Environment Committee Meeting Summary - November 13, 2025
Environment Committee Meeting Summary - November 13, 2025
The Environment Committee convened on November 13, 2025, to address climate action updates, biodiversity conservation, and stormwater infrastructure challenges. The meeting featured presentations from city staff and advisory boards, alongside significant public testimony regarding greenhouse gas reduction timelines, habitat loss, and environmental justice. Council members expressed concern over the city's trajectory toward its 2030 emissions goals and the critical funding gaps threatening stormwater resilience.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The committee voted unanimously (3-0) to approve the minutes from the October 16, 2025, meeting.
- Joint Powers Agreement: The committee voted unanimously (3-0) to approve the 11th Amended Joint Powers Agreement confirming the creation of the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Rebecca Rapp (Community Planning Group): Expressed full support for prioritizing education and prevention regarding marijuana use. Speaker argued that high-potency marijuana (80-90% THC) mirrors the tactics of big tobacco and cautioned against history repeating itself as marijuana becomes a public health crisis.
- Terry Ann Skelly (Community Planner): Expressed full support for policies that make public places smoke-free and vape-free. Speaker advocated for extending smoke-free protections from parks and beaches to all public places to protect youth and vulnerable populations.
- Blair Beekman: Suggested that open explanations of environmental technology data collection could serve as a model for transparency regarding law enforcement surveillance and recommended a review of AOPR data collection vendors within six months.
- Kathleen Lippett: Expressed opposition to aggressive climate policies and skepticism regarding carbon dioxide as a threat. Speaker argued that policies aimed at reducing emissions to zero could harm energy reliability, highlighted that carbon dioxide enhances plant growth, and criticized large solar farms and battery storage projects as damaging to public lands.
- Peggy Walker (Teens & Youth Group): Expressed full support for a citywide ban on all single-use vapes and e-cigs due to their toxicity and environmental impact. Speaker recommended an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program for take-back and disposal.
- Andrea Ebbing: Spoke regarding environmental safety and cleanliness by demanding law enforcement actions against the District Attorney, alleging a failure to prosecute crimes. Speaker announced intentions to purchase billboards to publicize a class-action lawsuit committee against the District Attorney.
- Unnamed Zoom User: Expressed full support for planting fruit trees (peaches, apples, oranges, avocados) in city parks rather than eucalyptus trees. Speaker warned that aging eucalyptus trees are dangerous and highlighted the Tijuana river as the city's biggest environmental problem regarding the upcoming rainy season.
- Park Troutman (San Diego 350): Expressed concern that Climate Action Plan (CAP) updates lack transparency and context, urging staff to report bottlenecks and funding needs rather than just accomplishments.
- Anthony Dang & Alison Dressel (Climate Action Campaign): Expressed full support for the settlement requirements that the city host public workshops and request council hearings by the end of 2025. They stated the city is falling behind on legal obligations, with 2023 emissions rising 2% against a need to cut emissions in half by 2030.
- Anne Faggy (Community Forest Advisory Board): Expressed concern regarding tree canopy loss and the lack of funding for community participation in the $10 million tree canopy grant. Speaker recommended using consult-level participation for tree placement and extending tree watering funding beyond three years.
- Savannah Stallings (San Diego Bird Alliance): Expressed full support for prioritizing carbon sequestration and wetland restoration, such as the Rewild Mission Bay project. Speaker advocated for aggressively pursuing Proposition 4 funding.
- Laurie Saldonia: Expressed full support for the expansion of solar power and policy changes to lower electricity rates. Speaker called for evaluating the urban heat island effects of short-term rentals and urged the city to measure sea-level rise impacts on underground infrastructure, specifically at Midway.
- Karina Gonzalez (Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation): Expressed full support for prioritizing neighborhood electrification and mode shift projects. Speaker urged the council to listen to advisory board recommendations regarding funding bottlenecks.
- Corinne Pinkering (Scripps Institution of Oceanography): Expressed full support for bold action on green infrastructure to protect kelp forests from urban runoff. Speaker highlighted kelp forests as critical carbon sinks threatened by sedimentation.
- Courtney Brown (San Diego Coastkeeper): Expressed full support for a dedicated stormwater funding source. Speaker urged the committee to prioritize public education to gather support for a ballot measure.
- Anne Faggy (Repeated): Expressed concern regarding the removal of trees in Belmont Park to construct engineered biofiltration basins. Speaker recommended better departmental communication and landscape architect reviews for future engineering projects.
Discussion Items
- Climate Action Plan (CAP) & Implementation Update: Deputy Director Kelly Stonko, Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Martin, and other staff presented the 2025 update. While citywide emissions in 2023 were 19% lower than the 2019 baseline, they were 2% higher than 2022 levels. Emissions in 2023 were approximately 3.5% higher than the linear path required to meet 2030 goals. Staff noted that 75% of the 190 actions in the CAP are underway or complete, but emphasized the gap between current progress and the 2030 target.
