Environment Committee Meeting Summary - October 16, 2025
Environment Committee Meeting - October 16, 2025
The Environment Committee convened on October 16, 2025, to oversee urban forestry, review the Miramar Landfill strategic future, and receive an annual update on San Diego Gas & Electric's (SDG&E) climate and customer equity initiatives, including undergrounding progress. The meeting featured extensive public testimony regarding toxic waste, tree removal concerns, and public safety, followed by detailed presentations and deliberation on landfill capacity strategies and energy infrastructure projects.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Blair Beekman (Non-Agenda): Spoke from San Francisco, expressing hope for continued dialogue on environmental concerns regarding ADU development on Encanto and Radio Towers hillsides, erosion along San Diego coastlines, sea-level rise, and the adoption of wildlife trail technology policies similar to those in Davis.
- Andrea Ebbing: Raised alarming claims regarding the felony abduction of her three children by a rehab owner (Apex Recovery) and alleged fraudulent claims by Child Abduction Recovery Unit Director Summer Stefan, requesting assistance from the City Attorney.
- Terry Ann Skelly: Expressed support for a presentation from the San Diego State University Center for Tobacco and Environment, citing the negative environmental impacts of tobacco waste found in waterways.
- Madison (via text/script): Urged the commission to expand public education and collection points for vaping devices, citing fire risks from lithium-ion batteries and toxic leaching from improperly disposed vapes.
- Ann (via text/script, addressing Faggy): Expressed deep concern over the removal of large shade trees in Belmont Park and Mission Bay, questioning the decision-making process and the loss of stormwater absorption capacity.
- Becky Rapp: Emphasized that community wellness and environmental safety are interconnected, urging the committee to address high-potency THC impacts on youth mental health with the same urgency as natural environment toxins.
- Judy Strang: Supported the loss of trees in Belmont Park and the ban on tobacco products, citing San Diego State University research on tobacco waste returning to storm drains and Surfrider Foundation data on cigarette butts in the ocean.
- Blair Beekman (Consent Item): Expressed general support for the acceptance of a floating restroom from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, viewing it as an imaginative solution for downtown public restroom access.
- Blair Beekman (Miramar Item): Expressed initial past concerns that the project was a "boondoggle" but stated that clarification during the meeting addressed those concerns, while asking for future clarity on the storage location of inorganic material post-2031.
- Blair Beekman (SDG&E Item): Hopeful for community energy development and emphasized the need for balanced public safety surveillance and civil rights protections in undergrounding projects.
Consent Calendar
- The committee reviewed the consent agenda with no requests to pull items.
- Action: Approved unanimously by voice vote on motion of Councilman Campbell, seconded by Council President Lacava.
Discussion Items
Miramar Landfill and Greenery Update
- Presentation Summary: Jeremy Caluco (Interim Assistant Director) and Jen Winfrey (Assistant Deputy Director) presented the Miramar Landfill's historical context, current operations, and a strategic vision to transition from waste disposal to a "resource management hub." Key points included:
- The landfill, operational since 1959, is approaching capacity with an estimated closure between 2029 and 2031.
- Current height limitations imposed by the Navy and FAA prevent further vertical expansion.
- Future plans include the construction of an Organics Processing Facility (North Miramar, operational end of 2027), a Resource Recovery Facility, and a Transfer Station to divert waste and reduce costs.
- Landfill gas-to-energy efforts currently offset fossil fuels by powering nearby facilities.
- Dialogue & Positions:
- Council President Lacava: Expressed that the timeline is heavily dependent on the Navy height increase; noted that diversion goals are the key to extending the landfill's life. Expressed interest in exploring solar projects and partnerships with San Diego Community Power to generate revenue, despite the land being leased from the Navy.
- Councilmember Campbell: Stressed the importance of understanding regulatory constraints (state vs. city) that may inhibit extending landfill life or force outsourcing of waste to less regulated areas. Questioned the feasibility of "mining" existing landfill material, noting that regulatory barriers in California currently hinder such emerging technologies.
- Staff Response: Confirmed that height regulations from the Navy are the primary limter. Clarified that after closure, non-recyclable waste would be transported to Sycamore Landfill via a new transfer station, incurring financial costs. Acknowledged that state-level initiatives (single-use plastics, textiles) and city collection fee increases will help reach the 2031 target.
