CITY COUNCIL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING
Hybrid Meeting
June 26, 2023
5:30 p.m.
MEETING MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Council Member Julie Roche.
ROLL CALL:
Members:
Present
▪ Julie Roche, City Council Member/CSC Chair
▪ Angela Andrews, City Council Member
▪ Francisco Zermeño, City Council Member (Excused at 6:23 p.m.) Staff:
▪ Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works
▪ Nicole Grucky, Sustainability Specialist
▪ Linda Ko, Senior Secretary (Meeting Recorder)
▪ Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager
▪ Taylor Richard, Associate Planner
Others:
▪ Cait Cady, Public Engagement Coordinator - East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) ▪ JP Ross, Vice President, Local Development, Electrification and Innovation - EBCE
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no public comments.
1. Approval of Minutes of the Council Sustainability Committee (CSC) Meeting Held on May 8, 2023
The item was moved by Council Member Andrews, seconded by Council Member Zermeño, and approved unanimously.
2. East Bay Community Energy Update: Local Programs and Customer Bill Savings – Information and Discussion
Cait Cady and JP Ross from EBCE presented the informational report on the EBCE Community update on local programs, partnerships, and customer bill savings.
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Committee Comments
Council Member Francisco Zermeño shared that Alameda Country Transit had received a $25 million grant for zero emission buses.
Council Member Andrews asked if staff could look into the demographics of the 5.8% of people who opted out of EBCE electricity products to provide educational opportunities.
She also stated that she preferred to see electric vehicle (EV) charging stations developed in areas with high visibility, preferably on open lots instead of garages. Council Member Andrews asked EBCE how they would work with Hayward for the E-bike program. Mr. JP Ross stated that EBCE was currently in the process of signing the contract for the program, but they intend to work with local bike shops to run the program. For example, a customer would have the option to order a bike online, but the bike would be delivered to a local Hayward bike shop for pick-up.
Council Member Roche advocated for an e-bike event, possibly at the Southland Mall parking lot, where people could come try out e-bikes and learn more about them as part of the E-bike program. Council Member Roche also asked EBCE staff if there was a plan to make the Bright Choice product cleaner since the content was now dirtier in terms of CO2 emissions than PG&E products. EBCE staff responded that EBCE’s goal was to get to 100% renewable by 2030.
Director Alex Ameri commented that when looking at the mix of energy for all of Hayward residentials, on average 70% of the energy was 100% renewable and 30% was 65% renewable – resulting in an average energy that had more emissions than PG&E. If customers would have stayed with PG&E energy, they would be getting between 94% to 96% clean energy. Director Ameri asked EBCE staff if the revenues that were being used to give an additional 2% discount to Bright Choice users could instead be used to clean up the energy products to bring the clean energy level to PG&E’s level.
Council Member Roche asked if EBCE staff could follow up with the Council Sustainability Committee to provide actual value comparisons in terms of Hayward’s overall clean energy averages compared to PG&E’s clean energy averages. Ms. Cait Cady confirmed that EBCE could provide the 2022 data to the CSC this fall.
Council Member Francisco Zermeño was excused from the meeting due to another City business appointment.
3. Hayward Area Shoreline Planning Agency (HASPA) – Overview and Update – Information and Discussion
Taylor Richard, Associate Planner, and Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager, presented the informational report on the Hayward Regional Shoreline Planning Agency and implementation of the Hayward Regional Shoreline Adaptation Master Plan.
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Committee Comments
Council Member Andrews stated that she was glad to see two full new members join the JPA after outreach.
Council Member Roche asked where the funding for the project would come from. Ms.
Taylor Richard stated that most of the funding opportunities were through large grants.
She stated that currently there were state and federal grants, and also that the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) was looking to identify additional permanent funding opportunities.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
4. Proposed 2023 Agenda Planning Calendar: Review and Comment Mr. Pearson shared the proposed 2023 agenda planning calendar with the Committee.
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Committee Comments
Council Member Roche stated she would be interested in seeing a report on options for a potential tax on large CO2 emitters to potentially use the money toward sustainability projects.
COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REFERRALS:
There were no Committee Member or Staff announcements and referrals.
ADJOURNMENT: 6:58 p.m.
MEETINGS
Attendance Present
6/26/23
Meeting
Present
to Date This
Year
Excused
to Date This
Year
Absent
to Date This
Year
Julie Roche ✓ 3 0 0
Angela Andrews ✓ 3 0 0
Francisco Zermeño ✓ 2 0 0