- Climate Resilient SD & Biodiverse SD: Staff updated the committee on the Climate Resilient SD plan, with 81% of strategies in progress. Biodiverse SD progress showed the city is 99% of the way to its 2047 goal of 52,727 acres of habitat in the Multi-Habitat Planning Area (MHPA), with only 300 acres remaining. Council President Lakaba questioned the integration of these plans and the potential for delaying plan updates to focus resources on implementation.
- Stormwater Department Annual Update: Director Todd Snyder reported that 2025 was a light rain year (5 inches), following heavy flooding in 2023 and 2024. The department faces a massive funding gap, with over $94 million in emergency stormwater CIP projects in FY25. Snyder estimated the department needs four channel teams total (currently has 1.5) and two pipe replacement crews to adequately maintain aging corrugated metal pipe infrastructure. Council Vice Chair Campbell and President Lakaba discussed the difficulty of raising dedicated stormwater funding due to Proposition 218 requiring a two-thirds vote for special taxes, suggesting a fee-based approach via mail-in ballot to property owners as a potential alternative.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous Approval: The Consent Agenda was approved 3-0.
- Council Directives: Council members directed the Mayor's Office and legislative team to explore a 50% vote mechanism for stormwater fees via mail-in ballot to property owners, navigating around the two-thirds special tax requirement. Council President Lakaba requested a roadmap for deeper engagement with the Climate and Resiliency Advisory Boards prior to item docketing.
- Acknowledged Gaps: The committee acknowledged a $115.4 million funding gap identified by the Independent Budget Analysts for CAP implementation in FY26, and a multi-billion dollar projected unfunded gap for stormwater capital and operational needs.
- Future Actions: Staff committed to releasing the CAP Implementation Plan update and holding a stakeholder workshop by the end of calendar year 2025 to meet settlement obligations. The Stormwater Department will continue immediate channel maintenance prior to the upcoming rainy season and is awaiting grant decisions from the San Diego River Conservancy.
- Meeting Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned with the next regularly scheduled meeting set for Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 1:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the environment meeting on November 13th, 25. Our committee liaison, Sarah Jordan will provide information and instruction for the public to participate in today's meeting. Sarah, please proceed. Thank you, Chair Ela Rivera. While members of the public are able to attend the meeting in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and the 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 testimony via call-in or internet-based service option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after the conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking queue is exhausted, whichever occurs first. This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the committee is able to manage and conduct city business. Also attending the meeting today is City Attorney Representative Nicole Dino, Mayor Representative Randy Wilde, and 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 near the lectern. 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 161-907-2156 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and it will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Please note that if you're watching via City TV 24 or online, there may be delay. Let's uh take up non-agenda public comment. If you'd please proceed with that. Per rule 2.7. Non agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of this committee. Each speaker will have two minutes. And if you're watching on City TV or the live stream, please call 1669-2545252 inputting webinar ID 161-907-2156 pound. Chair, we've not received any speaker slips here in Chambers, so I will begin the five-minute timer for all those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to provide non-agenda public comment at this time. Beginning testimony with Becky Rapp. Please unmute and begin. You will have two minutes. Good afternoon, um environmental committee. My name is Becky Raff, and I I am actually a member of my community planning group. And I'm here today to share with you a new peer-reviewed study that was published recently in the Journal of Addictive Behavior. Researchers from the State University of New York and the University of Kentucky analyze national health data and found that for the first time more Americans now use marijuana than smoke cigarettes. From 2021 to 2023, marijuana only use rose significantly from 7% to more than 10% of adults, while cigarette smoking declined. The research cautioned, and I quote, without timely policy response, marijuana may become the next public health crisis. We in San Diego have spent decades reducing tobacco through smoke-free housing policies, youth prevention programs, and advertising restrictions. But now we're watching history repeat itself. Marijuana is being normalized and marketed with the same playbook used by big tobacco through flavored products, colorful packaging, and advertising, making false promises of health and wellness. Today's marijuana is not the same as it once was. And these high potency products often have 80 to 90% THC. And the science doesn't lie. It links to psychosis, depression, addiction, and impaired brain development, especially among our young people. I asked this committee to please prioritize education prevention. Let's um let's not let marijuana related harm. Repeat the tobacco harm. This the study's authors urge a multi-pronged public health response, education, early detection, and treatment. Those efforts must begin locally through strong. Thank you. This does conclude your time. Thank you for your comment. Our next speaker is Terry Ann Skelly. Please unmute and begin. Good afternoon, Environment Committee Chair Elo Rivera. My name is Terry Ann Skelly. I'm a parent of three adult sons, and I've worked on behalf of young adults to safeguard their passage to productive adulthood.
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