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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Citizens Sustainability Committee 07/27/2020CITY OF PALM DESERT CITIZENS' SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MINUTES MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020 — 3:00 P.M. ZOOM VIRTUAL MEETING I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Dean Gatons called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Absent: Member Berlinda Blackburn Member Mel Robertson Member Dennis Guinaw Member Vincent Heuring Member David O'Donnell Member Evan Trubee Vice -Chair James Henderson Chair Dean Gatons Also Present: Gina Nestande, Mayor Jan C. Harnik, Councilmember Lauri Aylaian, City Manager Andy Firestine, Assistant City Manager Ryan Stendell, Director of Community Development Tom Garcia, Director of Public Works Randy Bowman, Project Manager Christopher Gerry, Management Analyst Amy Lawrence, Management Analyst Monica O'Reilly, Management Specialist II Mariana Rios, Management Specialist I III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. MINUTES of the Citizens' Sustainability Committee meeting of January 27, 2020. Rec: Approve as presented. MINUTES CITIZENS' SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE J U LY 27, 2020 Upon a motion by Member Henderson, seconded by Member Trubee, and a 6-0-1 vote of the Citizens' Sustainability Committee, the minutes were approved as presented (AYES: Gatons, Guinaw, Henderson, Heuring, O'Donnell, and Trubee; NOES: None; ABSTAINED: Blackburn; ABSENT: Robertson). V. NEW BUSINESS A. ELECTION of Committee Chair and Vice -Chair. Member Trubee moved to, by Minute Motion, renominate Chair Gatons to Chairperson. The motion was seconded by Member Henderson and carried by a 7-0 vote (AYES: Blackburn, Gatons, Guinaw, Henderson, Heuring, O'Donnell, and Trubee; NOES; None; ABSENT: Robertson). Member Guinaw moved to, by Minute Motion, elect Member Henderson to Vice - Chairperson. The motion was seconded by Member Trubee and carried by a 7-0 vote (AYES: Blackburn, Gatons, Guinaw, Henderson, Heuring, O'Donnell, and Trubee; NOES; None; ABSENT: Robertson). B. PRESENTATION on Active Transportation by Management Analyst Christopher Gerry. Management Analyst Christopher Gerry shared that the City Council assigned a subcommittee to conduct a review of all commissions and committees. During a Council study session, there was an idea of exploring potential integration of Active Transportation into various commissions and committees. The subcommittee felt that the Citizens' Sustainability Committee (Sustainability Committee) could be a potential option for Active Transportation on future agendas. He provided a PowerPoint presentation on Active Transportation and its benefits. At the end of his presentation, he said Project Manager Randy Bowman would give some examples of Active Transportation projects in Palm Desert. Project Manager Randy Bowman commented that Palm Desert is actively working on Active Transportation projects. He listed the following projects: Phase 1 of San Pablo Avenue improvements between Highway 111 and Fred Waring Drive, Phase 2 of San Pablo Avenue improvements between Fred Waring Drive and Magnesia Falls Drive, CV Link, and Citywide bicycle and golf cart lane improvements. Lastly, he mentioned that the City Council approved the preliminary engineering for Citywide bicycle and pedestrian improvements. He turned it over to the Director of Public Works Tom Garcia, who had additional comments. Director of Public Works Tom Garcia mentioned that the Council approved a Local Roads Safety Plan. It is a plan to identify areas in the City that currently have issues with pedestrian -vehicle interfaces, prioritizes the issues, and identifies sources of funding that are available to address the issues. He said the plan must be in place for the City to be able to receive funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program. Councilmember Jan Harnik defined pedestrian and vehicular interfacing; a pedestrian hit by a vehicle. 2 WAStaff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 10.29.2020\4 - City Clerk 10-29-20\Sustainability Committee Minutes\2 7-27-20 min.docx MINUTES CITIZENS' SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE J U LY 27, 2020 Mr. Gerry stated that their presentation has concluded. He asked the Committee they were interested in seeing more on Active Transportation and for feedback. Member Evan Trubee asked if there are roads earmarked for improvements. Mr. Bowman responded that the City has a tentative list of roadways. He did not have the list in front of him, but the list includes arterial roads as well as residential streets. Councilmember Harnik thought the presentation was wonderful. She mentioned that the San Pablo improvements received some funding from the Southern California Association of Governments' (SCAG) Go Human Campaign. There are more funds out there from the Active Transportation Program (ATP) for projects. She felt the Sustainability Committee would be good to be part of the Active Transportation integration. Mr. Gerry clarified that staff wanted to introduce the concept and solicit feedback from the Committee, and not necessarily request a motion. He asked if the Committee would like to see more on Active Transportation on future agendas. Member Chris O'Donnell felt that