Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Citizens Sustainability Committee 07/13/2011pp a MINUTES PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011 I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Langford called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: CITY COUNCIL ACTION APPROVED DENIED RECEIVED OTHER Bruce Kassler Luke Taylor M , STING DATE L2 93 - Q 2 John GreenwoFs, Ellis "Cleve, LW Robert Leo �.1� Eric Freed ABSENT: �(r,r)e - " David Koller ABSTAIN: M Ue Ralph Raya VERIFIED BY: Original on File with City Cle c's Office Members Absent: Joe Norbeck Staff Present: Missy Grisa, Assistant Planner Tony Becker, Administrative Secretary Lauri Aylaian, Director of Community Development Frankie Riddle, Director of Special Programs Mark Greenwood, Director of Public Works ORAL COMMUNICATIONS NONE IV. NEW BUSINESS Mr. Ralph Raya, Principal Engineer for MRC Engineering, orally presented information to the committee about lighting and its history, terms, and issues that would directly affect future revisions to the lighting ordinance. MINUTES PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE July 13 2011 He began by stating that the fuel cell, solar, and lighting industry are rapidly changing; more so in the last five years and will continue to change drastically in the future. The lighting industry started out with incandescent lamps whose sole purpose was just to emit light. They were poorly made, inefficient and burned out every few months. Energy was cheap and any regulations for lighting and lighting materials were created ad hoc by the lamp manufacturers of the day. Over time, lamps evolved from incandescent to MR-16's, Mercury Vapor (Hg), High- or Low-pressure Sodium (Na) to today's use of Tungsten (W) Halogen and Light -Emitting Diode (LED). The use of these lights has increased dramatically over time as has our understanding of their chemical or mechanical makeup, their output and how it affects our day and night vision. Mr. Raya wanted to impress upon the committee that the LED genre of lighting isn't like anything that has come out of the industry before. It is really electronics that emit light, not gas or metallic based as is traditional lighting. Therefore, the use of, the research and development of, and the output and impact of this type of lighting is still being studied. Like other electronics, it changes very rapidly and newer generation models of lighting are being created that outperform their predecessors. Mr. Raya talked about the types of lights we see around town today: the high-pressure sodium (Na) is the most common. They emit an amber glow and cover a wider range of the color spectrum. The lights of yesteryear had no controls, baffles or reflectors in them to direct the light in a certain direction --they just emitted light in any direction and created heat and light bleed. Today's lighting is different. Today's lighting also has one other control that it once didn't and that is the amount of wattage used (efficiency). Additionally, energy costs are significantly more than they once were and the lighting industry has answered in -kind with more efficient lighting. The new lights (Hg, Na, and W Halogen are mostly `high lumens/low wattage' lighting: they're more efficient, brighter, have better controls and emit less heat. The lighting code for the City of Palm Desert was written at a time when lighting had only evolved as far as how many lumens were emitted. Therefore, the code reads that lighting has to be only so bright and turned off at a certain hour. As energy costs rose, lighting became more efficient and there became more of a variety of lamps that emitted various lumens, various spectra of light and had a varied reflectivity and glare. Ergo, as the technology has changed, so must the code to reflect the day and age in which we live. K MINUTES PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE July 13 2011 Mr. Raya handed out a packet of vocabulary terms for the lighting industry and also the City outdoor lighting ordinance within the municipal code. While going over varying terms, several of the committee members asked questions about the terms. Mr. Kassler asked about the measurements of lighting and how that was calculated. Mr. Raya stated that they use the term "Foot -Candle" (FC). A foot-candle is simply one lumen per square foot. He said that the sunlight gives off nearly 7,000 foot-candles and for another point of reference; the conference room is 65 foot-candles. Mr. Raya stated that the lighting standard for a classroom was traditionally 100 foot-candles. But over time, the industry standard has changed (along with the lighting technology) stating that 50 foot-candles is adequate for a classroom. Mr. Raya talked about glare. He mentioned that there is a difference between discomfort glare and disability glare. Discomfort glare is the glare that will give one a slight headache from brightness. Disability glare is much more dangerous and is the glare that causes accidents. Mr. Raya gave the example of a dark street at night where two cars are travelling at a moderate speed toward each other. Their lights are on. When those beams intersect each other and there is no other overhead light source, neither driver can see any object (a child, a ball or an animal) in that light path —and that is dangerous glare. He mentions this because proper lighting can and must now be used to prevent these types of glare. Mr. Raya also discussed a few other terms from the glossary. Photometrics is the calculation of foot-candle illumination within a certain square area. This calculation is used especially for parking lots. The City