tv [untitled] February 4, 2014 10:00am-10:31am PST
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accomplish manieses are noted in the draft resolution. and also whereas melanie nutter has led the department in helping small businesses through the energy watch program in the [speaker not understood] business program and reducing energy use in an array of toxic reduction program, supporting the community to the department's public outreach and education program, creating jobs and opportunities to the environment now, green jobs program and assisting larger businesses he through the department's partnership of business council and [speaker not understood] change. and whereas melanie nutter has changed the physical and cultural makeup of san francisco in ways that will benefit the community and promote long-term well-being. now therefore be it resolved that the san francisco commission on the environment commends melanie nutter for her contributions to the city and county of san francisco and be it further resolved that the san francisco commission on the environment wishes melanie nutter well on her future endeavors. >> thank you, monica. (applause)
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>> colleagues, before we hear some thoughts from our director, any thought, expressions from colleagues? commissioner stephenson. >> i just want to say thank you so much for all the work you've done over the last years and especially how ably and beautifully created your team. i think you've done a really wonderful job working with the team and you have left for whoever is going to step into your shoes a very solid working group and i appreciate all the work you did. >> commissioner josefowitz. >> i'm not sure i'll be able to speak for four pages about your accomplishments. so, but i think that's just like the sort of length of the motion, it's just a testament to the impact that you've left on the department and on the city. and i don't know if i could maybe offer a little friendly amendment, but in the result i
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think we should thank melanie, maybe not only for her contributions to the city and county of san francisco, but also maybe to the environment. >> already did. >> our impact is felt beyond the city. and i think that's one of the really exciting things about our department here, is that what we do is felt beyond the city not just in terms of the direct impacts, but also in term of setting an example for the rest of the state and the rest of the country and the rest of the world. and i think you've done a great job as an ambassador, and your work will be felt beyond just this city. so, thank you. >> commissioner wald. >> well, i want to second the thought of -- the suggestion of commissioner josefowitz. and i also want to thank melanie particularly for one of the accomplishments that she
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had on her watch, and that is the move to the new location where many of the years which i had the privilege to serve on this commission, we have discussed again and again the need for moving from our former location to a place that better served the needs of the department and better expressed its values. and i think it's a wonderful testament to your leadership and to your success in this position that you were finally able to pull it off. and i think it's fair to say that that -- the new space will stand as a legacy to your leadership. and i thank you very much for that. >> commissioner gravanis. >> i'd like to second -- i guess it hasn't actually been moved so i will move adoption of this resolution with the change suggested by
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commissioner josefowitz to make sure that we include our thanks for the contributions to the environment. >> second that. >> moved and seconded to add -- actually, just a friendly amendment to the motion. if we could first take the addition of and to the environment to page 4 line 6 after san francisco as the first piece. >> if you feel it's necessary to be that formal, yes. >> we have tom owen here. he watches these things. i see him out of the corner of my eye. that's okay with the seconder of the motion? can we get approval, actually before we take action, we have to hear from the public, yes. so, that's great, that's great. you know, i think the move is key. a lot of the work around the move were lead platinum at the open house, folks came in and said, this is amazing. and i know how hard you worked on that. and there are so many thing that you have achieved. so, thank you. what do you think? do you want to share some
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thoughts, pearls of wisdom with us? >> sure. so, first and foremost, i just wanted to say thank you to all the commissioners. it's been a real honor and privilege to be able to work with you in this capacity as the director for department of the environment. i've really appreciated all of your support, your advice, your leadership. and i think the department and the commission are in just a fantastic position to grow off all the success we've documented in this resolution and that is in the annual report. so, i'm just -- i'm really thankful for all of that and i do look forward to staying in touch with all of you and continuing to support the work of the commission and the department. and i did, of course, want to thank the department of the environment staff, some of who are in the audience. it's really a credit to them that we were named the greenest city in north america and that we have so many incredible accomplish manies. i just really felt so honored to walk in every day to that new beautiful space that really represents our values, to work with a team that are passionate
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and committed and focused and dogged about what they do and what they want to achieve, which is have a sustainable city. so, again, for all the staff in the audience, ul for all the work you've done and long hours and everything that you've done to make san francisco a sustainable city ~. of course, i want to thank david, the deputy director who has been my partner in crime through this past 3-1/2 years. it really is -- i think it's been a really fantastic working relationship just having david as a partner, somebody who knows the city system inside and out, coming from outside the city i didn't get the city processes at all. so, to have somebody who really understands it, of how to continue to move the work forward and how to continue to operate a successful and thriving department. so, just lastly i wanted to thank former mayor gavin newsom who appointed me to this position and our current mayor, mayor lee for the opportunity to serve the city and county of san francisco for the past 3-1/2 years.