Active Transportation would be great to be a part of the Sustainability Committee's scope of responsibilities. The Committee agreed. During the implementation and design of projects, Member Berlinda Blackburn inquired if they could look at new technology for ATP programs, such as different materials that are more permeable. Director of Community Development Ryan Stendell commented that Member Blackburn had a good point. He noted that the Department of Public Works did include new technologies for Phase 1 of the San Pablo improvements. Chair Gatons stated that the Committee looks forward to more information and presentations on Active Transportation in the future. C. DISCUSSION on Regulatory Approaches to Gas Powered Leaf Blowers. Management Analyst Amy Lawrence reported that staff was directed by the City Council to work with the Sustainability Committee on exploring regulatory approaches to the environmental impacts of leaf blowers. Staff is asking the Sustainability Committee to make a recommendation to the City Council to entertain updates to the leaf blower regulations. If the Council agrees to move forward on updating the regulations, the Committee could begin to study the subject. Mayor Gina Nestande commented that gas and electric blowers are blowing particulate matter into the air that they breathe, which is very unhealthy. She would like to look at electric leaf blowers with bags. She has noticed that landscapers are blowing the dust into the street, which they are not supposed to do, so she would like to see some education on better leaf blowing practices. 3 WAStaff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 10-29-2020\4 - City Clerk 10-29-20\Sustainability Committee Minutes\2 7-27-20 min.docx MINUTES CITIZENS' SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE J U LY 27, 2020 Councilmember Harnik asked if the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) has a program in place. Ms. Lawrence responded that staff could check if there is a program. Member James Henderson asked if particulate matter and leaf blowers have been researched, or if there is a company that could do the research. In his opinion, Santa Ana winds that blow through the Coachella Valley does more damage to the air quality. He suggested finding a company that could do air quality tests on the particulate matter and what it is doing. He also suggested including stakeholders who would be affected by the regulations and get their input. Councilmember Harnik questioned how much more would it cost property owners to maintain their properties, which is something else that has to be factored into the research. The City has to look at the full picture. Member Trubee asked if the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) kept data of air quality in various communities. Ms. Lawrence replied yes, and staff could look into the data that they have. AQMD also has incentive programs for commercial landscapers. Mr. Stendell explained that a City Council member brought up leaf blowers as a request for action. A request generally leads to staff doing a little bit of research and bringing back to the Council for direction. He said if one council member asks for something, the staff generally does not have the direction of the full City Council, so staff only does a summary review. When Mayor Pro Tern Kathleen Kelly brought up the item, the discussion was instead of having the request go to the staff and back to the Council; they asked staff to take the request to the Sustainability Committee for discussion. The request added a layer of the Committee's input before staff goes back to the Council for direction. If the Committee believes that they should review the leaf blower policy, staff would need a recommendation from the Sustainability Committee to review the policies for leaf blowers. Staff would then go to the Council and state that the Sustainability Committee recommended for staff to expend resources on leaf blowers, and the Council would then give staff the green light to review the policy. Member Henderson asked how much would it cost to review leaf blowers, and how do they know if those funds should be better spent somewhere else. Mr. Stendell responded that the Committee is supposed to look at the world without any costs involved. The City staff and City Council would look at costs. Member O'Donnell inquired what information is currently available so the Committee could start the review process and have a better conversation. Mr. Stendell replied that staff has a lot of information on what other cities have done. If the Council wants to change the policy, City staff would engage with AQMD and other resources. He reiterated that if the Committee believes that the leaf blower policy 4 WAStaff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 10.29-2020\4 - City Clerk 10.29.20\Sustainability Committee Minutes\2 7-27-20 min.docx MINUTES CITIZENS' SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE J U LY 27, 2020 should be studied, the Committee should make a recommendation to the Council, which only starts the process. Chair Gatons asked if the hours of operation for leaf blowers would be part of the study, which he has mentioned at past meetings. Mr. Stendell replied yes, they could also study the hours of operation. Member Dennis Guinaw believed the only way to mitigate the dust and pollution would