requires these studies be conducted for any project that requires lighting in a parking area. Mr. Raya mentioned this term to the committee because these calculations will become necessary as the ordinance is updated. Mr. Raya stated that although many parking lot light fixtures look similar, they are not: their lumens, their reflectivity and their efficiency are different. Mr. Raya briefly mentioned LED lighting and how it is changing the industry as well as changing energy standards for cities and corporations. As previously stated, LED's are actually electronics that emit light. They are manufactured a different way and are purported to outlast traditional lighting by years. Mr. Raya stated that LED's also use a fraction of the wattage that traditional lighting uses. Mr. Kassler asked if the bulbs could easily be replaced. Mr. Raya stated that right now, the bulbs are fit specifically to their particular housing unit, so the whole unit would have to be replaced when a bulb dies. He mentioned that they run upwards of $600/unit for typical street or parking lot lighting fixtures. Mr. Raya wanted the committee to look at the intersection of Gerald Ford and Frank Sinatra 3 MINUTES PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE July 13 2011 as an example of LED lighting at its best. He asked the Public Works Director, Mark Greenwood, if there were any other intersections around the City that used this lighting. Mr. Greenwood stated that the corner of San Pablo and Fred Waring actually used three different types of LED's from various manufacturers as a `test case' of sorts to determine which light and brand worked the best. Mr. Kassler wanted to know if the LED's had a long payback or if the City was installing them because it's the right thing to do. Mr. Greenwood stated that because the LED's are still first and second generation, there are still many `bugs' to work around and there is no payback. Right now, the City is installing them because it's the right thing to do. He also mentioned that the Fred Waring/San Pablo intersection yields that no one brand of lighting is better than another but that they do have one thing in common: none withstand the heat very well yet. He also wanted to mention that, just as the signalization was being replaced a few years ago and had `bugs'; it is now performing better because of new technology. He believes that the lighting will improve in another few years and returns on investment would be forthcoming. Mr. Raya made some salient points regarding lighting issues and how they will affect the residents and businesses of Palm Desert: he began by stating that businesses like Wal-Mart and Lowes, who have headquarters in locations that have more ambient lighting, come to the desert thinking that their lighting plans are adequate when in fact, their ambient lighting is too bright for the desert. He also mentioned that within the next 10-15 years both exterior and interior light sources will be going to LED. Mr. Leo commented that whatever the committee does must work across various ordinances. He read an example of how a business in Palm Desert should turn its lighting off at night if it's made of a certain material, but would be allowed to be left on if the lighting is of another material. He believes that whatever code is written, it should make sense across the board. With that, Mr. Raya concluded his presentation and entertained any further questions. Missy Grisa asked that each committee member talk about their personal point of view regarding any lighting situation or lighting element around the City that they liked or disliked and why. She also asked that they make a few comments on any personal agenda items that they would like to take action on in the future. M MINUTES PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE July 13 2011 She also mentioned that she and Lauri Aylaian went to Mr. Langford's place of employment, Imperial Western Products, in Coachella. The facility is a food -waste recycling plant —it takes food waste from various businesses and recycles it into feed for cattle. Additionally, they collect used oil from Southern California restaurants and process it into bio-diesel along with many other sustainable initiatives. Ms. Grisa highly recommends going to see what that facility can do and would be happy to set up a group tour or two if the committee was interested. V. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS Mr. Freed began by asking a question of the existing lighting ordinance. He wanted to know if it specifically stated that outdoor lighting has to go off at a certain time, or just at closing time or anything of that nature. Ms. Grisa stated that specific regulations like that aren't presently in the code -- most businesses just turn their lights off after hours. Mr. Mark Greenwood read the ordinance out of the handout stating that the outdoor signage/lighting must be turned off after 11 p.m. Mr. Freed wanted to know who would be tasked with rewriting the code and who would be tasked with enforcing some of the newer aspects of it. Ms. Grisa stated that staff would rewrite the code and would take any input from the committee that they wished to share. Mr. Kassler stated that a code officer could go to businesses as part of their inspections and ask to see the timer mechanism to verify that the lighting is indeed turning off at night. Mr. Freed also stated that sensor mounted lights would work great in a parking lot. As the night goes onward, people will park closer to the building and there will be fewer people in the parking lot and a diminished need to light an entire lot. Therefore, those lights that aren't