1 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL
UNTIL APPROVED BY
THE CULVER CITY SUSTAINABILITY SUBCOMMITTEE
OF THE CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE September 27, 2022
CULVER CITY SUSTAINABILITY 6:00 p.m.
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call to Order & Roll Call
Council Member McMorrin called the special meeting of the Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council to order at 6:04 p.m. in the Louis Armstrong Meeting Room at City Hall.
Present: Daniel Lee, Mayor
Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Council Member
Staff Present: Yanni Demitri, Public Works (PW) Director Sean Singletary, Environmental Programs
Operations (EPO) Manager
Daniel Pankau, PWEPO Management Analyst
Marian Aspnes, Enforcement Services Manager
Alicia Ide, PW Management Analyst
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Pledge of Allegiance
Council Member McMorrin led the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Items from Subcommittee Members/Staff
Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding the date for the next meeting.
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Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
2 Public Comment for Items NOT On the Agenda
Council Member McMorrin invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the
Subcommittee:
David Coles, expressed appreciation that the subcommittee meetings were being resumed; discussed virtual meetings; public participation; he asked that an in-depth discussion on leaf blower legislation be agendized for a future meeting ; expressed concern that City -wide compliance would be
difficult; he received clarification regarding decibel
requirements for gas powered leaf blowers and verification regarding the permitting process; and he proposed exploring lower cost hyper-local solutions for composting/organic waste process.
Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding discussion of organic waste and composting at the previous City Council meeting; distribution to community gardens; and multi-family units.
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Receipt and File Correspondence
Alicia I de, PW Management Analyst, indicated that no
correspondence had been received.
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Order of the Agenda
No changes were made.
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Consent Calendar
Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
3 Item C-1
Approval of Minutes for the June 28 , 20 22 Sustainability Subcommittee Meeting
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCMORRIN, SECONDED BY MAYOR LEE AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT THE SUSTAINABILITY SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVE MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2022.
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Agenda Items
Item A-1
Receive and Discuss a Presentation Regarding Culver City Unified School District's Sustainability Activities
Sandrine Cassidy, Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) Sustainability Coordinator, provided background on herself; discussed the Environmental Sustainable Committee (ESC); the Rotary Community Grant; Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR); support of school clubs; the compost distribution event on May 7; coordination with the City; the Green New Deal;
implementation of green policies at CCUSD; the Free Bus Fare Program; Earth Fest Week; guest speakers for ESC meetings in 2021-2022; develop ment of a Best Practices Manual for
Sustainability; funding sustainability; honoring the
environment in the District Mission Statement; collaboration with the City; and she encouraged anyone with questions to email [email protected] or to connect through social media.
Discussion ensued between M s. Cassidy , staff , and
Subcommittee Members regarding infrastructure issues at the schools; long-term projects; grants; ensuring that the new water filling stations are drinkable; Reach Codes; requiring gray water systems; savings for CCUSD with the use of solar panels; viability of solar on City buildings; potential cost savings; micro -grids; redundancy; flex alerts; water
fountains that draw moisture from the air; grants;
communication with CCUSD regarding building upgrades; school improvements; limited bandwidth at CCUSD; student-led efforts to make improvements; potential common grants; jurisdiction; building construction; student advocacy; and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
4 Sandrine Cassidy presented a video made by CCUSD students to encourage recycling.
Additional discussion ensued between Ms. Cassidy, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding bus ridership in Fox Hills; making it accessible for parents to ride the bus with their students; efforts at the Senior Center to introduce people to the bus; the pilot program; grants; regular losses by transit organizations; funding from the federal government;
acknowledging efforts of businesses; corporate social
responsibility vs. local actions; and inviting businesses to attend a Sustainability Subcommittee meeting.
Sandrine Cassidy presented a video made by CCUSD students to encourage bus riding.
Council Member McMorrin invited public comment.
The following mem ber of the public addressed the
Subcommittee:
David Coles expressed support for adding solar to all school facilities but concern that would be difficult to pull off in the short -term, and he proposed conversion of turf to
vegetable gardens or native plantings for wildlife habitats.
Sandrine Cassidy indicated that a warehouse building had been identified as a viable candidate for solar ; discussed the Master Energy Plan; micro -grids; the program by the Clean Power Alliance; gardens; conversion of playground surfaces to woodchips; difficult years during COVID; and she encouraged Mr. Metzler to approach the School Board with suggestions and options.
Further discussion ensued between Ms. Cassidy, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding upgrades to playground
equipment to address accessibility and sustainability;
ensuring that the City and CCUSD are aligned in the standards for accessibility and sustainability; collaboration with West Los Angeles College (WLAC); and appreciation of Ms. Cassidy for her work.