by using hand rakes. Additionally, they would need input from the people that maintain the yards. Member Guinaw moved to, by Minute Motion, recommend to the City Council to study the policy for electric and gas leaf blowers, and hours of operation in the City of Palm Desert. The motion was seconded by Vice -Chair Henderson and carried by a 7-0 vote (AYES: Blackburn, Gatons, Guinaw, Henderson, Heuring, O'Donnell, and Trubee; NOES; None; ABSENT: Robertson). VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VII. OLD BUSINESS None VIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Staff 1. Review of the General Plan (Chapter 2 Introduction and Chapter 3 Land Use and Community Character) Mr. Stendell reviewed Chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 describes the purpose of the General Plan and information on how to use the General Plan. Chapter 3 provides information for land use and development in Palm Desert in the future. At the next meeting, they would review Chapter 4 of the General Plan. 2. Update on San Pablo Phase I Improvements Member O'Donnell commented that the San Pablo construction was trying for him and his tenants, but overall he liked the project. Mr. Stendell reported on the landscaping, pedestrian lighting, and businesses. The street is almost complete and looks fantastic. With the crosswalk controversy on El Paseo, Chair Gatons was surprised by the colored crosswalks on San Pablo Avenue. He pointed out that the crosswalks on San Pablo are already covered with tire marks. 5 W1Statt Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 10.29.2020\4 - City Clerk 10-29-20\Sustainability Committee Minutes\2 7-27-20 min.docx MINUTES CITIZENS' SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE J U LY 27, 2020 Mr. Stendell commented that San Pablo has more of a community focus than El Paseo does. Staff received more positive comments about the San Pablo crosswalks than El Paseo did. Councilmember Harnik believed that the tire marks were intentional and wanted to ask Planning or Public Works if there is a way to clean the marks. Mr. Stendell mentioned that there was an article in The Desert Sun about removing the crosswalks on El Paseo, and then the City received about 20 emails not to remove them. Member O'Donnell said that the amount of detail on the San Pablo crosswalks popped more than the crosswalks on El Paseo, which were boring in comparison. 3. Sunline Student Art Contest Sponsorship Ms. Lawrence shared that the Sunline Transit Agency approached the City about sponsoring their student art contest, which is a bus wrap program. The art contest is open to students from kindergarten to 12'h grade. To enter the contest, students must submit their artwork that incorporates images of the transit system, the environment, and Coachella Valley landmarks. She said the contest teaches students about the public transit system and alternative fuels. After checking with South Coast Air Quality Management District about utilizing AB 2766 funds for this project, they approved the funds under the public education program. 4. Amendment Number 5 to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) and the City of Palm Desert for Regional PM10 Street Sweeping Program Ms. Lawrence stated that this is an informational item. She said that CVAG's Executive Committee recently authorized a fifth amendment to the AB 2766 MOU for the Regional Street Sweeping Program that would extend the term to June 30, 2024. B. Committee Members Regarding leaf blowers, Member Vincent Heuring noted that the City of Palm Springs attacked leaf blowers and has an ordinance. He suggested that Palm Desert find out what they did. Chair Gatons agreed meeting with Palm Springs would be helpful. In the past, Palm Desert met with Palm Springs regarding single -use plastic bags. He asked if the closure of the post office on Portola Avenue has been delayed. Mr. Stendell heard that the post office was given a six-month lease amendment; however, he does not know if it is accurate. 6 WAStaff Reports - Shared\Staff Reports 10-29-2020\4 - City Clerk 10.29.20\Sustainability Committee Minutes\2 7-27-20 min.docx MINUTES CITIZENS' SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE J U LY 27, 2020 Due to the pandemic, Chair Gatons stated that grocery stores banned reusable bags. He said there is nothing that the City of Palm Desert could do, and it would be interesting to see what the State will do. Councilmember Harnik mentioned that you could take your groceries out of the store after you pay for them and bag them outside. She asked Mr. Frank Orlett with Burrtec Waste and Recycling, where they can take the plastic bags for recycling. Mr. Orlett replied that drug stores such as CVS have bins. You could also place them in the recycling containers. Chair Gatons stated that the Albertson's on Monterey Avenue (Rancho Mirage) and the Ralph's on Country Club Drive (Palm Desert) have plastic bag recycling bins. The next Sustainability Committee meeting is October 19, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. He reminded the Committee to review Chapter 4 of the General Plan. VITI:11," With Committee concurrence, Chair Gatons adjourned the meeting at 4:10 p.m. Monica O'Reilly, Recording garetary 7 WAStaH Reports - Shared\Stafi Reports 10.29.2020\4 - City Clerk 10.29.20\Sustainability Committee Minutes\2 7-27-20 min.docx