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HomeMy WebLinkAbout22B PH Redrawing Councilmember Boundaries - Q & A Memorandum CITY OF PALM DESERT CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers From: Heather Horning, Assistant to the City Manager Date: February 24, 2022 Subject: City Council Agenda (February 24, 2022) Below you will find questions received from the Mayor and/or Councilmembers and answers provided by City staff regarding tonight’s Council meeting agenda. Consent Calendar – Item 8: • Question: The argument has been made that moderate to low-income people cannot afford solar panels and/or the option to lease is not possible due to credit reasons. Thus, energy bills in part are going up for those who cannot afford solar panels as Edison is paying people via net metering who can afford solar panels and thus the reimbursement rate needs to be reduced. In our staff report it says: “Protecting and expanding rooftop solar via a strong succeeding NEM tariff and expanding clean energy access by making it easier and more affordable for people to adopt rooftop solar and energy storage in order to meet California's ambitious clean energy targets and deploy solar in all communities and households, particularly those struggling to pay for electricity". How is it being made and more affordable? o Answer: The staff report does not include that argument specifically, but it has been made in support of revisions to NEM 2.0. The staff report outlines the public process from 2020 to present to review and consider various alternatives. The resolution presented to Council does not advocate for any particular alternative - there were over 17 proposals submitted to the CPUC for consideration - but it does urge greater consideration for alternatives that would better achieve those goals. The CPUC NEM 3.0 website includes all of the party proposals, which provide additional details: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/nemrevisit. Action Calendar – Item 16: • Question: Medjool date palms are non-native. Does water use increase since this is a fruit bearing palm? Question & Answer Page 2 of 2 o Answer: The project is proposing six (6) Medjool Date Palms. These palms do produce fruit, however, for maintenance purposes the trees will be watered at a low to moderate rate to reduce the production of fruit. • Question: Any carbon sequestration features? o Answer: The project proposes trees with large canopies for shading and screening purposes but does not include additional carbon sequestration features. • Question: Any plans for community gardens? o There are no plans for community gardens currently. The open space amenities include a small pool, walking trail, and a 38-foot open space buffer (from existing residents) in the rear designated for retention basins and landscaping. Action Calendar – Item 20: • Question: Can we get clarification on the thousands of “hits” for stolen vehicles were identified in Rancho Mirage? o Answer: The data is from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for the period June 2019 through January 2022, as presented by the City of Rancho Mirage city manager to the Cove Communities Commission on January 19, 2022. The data includes hits on multiple cameras, meaning that the same vehicle may have been captured on multiple cameras. Public Hearing – Item 22: • Question: In the report on redistricting, this is how the description of Option 1 concludes: “District 1 is drawn with a Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) of 50.7% Non-Latino White, and 37.6% Hispanic. A zoomed-in version of the map and the complete demographic analysis of Option 1 may be found as an attachment to this report (Attachment 1).” There is a similar conclusion to each option, showing CVAP Non-Latino White exceeding Hispanic. However, when I look at the full demographics in the attachments, they seem to say the opposite, if I am reading right. Is it because the full demographics are VAP instead of CVAP? If so, which is important for CVRA purposes? o Answer: CVRA uses CVAP for demographics. The incorrect attachments were included with the staff report in the packet. Attached are the correct attachments that include VAP and CVAP for reference. More information will be provided on this in the presentation at the City Council Meeting.