sensing movement will not illuminate and `shrink' the parking lot also saving energy. As for his personal agenda item requests, Mr. Freed stated that he is a proponent of forcing businesses to comply with the strictest of codes and he would like to see strict codes against light -bleed and strict codes stating that 75% of construction waste to be recycled. He and Ms. Frankie Riddle briefly discussed the landfill process and where sorting plants are located. He also wanted the committee to adopt Cal -Green Level 1 or 2 standards for all projects. His final agenda item was a requirement that big -box stores above 3 or 5 acres in Palm Desert divert '/2 of 1 % of their asphalted lot area to become a community garden. He believed that these agenda items are not only attainable, but will force compliance of area G� MINUTES PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEEJulv 13 2011 businesses and assist the City's long term sustainable goals. Mr. Kassler asked if Ms. Grisa could provide the committee with a list of what Cal - Green Levels 1 and 2 consist. Mr. John Greenwood stated that he is an advocate for all things sustainable, but wanted to caution that there is a fine line before too much regulation makes the cost of doing business too expensive. He also asked about the Tamarisk trees in the median at San Pablo and why those couldn't be taken out. Mr. Mark Greenwood stated that those trees are cherished by various City leaders and that they will remain for the foreseeable future. Mr. Leo wanted to impress upon the committee that any ordinances created from this group are carefully thought out and don't end up conflicting with any other City ordinances. He also mentioned that Palm Desert is nearly built -out, so any new development will be minimal, whereas existing development is great: therefore, the ordinances must be tailored more to what is already in existence. Mr. Kassler stated that he wanted to see specific mandates placed on businesses for energy waste with little to no cost. He mentioned he visited area businesses and saw a wide range of energy use habits that afforded great savings to great waste. He wanted to see a program that would assist businesses to show them what they can do for minimal cost to become highly energy efficient before an ordinance is enacted. Mr. Freed departed at 11:55. Mr. Koller commented that he would like to see a timeline for this ordinance revision. He specifically wanted to know if it would be done by section or by category and also mentioned that the committee should look at ordinances in existence (maybe from area cities or a city like Phoenix) to see what they have already done for their ordinances and not recreate the wheel. Mr. Koller mentioned that the committee should also involve CVAG if the end goal is to make some of these ordinances valley wide. Mr. Koller departed at 12:00 Mr. Taylor commented on the idea of parking lot `shrink' and liked the idea, but mentioned that some places share parking and that might not work. He suggested that maybe a different approach might be to have lights be turned off by zone rather than by business since a residential zone has much different needs than a business zone. Missy Grisa stated that it might not be possible to tie light phase -out to zoning due to various A MINUTES _PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE Julv 13 2011 uses within one zone, but said that staff would look into that. Mr. Taylor also mentioned that he wanted to see landscaping lights in medians go off at night. He didn't feel that there was a safety reason for them to be on when no one was around late at night to enjoy them. Mark Greenwood stated the City of Palm Desert does not have landscape lighting in medians unless shared with other cities. Mr. Langford asked if by increasing the use of LED's and other high efficiency lighting, wouldn't that add to light pollution in the desert? Mr. Raya stated that theoretically it would, but also noted that lights today have more controls on them these days and those controls would aid in preventing additional light bleed. Mr. Langford wanted to ask a question of Ms. Riddle if Burrtec could sort the recyclables at the landfill (including all household recyclables and construction materials). Ms. Riddle stated that there is a company in Thousand Palms that collects construction material and recycles it. Burrtec does have a sorting facility in Fontana that separates comingled recyclables as well as recyclables from trash. When separating recyclables from trash this is referred to as a "Dirty Material Recovery Facility (MRF)". This type of facility utilizes machinery and people to sort materials. However, there is no local facility and this type of facility would come at a cost. Mr. Raya wanted to impress upon the committee that they should be acting proactively and not reactively to things that happen in the news. He suggested again that they create a 5-year business plan with the aforementioned ideas and suggestions, so they will have a guide for the time in between meetings so as not to lose focus or momentum. VI. ADJOURNMENT Chair Langford called for a motion to adjourn. Mr. Leo motioned and Mr. Kassler seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m. ANTHONY BECKER Recording Secretary "These minutes, prepared by Tony Becker, have been reviewed and approved by Missy Grisa. Any meeting attendee wishing to address a concern regarding the minutes must do so in writing to Tony 7 MINUTES PALM DESERT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE July- 13 2011 Becker within five business days of the issuance of the minutes. Otherwise, these minutes are considered final.