-254-5252 and input webinar ID 160-670-8143 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual speaking queue by raising their hand before the queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking, or five minutes after in-person testimony concludes, whichever occurs first. Please note that if you are watching via C T V 24 online, there may be a delay. So please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or laptop when it is your turn to speak. If you wish to speak on a particular item, please wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're a call participant, star nine on your cell phone or landline. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. Thank you, Ty. And as a courteous courtesy to those attending here in person and those who may be listening online, a courtesy that I appreciated when I was on your side. Public comment on agenda items is going to be limited to one minute. So start thinking now about how you pack your uh insightful comments, what you want the committee to hear in a one-minute time frame. So with that, we will go forward. So thank you, Ty, for reviewing the instructions for the benefit of the public. A quorum is present. Uh and before we get underway, we will be shuffling the order of the items quite a bit. This will allow for more continuity between the items and streamline staff time. So Ty is going to be displaying the slide on the screen with the order of items. For today's order of business, we will hear item one on the consent agenda, and then items three, six, five, two, and close with four. And again, that's item one from the consent agenda, and then three, six, five, two, and wrap with item four. So if you're here in chambers, you might want to take a picture of that so you can plan your time or take a picture of your computer screen if you're watching or participating uh from home. And so leave that up for a bit. So with that, we will now dispense with the approval of the committee minutes of February 15th, 2024. Ty, please proceed with public comment. Thank you very much, Chair. The uh public comment period for the committee minutes is now open. Again, this is for the minutes of February 15th, 2024. And we do not have any speaker slips that have been submitted for the committee minutes in chambers. So I'll move over to the virtual queue and see if anyone has indicated they wish to speak. We do have one individual that has raised their hand, so I will begin the five-minute timer for other individuals if they would like to speak. But we will begin with the original. You will have one minute. Oh, I am sorry, hold on one moment.
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