HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 2008-089
RESOLUTION NO. 2008-089
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CHULA VISTA ACCEPTING THE CHULA VISTA CLIMATE
CHANGE WORKING GROUP'S FINAL REPORT, ADOPTING
RECOMMENDATIONS NO. 1 THROUGH NO. 7 AND
DIRECTING STAFF TO RETURN TO COUNCIL WITHIN 90
DAYS WITH MORE DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS
REGARDING AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
WHEREAS, in 2000, the Chula Vista City Council voted to adopt the City's Carbon
Dioxide Reduction Plan establishing the goal of reducing the City's greenhouse gas (GHG) or
"carbon" emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2010; and
WHEREAS, the 2005 GHG Emissions Inventory was the first formal evaluation of the
City's progress in reaching its emissions goals; and
WHEREAS, in May 2007, City staff reported to City Council that Chula Vista's citywide
GHG emissions had increased by 35 percent (mainly due to residential growth) from 1990 to
2005, while emissions from municipal operations decreased by 18 percent; and
WHEREAS, as a result of its 2005 GHG Emissions Inventory Report, the City Council
directed staff to convene a Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) to develop
recommendations to reduce the community's GHG emissions or "carbon footprint" in order to
meet the its 2010 GHG emissions reduction targets; and
WHEREAS, the CCWG was convened under the direction of the City Council's
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) representatives,
Councilmember Castaneda and Councilmember McCann, who serve as the City's Climate
Change Subcommittee; and
WHEREAS, the Subcommittee and their staff took an active role in establishing the
private sector categories on the Working Group, submitting participant names and reviewing all
potential representatives; and
WHEREAS, the final ten-member group included seven Chula Vista residents, three
participants who lived elsewhere but were involved in the Chula Vista community, and three ex-
officio members with strong interests in Chula Vista's climate reduction actions; and
WHEREAS, to help direct the group in their task of identifying effective emissions
reduction strategies, City staff provided them with the following five primary principles in
developing their recommendations: (I) the measure had been previously implemented
successfully by an ICLEI local government or California Climate Action Registry business;
(2) the measure would be financially feasible (i.e. require little or no additional General Fund
support); (3) the measure could be quickly implemented to have immediate impact on the City's
Resolution No. 2008-089
Page 2
efforts to reduce emissions by 2010; (4) the measures' impacts could be quantified using the
City's emissions inventory protocol; and, (5) the measure would not cause a significant adverse
community impact; and
WHEREAS, the CCWG has completed its review of these measures and has selected
seven measures listed below which it feels should be implemented to further lower the
community's carbon emissions by the City's commitment to reduce GHG emissions:
1. Require that 100 percent of the replacement vehicles purchased for the
municipal fleet be high efficiency (hybrid) or alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs);
2. Encourage City-contracted fleet operators to adopt the use of high efficiency
(hybrid) or alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) by stipulating that 100% of
replacement vehicle purchases be alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles;
3. Require Chula Vista-licensed businesses to participate in an energy
assessment of their physical premises every 3 years and upon change of
ownership;
4. Adopt community-wide green building standards that are comprehensive in
coverage and mandatory. New and substantially remodeled structures will be
required to be built to LEED Silver or to an equivalent third party certification
green building program standard, with the effect of having an energy
efficiency impact of at least 20 percent over Title-24;
5. Facilitate widespread installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on
commercial, residential and municipal facilities by developing and
implementing a solar energy conversion program. Proactively enforce existing
codes requiring pre-plumbing for solar hot water;
6. Facilitate "Smart Growth" around the H Street, E Street and Palomar Street
Trolley Stations; and
7. Coordinate with Otay Water District, San Diego County Water Authority and
the Sweetwater Authority to convert turflawns to xeriscape; and
WHEREAS, the CCWG's final recommendations were written collaboratively by
Working Group members and incorporate responses to questions and comments raised by the
public and City staff during their meetings; and
WHEREAS, the recommendations represent a powerful strategy that, if followed, could
slow the rate at which the City's GHG emissions increase in the future and may ultimately help
to lower emissions below 1990 levels; and
WHEREAS, the CCWG's recommendations vary in their level of required City
commitment (i.e. staff time, funding, new programs/policies) and their impact on GHG
emissions (i.e. reduction magnitude and timeframe); and
WHEREAS, to assist the City Council in evaluating the recommendations, City staff has
analyzed the recommendations' potential effectiveness in reducing emissions and the required
next steps for implementation and included their own recommendations on how certain measures
could be amended to improve their effectiveness; and
--....
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Page 3
WHEREAS, as a result of their evaluation, City staff recommends the following
amendments to the CCWG recommendations:
I. Staff recommends that it be provided with the flexibility to test and phase in
alternative fuels, hybrid and/or electric vehicles into public safety vehicles and
large equipment classes to ensure that they are operationally-practical and
technically-feasible.
2. City staff recommends amending this measure to require City-contracted fleet
operators to fully incorporate hybrid and AFV as their fleet vehicles are replaced
when new contracts are negotiated or existing contracts are extended. The
requirement would only pertain to vehicle classes in which there is an
operationally-practical, technically-feasible hybrid or alternative fuel option.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Chula
Vista does hereby accept the Chula Vista Climate Change Working Group's Final
Recommendations Report.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council does hereby adopt
recommendations No. I through No.7 and direct staff to return to Council within ninety days
with more detailed recommendations regarding an implementation plan.
Presented by:
Approved as to form by:
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Ann Moore
City Attorney
Mi
Conservation and Environmenta Ices
Director
Resolution No. 2008-089
Page 4
PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista,
California, this 1 st day of April 2008 by the following vote:
AYES:
Councilmembers:
Castaneda, McCann, Ramirez, Rindone, and Cox
NAYS:
Councilmembers:
None
ABSENT:
Councilmembers:
None
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Cheryl Cox, )\ ayor
ATTEST:
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Donna R. Norris,'CM(:, Interim City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO )
CITY OF CHULA VISTA)
I, Donna R. Norris, Interim City Clerk of Chula Vista, California, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Resolution No. 2008-089 was duly passed, approved, and adopted by the City Council
at a regular meeting of the Chula Vista City Council held on the I st day of April 2008.
Executed this I st day of April 2008.
ILL k A(~
Donna R. Norris, CMC, Inferim City Clerk
_____ _~_.--.J