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and thank you. best of luck. and i look forward to seeing you in other venues, continuing to support san francisco as a sustainable city. so, thank you very much. (applause) >> we have at least one member of the public that would like to speak, [speaker not understood]. she's wearing a disguise. [laughter] >> to keep the lights off of my eyes. i'm [speaker not understood] and i just want to take this moment to thank melanie since i haven't been able to be at any of her other going away celebrations. melanie, there's one thing i want to say to you and that is thank you for being a champion of the environment ~. first and last and always, and i hope that that's something you take with you wherever you go next. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. other members of the public?
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and as i said, we still have her for at least next few thing we're going to do, and we even have a couple surprises in store as we go through this hearing. but if there's no other public comment, we can close public comment and move on to our next item. thank you again, melanie. >> you have to vote. >> oh, we have to vote. i try to focus so much on the public comment piece. okay. so, it's been moved and seconded to add "and to the environment" to line 6 on page 4. it's been moved and second. all those in favor please say aye. >> aye. >> and then can i get a motion to approve the resolution? put it on the record. so moved by commissioner wald. second by commissioner wanned. all those in favor please say aye. >> aye. >> approved. thank you, melanie. [gavel] >> [speaker not understood]? i was trying to be efficient.
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less co2 with less words. okay. so, thank you for that. we'll ask for the nays here on out. next item, please, monica. >> nomination and election of commission on the environment officers. this is a discussion and action item. >> all right. it's that time again. it seems like it was just a year ago that we did this. in fact, it was. well, i don't know quite what to say. i've got the honor to be the president on this commission for 12 months and it's been an honor to be in this role. i really don't know what to do at this point so i'm just winging it. i guess one of the things to do
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is to bail me out here. commissioner wald. >> yes. i would like to nominate commissioner arce to serve another year as chairman of this commission. i have in the past made it clear i don't think there is kind of like a lifetime appointment and that it should be rotated among interested people. but i've also taken a position that more than one year is needed to really do this job with maximum efficiency and efficacy. that's one of the reasons why i would like to nominate commissioner arce for another year. i would also like to say that i have really appreciated his enthusiasm and his new ideas for the commission and the
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department, and i think we have benefited from those. and last but not least, i think it is important that we maintain a measure of civility at the commission at a time when there is so much change going on in the department. and i think that we can best serve the needs of the department -- well, maybe not -- that may not be the best thing we can do, but one of the best things we can do is to keep him on as our leader. so, i nominate him for another term with pleasure. >> thank you, commissioner wald. thank you. thank you, commissioner wald. >> second. >> i guess is there a second? >> second. >> thank you, commissioner stephenson.
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and then deputy city attorney owen, do we go for the next -- >> at this point you should ask if there are any other nominations. >> any other nominations, colleagues? >> for president. >> any other nominations, colleagues? okay. so, at this point i'm honored, i would love to serve. i love this commission. i love you all. i love the department. i love what we do. i love where we're going. and i think it's going to be a fun year and i think it's going to be a lot of, a lot of challenges, but a lot of opportunities. so, if you'll have me, i'd love to serve again in this capacity. now what? >> no, don't we have to have public comment? >> yes. >> you're getting good. public comment. [speaker not understood]. >> should we do the other officer? we have -- >> it's up to the chair. >> sure. if it's okay with colleagues, maybe we can hear nominations on the vice president officer.
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>> how many officers do we have? >> we have two, president and vice president of the commission. >> okay. >> commissioner gravanis. >> i'd like to nominate angela king for commission vice president, but i think it would be nice to know whether anyone has inquired as to his willingness. has anyone spoken with him? this is why some organizations choose to have a nominating committee so that these kinds of questions can be asked before we do our actual elections. >> so, i did broach the possibility when i talked to commissioner king and he informed me that he was not going to make it tonight. i said that, you know, we're choosing officers and your name could come up. and he said, if it was the will of the commission for him to serve, it was the will of him to serve as well with honor. ~ and enthusiasm.