SDG&E Climate, Customer Equity, and Undergrounding
- Presentation Summary: SDG&E representatives Bernette Buckwood, Kazim Omejidi, and Kelly Fitzgerald presented on:
- Equity Programs: The CARE program (38% electric discount) and FARA programs are exceeding enrollment caps; Medical Baseline Program (not income-based) also exceeds targets. Launched the new Cherp (Home Electrification Readiness) program.
- Infrastructure: Progress on planting trees (80% complete) and wildfire safety helicopter operations.
- Undergrounding: Fiscal Year 25 spend was $28M (150% increase YoY); target for FY26 is $45M. Current portfolio includes 175 underground miles across 25 active projects. Permitting and easement acquisition remain key bottlenecks.
- Dialogue & Positions:
- Council President Lacava: Expressed gratitude for SDG&E's partnership and firefighting capabilities in District 5. Inquired about the Murrains block 1M1 undergrounding project, noting previous disagreements regarding feasibility; staff confirmed geotechnical studies are complete and redesign discussions are underway.
- Councilmember Campbell: Expressed appreciation for the tree planting in City Heights and community cleanups, highlighting the project as an act of environmental justice for the area. Emphasized the need for continued collaboration to overcome cost and resource challenges.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously without amendments or pull requests.
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned to the next regularly scheduled Environment Committee meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 1:00 PM.
- No Formal Votes: The Miramar and SDG&E items were presented as "information items" only; no binding resolutions or votes were taken on the specific infrastructure projects discussed. Discussions focused on strategic future planning, regulatory constraints, and the need for continued collaboration on undergrounding and waste management.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Um, we're going to get started. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the environment committee meeting of October sixteenth, twenty twenty-five. Our committee liaison, Sarah Jordan will provide information and instruction for the public to participate in today's meeting. Sarah, please proceed. Members of the public who wish to provide testimony via a call-in or an internet-based service option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking queue is exhausted, whichever occurs first. Council President Lacava. Chair Eli Rivera. Also attending the meeting today is City Attorney Representative Nicole Dino, Mayor Representative Randy Wilde, and the IBA representative Jordan Moore. If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it in the speaker slip box at the table at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. Members of the public can join the 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. To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, please dial 1669-2545252. And when prompted, input webinar ID 161907-2156 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and it will appear on the screen during the public comment period during each agenda item. Please note that if you're watching via City TV 24 or online, there may be delay. Please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it is your turn to speak. And if you wish to speak to 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 if you are a Zoom participant or if you're a call and participant by selecting star nine on your cell phone or landline. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Thank you, Sarah. Let's start with non-agenda public comment. Do we have any? Thank you, Chair. Yes, we've received one speaker slip here in chambers, and there's a few hands going up in the virtual queue. So we'll be again with Blair Beekman. If you can please approach the lectern, you will have two minutes. Hi, everyone. Uh good to be here live today. Um I've moved up to San Francisco, believe it or not, for the next four months. I'll be back here in March. Um this was my big week to be here, and all the meetings, five meetings in total, four of them were canceled. Shoot, I wish I was here for more of them. But I'm here live today for this one and for tonight's PAP meeting, important meeting, by the way. Um I hope uh to talk about environmental issues at public comment time here. I hope city council, city government staff, land and building applicants, and everyday community are continuing to talk and question in what seems a very legitimate environmental concerns of building ADUs on the future hillsides of the Encanto and Radio Towers area. I hope those conversations are going uh well and that an environmental ideas are being supported. In the future efforts to limit erosion along the city of San Diego coastlines. I'm learning that good maintenance and upkeep of drainage issues on San Diego City streets along the coastlines is an incredibly important concept, and that may need to be more openly and regularly talked about in the San Diego public process. From this, I also hope we can acknowledge sea level rise and how it can continue to be an important factor in how to consider our future decision making and planning in San Diego for the coast for the coastline. Um I also wanted to comment that uh in in dealing with uh technology and surveillance, uh policies created for wildlife trails. Um actually uh can be an interesting field. Uh it was started initially in 2015 by the city of Davis. They had some awesome policies in place that we can follow. And what I'm trying to learn is how tech policies like that can be examples, how it can be easier to share our policies, and we don't fear sharing it, because obviously we have serious fears of sharing our technology and uh as a community process. Uh good luck in these sort of uh ideas and efforts. Thank you. Thank you. That concludes public testimony here in chambers. And if you're watching on City TV or the live stream online, and you'd like to dial in to provide an on-agenda public comment, you can dial 1669-254-5252, inputting webinar ID 161-907-2156 pound.
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