City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 24, 2023
Agenda Item: 7.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Office of Sustainability & the Environment
Subject: Receive and File Sustainable City Plan, Policies, and Programs Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Receive and file the City’s Sustainability City Plan, Policies and Programs for the Public Works Department.
2. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15307 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
Executive Summary
For almost thirty years, the City of Santa Monica has been committed to leading a collective effort to improve economic vitality, protect environmental health, and address social equity in our community. Over the course of that time, the City has become a national leader and global trailblazer in the arena of municipal sustainability and has developed policies and community programs designed to integrate sustainable practices into the everyday fabric of the community. This ongoing practice has helped the City realize the outcomes established in the Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan (SCP), which was adopted by Council in 1994 to help our community think, plan, and act more sustainably. As one of the first of its kind in the nation, the SCP outlines specific guiding principles, goals, indicators, and targets to track and advance our progress towards becoming a sustainable community. The Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE) has overseen monitoring, reporting and implementation of the SCP since its adoption in 1994. The SCP, and many programs and policies that have 2 of 43
come out of this work, have served as a model for cities around the world to advance sustainable city plans and strategies within their own communities.
Since the inception of the SCP, the City has integrated sustainability into municipal operations across the organization. By working closely with City departments and through various collaborations with a robust peer network, the City has identified strategies to conserve resources and improve the quality of life of residents, the business community and the City’s workforce. Because of this long-standing commitment and ongoing investment of resources, the City has created a unique culture of sustainability within the organization that is integrated into City policies, programming, purchasing, projects, and events. The City has committed to measuring both municipal and community wide metrics to measure the impacts of our efforts to achieve the outcomes established in the SCP and model best practices for municipal sustainability.
In collaboration with the City’s operational departments and divisions, OSE leads this effort to harness the power of municipal investment and community interest to enhance our resources, prevent harm to the natural environment and human health, and benefit the social and economic wellbeing of the community for the sake of current and future generations.
As a result of nearly thirty years of innovative and cutting-edge policy decisions and implementation strategies, the impacts of the City’s work are felt by the community today. The City has made long-term investments to preserve Santa Monica's access to a local water supply. The City has also created standards that ensure new buildings use less water than those they replace. And the City has pioneered adoption of clean energy sources for electricity that power homes, vehicles, and public infrastructure. All of these measures improve our health and quality of life as well as ensure Santa Monica's resilience against climate change locally and prove innovative policies and technologies that are adopted around the world, allowing our 8 square mile City make a global impact in our efforts to protect our planet and natural resources against the effects of climate change and human impact. While we acknowledge and celebrate our accomplishments, we know there is much work still to be done and city staff and leadership are committed to continue our efforts to build on this success by expanding 3 of 43
sustainability efforts to address the ever-changing landscape presented by climate change, economic disparity, and social and environmental justice.
Background
Sustainable City Program/Plan
We live in a time in which population growth, high levels of consumption and the desire to feed growing economies have created escalating demands on our resources - natural, human and social - on a local, regional, and global scale. These demands have the potential to negatively impact the natural environment, our community health and the quality of our lives. Faced with these challenges, people worldwide have developed a growing concern for the environment and a desire to live sustainably. In 1994, the Santa Monica City Council took steps to address these pressures locally by adopting the Santa Monica Sustainable City Program. The Sustainable City Program was initially proposed by the City’s Task Force on the Environment to ensure that Santa Monica could continue to meet its current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. The Sustainable City Program was designed to help the community think, plan and act more sustainably – to help address the root causes of problems rather than the symptoms of those problems, and to provide criteria for evaluating the long-term impacts of our decisions.
In 1994, the Sustainable City Program included numerical indicators to check our progress toward meeting our sustainability goals, as well as specific targets for the city to achieve by the year 2000 in four goal areas – 1) Resource Conservation, 2) Transportation, 3) Pollution Prevention and Public Health Protection, and 4) Community and Economic Development. After reviewing the progress made since the adoption of the Sustainable City Program, city staff and the Task Force on the Environment recognized the need to provide a more comprehensive picture of community sustainability and proposed an effort to update and expand the Sustainable City Program goals and indicators. This comprehensive update, adopted in 2003, allowed Santa Monica to build on its initial success and better address the challenges to sustainability that remain.
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OSE staff led the update process and utilized the expertise and lived experience of the members of the Sustainable City Working Group - a large group of community stakeholders that included elected and appointed officials, city staff, and representatives of neighborhood organizations, schools, the business community and other community groups. The group proposed changes to the initial Sustainable City Program goals and indicators and assisted with the creation of the new indicator targets. The result of this process was the updated Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan, which represents the community’s vision of Santa Monica as a sustainable city. The change in name from Sustainable City Program to Sustainable City Plan was made to better reflect the longterm comprehensive nature of Santa Monica’s vision and the community’s efforts to become a sustainable city. The updated Sustainable City Plan was adopted by Council in 2003. It was updated again in 2006 and 2014, and will be presented to Council in March 2023 for an additional updates that allow the City to be nimble in addressing climate change and achieving meaningful sustainability outcomes. The Sustainable City Plan now includes goals and strategies for City government and all sectors of the community to conserve and enhance our local resources, safeguard human health and the environment, maintain a healthy and diverse economy, and improve the livability and quality of life for all community members in Santa Monica.