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>> great. then my nomination stands. >> can we get a second? >> second. >> okay. any other nominations? okay. any public comment on the item? seeing none, can we call -- i guess there's one nomination. all those in favor of another term for arce, please say aye. >> aye. >> any nays? all right. thanks, everybody. yeah, thanks. and for the vice president, can we get all those in favor of angelo king as vice president of the commission, please say aye? >> aye. >> any nays? seeing none, -- [gavel] >> angelo king is our vice president for another term. thanks, everyone. that went very smooth. >> review and approval of commission on the environment resolution file no. 2014-01-coe to support supervisor chiu's proposed ordinance amending the environment code to restrict the sale or distribution on city property of drinking water in plastic bottles of 21 ounces or less, set city policy to increase the availability of drinking water in public areas,
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and bar the use of city funds to purchase bottled water. explanatory documents of the draft resolution, the ordinance on bottled water for the environment code and the legislative digest and fact sheet sponsors the commissioner wald. the speaker is [speaker not understood] policy communications director. this is a discussion item. >> this is one of the people that's been very interested in pushing this for a long, long time. i'm delighted to have it in front of us and welcome staff to give us an update. >> commissioners, guillermo rodriguez. before you is the support resolution that was presented at the policy committee. the committee debated the item, amended the resolution, and it now stands before you for
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action on the full commission. a couple of key things just to share. since the policy committee a couple of keon endorsements that have come in. i understand from the supervisors' office that the sierra club officially came out and endorsed the ordinance as well as proposed. in addition, the item is come -- is going before the small business commission for discussion, and the department itself is reaching out to event organizers to provide more information about the ordinance and help explain the provisions in there and gather their feedback and address any kind of concerns or issues that they may have. so, those are just a couple of the quick updates since the policy committee debated the item. >> thanks, guillermo. >> commissioner wald. >> thank you. i just wanted to add that we did, indeed, have a very
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extensive debate about this measure and a number of improvements, i would say, were discussed by members of the policy committee at great length and with members of the public. and i committed to see if i could get a meeting with supervisor chiu to which i, at least one and hopefully more of my colleagues would have voted to discuss with him and his staff the kinds of improvements that we felt would make this an even stronger and better and more environmentally responsible measure. so, i was out of town all last week, but i intend to do that and i extend an invitation to all the members of the commission to join me when i get that meeting scheduled and
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i'll let you know when it is. >> thanks, commissioner. what's that? >> right, i can't have too many people -- >> there will be less than a quorum of the commission. >> unless a quorum of the policy committee as well? >> yes. oh, oh, thank you, tom. perhaps i could consult with you about the appropriate way to carry out the commitment that i made to my fellow policy committee members. >> i could roll with you in the operations committee member, right? if we have a member of operations, rules, and me since i'm not on any committees. >> that would probably work. let's double back later in the week, though. >> we could have people from the department as well, right? >> that's correct. >> that would be good, too. okay.
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>> commissioner stephenson. >> this seems like something we >> commission should start with something at the port. i'm in favor of the resolution and [speaker not understood]. >> second. >> moved and seconded. all those in favor -- i'm sorry. okay. is there any public comment on the item? thank you. thank you so much. my name is kate krebbs. i'm a resident of the city of san francisco. i'm also an environmental strategy consultant. i've worked in washington for the last 15 years before moving to san francisco, and i moved here because of the kinds of vision and sustainable initiatives that are developed here. so, it was very important for me to live in a city where i could walk the talk and the way that i lived. i worked with a climate group which is a partner of the city
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of san francisco before moving here. and now i'm working with some of the companies that were members of the climate group, including beverage companies. and, so, i want to be very clear that my relationship with those companies does come into what i want to speak with you tonight. i think one of the things that has been difficult for me as i've gone over this policy and discussed it with the staff as they've been developing it is that there's -- i couldn't tell if it was about bottled water or the wonderful water that we have here or about plastic and plastics use and waste. in a city that has an 80% recycling rate, it's hard for me to imagine that there really are millions of bottles that are being thrown away. so, in looking through the digest and the information, i noticed there wasn't a waste composition study that would call out what kind of plastic are we throwing away. is it pet bottles? what does it look like?