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Item A-2
Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
5 Receive and Discuss a Presentation Regarding Recent
Activities of the Ballona Creek Renaissance Organization
Deborah Gregory, Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR), introduced Board Members; provided background on the organization; discussed their mission; events; the Los Angeles Watershed; greening efforts; pedestrian gardens; rain gardens;
bioswales; ocean friendly gardens; Native Plant Garden
Projects; the Culver City High School Ballona Creek
Renaissance Club; scholarships; advocacy; the Polystyrene Ban; the effect of bans; banned items; single use items; positive changes; she presented a short video on the
Interceptor; discussed microscopic pollution a wareness; sustainable restoration of the Wetlands; the 5000 Beethoven proposal; future efforts; upcoming events; and she welcomed anyone interested to become an engaged Board Member.
Discussion ensued between BCR representatives, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding cool pavement projects; adding a guided tour of the Creek to the Fiesta La Ballona Scavenger Hunt; stormwater remediation; funding; Stonev iew;
jurisdiction; the Nature Center; hydroponics; relocation of the Community Garden from the previous Wende location; and an acknowledgement of the progressiveness of the City in being ahead of waste regulations imposed by state legislation.
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Item A-3
Receive and Discuss a Presentation Regarding Enforcement Service Division Activities
Marian Aspnes, Enforcement Services Manager , provided a presentation on Enforcement Service Division activities; discussed priorities, the Enforcement Team; common municipal code violations and complaints; sustainability and leaf blower enforcement; the complaint lifecycle; violations , notices, citations , and fines; and she provided Division statistics.
Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding separate tracking of calls for the unhoused; EPO calls; water related complaints; the process for reporting Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
6 polystyrene concerns; education; compliance; other
enforcement duties; and the Amnesty Program.
Council Member McMorrin invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the
Subcommittee:
David Metzler discussed the lack of negative consequences for non-compliant restaurants; staff turnover; the dysfunctional system; the amount of leniency afforded to businesses vs. punishment o f individuals; voluntary compliance; repeat violations; businesses that are not interested in sustained compliance; small-scale gardening operations; he noted that all leaf blowers create pollution and fine particulate
matter; emphasized the importance of protecting gardeners; and he received clarificat ion regarding the permitting and licensing process for gardeners.
Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding rebates offered by LADWP (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power); state regulations; the ban on leaf blowers in Los Angeles; larger developments; technical enhancements; updating City Council policy; leaf vacuums; education on sustainable gardening practices; fines; penalties; staffing levels; addressing complaints; proactive enforcement;
randomized enforcement; creation of enforcement plans when an ordinance passes; the inability of staff to engage in directed enforcement in addition to their current duties at existing staffing levels; reasoning for the focus on voluntary
compliance; health requirements; annual county ins pections; behavioral overlap between hoarders and the unhoused;
repeating behaviors; Health Code violations; follow -up necessary to address hoarding; the need for additional staff; requiring house cleaners; hoarding as related to loneliness; social workers , mental health workers, and inspectors
necessary to address issues; outreach; job placement; and the importance of compliance.
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Item A-4
Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
7 Receive and Discuss a Presentation Regarding State of California SB 1383 Regulations (California's Short -Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy) and the City's
Compliance Efforts
Daniel Pankau, PWEPO Management Analyst, provided background on SB (Senate Bill) 1383; discussed compliance; review and enforcement; required programs; collection and processing; jurisdiction requirements; single family residential;
commercial requirements; SB 619; Notice of Intent to Comply (NOIC); procurement requirements; the need to find a home for the organic recycling; AB (Assembly Bill) 1985; the Edible Food Recovery Program; and the timeline for SB 1383.
Discussion ensued between meeting participants, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding bin color; the partnership with donor locations; coordination with CCUSD; Upward Bound House; SHARE; commercial locations that try to receive
exemptions; anerobic digesters; the pilot program; efforts to comply with regulations; food storage; Health Department laws; compost give aways; staff turnover; using materials locally; finding locations to compost; issues with locating the Community Garden on Bill Botts Field; landfill technology and composting; collaborative use; exploration of
complimentary relationships; the need to process the compost before using; meeting procurement requirements by using fuel derived from methane; youth concerns; the future; Inglewood Oil Field reuse; and solutions.
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Public Comment for Items NOT on the Agenda
Council Member McMorrin invited public participation.
No speakers came forward.
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Items from Subcommittee Members/Staff
Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding future agenda items including a suggestion to invite large local businesses to attend future meetings to discuss their loca l sustainability efforts ; receiving a presentation around indigenous gardening and communication with local indigenous groups who have worked with the City on Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
8 oil fields and other activities; community gardening; and research into whether guerilla gardening is allowed or
whether the City could change policy.
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Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council
September 27, 2022
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Adjournment
There be ing no further business, at 8:59 p.m., the
Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council adjourned to November 29, 2022.
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___________________________________________________________ Jeremy Bocchino
SECRETARY of the Culver City Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council Culver City, California
APPROVED
___________________________________________________________ Yasmine-Imani McMorrin
COUNCIL MEMBER, Sustainability Subcommittee of the City Council Culver City, California