Sustainable City Plan Organization
The Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan (SCP) is founded on eleven Guiding Principles that provide the basis from which effective and sustainable decisions can be made.
These Guiding Principles underlie all of the goals in the SCP and serve as the foundation for the City’s work. The Guiding Principles have been revised and updated from the versions initially adopted in 1994. Current Guiding Principles are:
• The Concept of Sustainability Guides City Policy
• Protection, Preservation, and Restoration of the Natural Environment is a High Priority of the City
• Environmental Quality, Economic Health and Social Equity are Mutually Dependent
• All Decisions Have Implications to the Long-term Sustainability of Santa Monica 5 of 43
• Community Awareness, Responsibility, Participation and Education are Key Elements of a Sustainable Community
• Santa Monica Recognizes Its Linkage with the Regional, National, and Global Community
• Those Sustainability Issues Most Important to the Community Will be Addressed First, and the Most Cost-Effective Programs and Policies Will be Selected • The City is Committed to Procurement Decisions which Minimize Negative Environmental and Social Impacts
• Cross-sector Partnerships Are Necessary to Achieve Sustainable Goals • The Precautionary Principle Provides a Complimentary Framework to Help Guide City Decision-Makers in the Pursuit of Sustainability
• Santa Monica is Committed to Sustainable Rights for its Residents, Natural Communities and Ecosystems
The SCP includes indicators in nine Goal Areas, shown above, that the City measures for sustainability performance. The Goal Areas include:
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1. Resource Conservation – Reduce consumption and increase renewable and recycled resources to protect and preserve our natural resources
2. Environmental and Public Health - Minimize and eliminate hazardous or toxic materials, pollutants entering the air, soil and water, and risks to human and ecological health
3. Sustainable Local Economy - Nurture a diverse, stable, local economy that supports basic needs of all segments of the community
4. Transportation - Create a multi-modal transportation system that minimizes and eliminates pollution and motor vehicle congestion while ensuring safe mobility and access for all
5. Open Space and Land Use - Develop and maintain a sufficient open space for diverse uses and opportunities as well as an equitable distribution of parks and trees
6. Housing - Achieve and maintain a mix of affordable, livable and green housing types throughout the city for people of all socioeconomic groups
7. Civic Participation and Community Education - Community members of all ages participate actively and effectively in civic affairs and community improvement efforts
8. Human Dignity - Community members are able to meet their basic needs and are empowered to enhance the quality of their lives, and
9. Arts and Culture - Retain and nurture Santa Monica’s arts community and resources
Leadership, Guidance and Implementation of the Sustainable City Plan Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and the Environment The City’s Task Force on the Environment (TFE) fulfilled the initial leadership role on behalf of the community for the 1994 Sustainable City Plan. With the 2003 update and expansion of the Sustainable City Plan into new and more diverse goal areas, the TFE recommended the creation of a Sustainable City Task Force (SCTF) that included broad 7 of 43
representation from community stakeholders with expertise in all of the Sustainable City Plan goal areas. The SCTF was created in 2003 to provide leadership and guidance for implementation of the Sustainable City Plan. In 2009, the SCTF ended, and this role was again assumed by the TFE, which maintained its practice until 2021, when Council adopted an ordinance to convert the TFE into a permanent commission by creating the Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and the Environment. Today, the “Sustainability Commission” is an expert panel made up of seven members appointed by City Council who have significant expertise in one or more areas of environmental policy. The Commission advises staff and makes recommendations to Council in accordance with the guiding principles, goals and objectives of the SCP.
Sustainability Advisory Team
In 2003, an interdepartmental Sustainability Advisory Team (SAT) was created to coordinate existing City activities, so they are consistent with the Sustainable City goals and facilitate the future implementation of innovative programs and policies to achieve the goals. Members of this city staff group served as Sustainable City liaisons to their respective departments. While active, the SAT met on a monthly basis to integrate sustainability into municipal operations. Accomplishments included establishing a Green Office Certification program, creation of the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature, developing zero waste policies for city events, sustainability education integrated into new employee orientations, sustainable food policies, and sustainability bus and bike tours. In 2020, the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic limited staff and budget resources and the SAT no longer meets regularly and may return when staffing levels are restored.