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with an 80% diversion rate, we're probably pretty high at our recycling of pet. if there was a concern about the recycling, then i would hope that we would focus on public space recycling and make sure that throughout the city there's a good waste and recycling infrastructure everywhere. if it's about the water, then that's a different conversation and a different kind of strategy that we need to do to really change behavior because that's what this is. it's about how do we change people and how they choose their water. what i didn't see in this was a strategy, a plan details on how we're going to build out a hydration system in the public space in the city of san francisco. it doesn't go into any sort of cost factor. it doesn't go into what's the best hydration system to put in place, where should we put it, what are our priorities. and i think if we don't do that, if we don't look at that,
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then this is really a plan -- a ban without a plan and that, to me, doesn't make sense. so, i'd encourage the city to really step back -- i wasn't privy to the conversation and the discussion at the policy committee. it sounds like there is some improvements. i think those might be improvements for us to look at. thank you. >> thank you. any other members of the public? yes. hi, my name is alise [speaker not understood] and i'm speaking as a member of the public. i was present at the policy committee meeting and it was an interesting robust discussion. and i just wanted to reemphasize the power of language in this ordinance. we've seen with the plastic bag ban that the term reusable can get totally manipulated. now we have these stiff plastic
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bags instead of the plastic bags we had before. so, i just don't want to see the same thing happen with bottles. and obviously there's a lot of ambiguity over what terms to use, but i think it's really well worth thinking that out and [speaker not understood] over it. and i do support this ordinance because it's source reduction. in my mind recycling is still waste, and the important thing is not to use something rather than just figuring out a way to reuse it once it already exists. so, thank you. >> thank you. other members of the public? seeing none, public comment is closed. colleagues, thoughts, discussion? commissioner gravanis. >> we do have a motion and a second. just wanted to make sure people
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understand that following up on what commissioner wald has said, that there are still detail that we are concerned about that our resolution right now doesn't say that we endorse this ordinance drafted exactly as it is in front of us, that there are ways in which we will be talking with supervisor chiu about strengthening it. and also just to remind everyone that it's kind of a first step in a long process because here we're only talking about city property and there are many ways to get exemptions and exceptions and there are some [speaker not understood] in here. and over the next five, ten years i expect to see that it will apply to a much wider range. but for now we are recognizing the fact that we cannot insist on a ban where we don't have an available supply of water that public health and hydration remain very important to us.
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>> other commissioners? any other discussion? all right. a motion is on the floor to approve and can we hear all those in favor please say aye? >> aye. >> those opposed please say nay. ayes have it. thank you. [gavel] >> >> department of the environment director search process and candidate qualifications. this is a discussion item. >> colleagues, can we get a motion to move item 9 to come after we hear item 13 on the agenda? >> motion to do that. >> a second? >> second. >> all those in favor please say aye. >> aye. >> opposed say nay. all right. so move item 9 to after number 13. [gavel] >> thanks, colleagues. >> briefing on the previous year's implementation of the healthy air and clean transportation ordinance.
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speakers are robert hayden, manager of commutesmart and clean vehicle, and william zeller, clean vehicle program coordinator. this is a discussion item. >> thank you so much for coming to talk to us about this. [speaker not understood] is a policy that has phenomenal inat thectiontionxes to reduce the city's vehicle fleet and reduce the, i guess as a side impact the amount of vehicle miles traveled and all that stuff and [speaker not understood] and the problems all that causes ~ intention. and at the same time save money because the city isn't using cars, doesn't have to buy cars and all that good stuff. but i'm not quite sure it's working a planned. so, why don't you tell us about it. [laughter] >> thank you, commissioners, all. appreciate this opportunity. i know this was an item that was originally scheduled in the fall for a report on the
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previous year's fiscal year's implementation of hacto and that had to be rescheduled. so, i appreciate the opportunity to come and do it now. with me as indicated by monica in introducing the subject, bill zeller is with me on our staff who manages the vehicle parts of hacto and also liam [speaker not understood] is with me in the audience with me. she work on the transit first parts of the ordinance. and i'll explain more about that as wgo through. first, just generally, what hacto is and it's an acronym that not many people were familiar with, frankly until fairly recently. the healthy air and clean transportation ordinance, is what the acronym stands for, it
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and similarly named but little bit differently named versions of the ordinance have been in effect since the early 1990s and it has long been the main -- the platform, the policy tool by which the city has worked on bringing its fleet of vehicles. in 2010 there were some significant amendments to it and it took on its current name of hacto. primarily some of the bigger changes was it did add a component about transit first and also the whole concept of fleet reduction. i'll mention a bit more about that in a minute. one important thing to realize about hacto is that the way it was established is enacted by the board of supervisors. it applies to light duty vehicles within the fleet. so, it's not the entire fleet of vehicles that the city owns, does not include heavy duty
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vehicles. it is vehicles up to 8500 pounds, gross vehicle weight. so, that means basically passenger vehicle, primarily passenger vehicleses and light duty trucks. and -- nor does it include because effectively waived by one means or another public safety and emergency vehicles. so, the main components, then, of the ordinance as its was adopted by the board of supervisors and as it has been placed with the department of environment for primary responsibility for implementation, first as a transit first requirement. putting forward the, the whole concept the departments should
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work with, their employees provide means for them to do any work travel but don't require vehicles. so, this is a whole new concept to have departments actually work on transit first plans. the second component deals with fleet reduction and what the ordinance specifically provided is that over a four-year period fleets -- departments that have fleets should remove from their fleets 20% of the vehicles that were in their baseline fleet. i'll explain baseline in just a moment as well. and then thirdly, after transit first reducing the fleet is the concept of green vehicle purchasing. so, that's kind of the opposite side of fleet reduction and in cases where the departments are authorized, they are given budget
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