Reporting
In order to become a sustainable community, all community members must be educated and empowered to achieve the City’s sustainability goals. The City initially developed two reporting tools intended to provide useful information to City Council, staff, and community members on progress being made toward meeting goals and targets of the Plan and provide a basis for decision-making about policies and actions that influence the City’s ability to meet the goals and targets. 8 of 43
• The Sustainable City Progress Report is a web-based tool that provides current, detailed analysis of the data for each indicator in the Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan. Visit www.data.sustainablesm.org to see our current data. • The Sustainable City Report Card, published from 2005 - 2012, was a summary document that provided an overview of our progress toward, and challenges to, becoming a sustainable community. The Report Card presented goal area summaries and grades based on the specific indicator data. The Report Card was published every two years until staff resources were re-allocated to focus on the data collection and analysis needed to maintain the Sustainable City Progress Report as the definitive resource for community decision makers.
The Sustainable Rights Ordinance
On April 9, 2013, Council adopted the Sustainable Rights Ordinance to protect residents’ rights to a clean and healthy natural environment and codified the Sustainable City Plan progress reporting. The Sustainability Rights ordinance is based on the belief that Earth is a community whose members are humans, animals, plants, rivers, streams, and ecosystems and where all members of the community must have rights to ensure the sustainability of the whole. Santa Monica’s City Council recognizes both the rights of natural communities and ecosystems within Santa Monica to exist, thrive and evolve and the rights of individual human beings that make up the City of Santa Monica to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The peoples’ rights include, but are not limited to the right to:
1. Affordable and accessible water from sustainable water sources for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes
2. Sustainable energy future based on sustainable renewable energy sources
3. A natural climate unaltered by fossil fuel emissions
4. Sustainable, comprehensive waste disposal systems that do not degrade the environment
5. Clean indoor and outdoor air, clean water and clean soil that pose a negligible health risk to the public
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6. A sustainable food system that provides healthy, locally grown food to the community
Later, on June 11, 2019, Council adopted an ordinance to create Article 12 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code titled “Sustainability” (Attachment). The article was created for the purpose of codifying Santa Monica’s commitment to achieving sustainability by among other things: (a) restoring, protecting and preserving our natural environment and all of its components and communities including, but not limited to, the air, water, soil, and climate upon which all living things depend; (b) creating and promoting sustainable systems of food production and distribution, energy production and distribution, transportation, waste disposal, and water supply; and (c) to the full extent legally possible, subordinating the short-term, private, financial interests of corporations and others to the common, long-term interest of achieving environmental and economic sustainability.
The Office of Sustainability and the Environment
The Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE) has overseen SCP monitoring, reporting and implementation since adoption of the Sustainable City Program in 1994.
OSE is responsible for developing and implementing policy initiatives that promote local environmental, economic, and social sustainability and integrating resource management, conservation, and sustainability practices with ongoing City operations.
OSE is a Division of the Public Works Department that is funded by a combination of general and enterprise funds. These funding sources draw a nexus between the work that OSE does to develop policies and programs and the implementation of municipal operations or capital projects such as the recently opened Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP). As a result of Covid-19, OSE experienced significant reductions – staffing levels decreased from 19 full-time staff to nine full-time staff (52.6% decrease) and a the operating budget decreased from $4.037 million to $2.455 million (a 38.1% decrease). As a result, many programs were scaled down or suspended, and OSE focused its resources and staff capacity to address three City priorities for carbon neutrality, zero waste and water self-sufficiency. 10 of 43
Discussion
OSE has established and overseen many of the sustainability programs that help the City achieve community-wide sustainability goals. Multiple City departments and divisions now lead efforts to integrate sustainable practices and achieve the meaningful outcomes established in the Sustainable City Plan. Neighborhood groups, business districts, community organizations, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, Santa Monica College, and Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District all participate in programs that help achieve the City’s sustainability goals.
As part of advancing the outcomes in the Sustainable City Plan, Council established three primary environmental sustainability goals that serve as an overarching framework for our current efforts. The City Council has committed to achieving:
• Water Self Sufficiency by 2023,
• Zero Waste by 2030, and
• Carbon Neutrality by 2050 or sooner
The City has developed programs and policies to guide our efforts in each of these three areas:
Sustainability Goal Sustainability Programs
1 Water Self-Sufficiency by 2023 a. Sustainable Water Master Plan b. Water Conservation
2 Zero Waste by 2030 a. SB 1383 – Mandatory Organics
b. Expanded Producer
Responsibility/Sustainable Procurement
3 Carbon Neutrality by 2050 or
sooner
a. Clean Power Alliance
b. Building Electrification
c. Vehicle Electrification
A brief description of the programs designed to achieve water self-sufficiency, zero waste and carbon neutrality are included below.
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1. WATER SELF-SUFFICIENCY BY 2023
Climate change has created a volatile water cycle in California characterized by periods of record setting drought or intense heavy precipitation that has disrupted consistency in water availability and reliability across the region. Becoming water self-sufficient as a city means long-term cost certainty for our residents, creating a diverse, sustainable, and drought-resilient local water supply, and reducing our water supply energy footprint.
Santa Monica adopted a water neutrality policy in 2017 and adopted an update to the Sustainable Water Master Plan (SWMP) in 2018 with the goal of achieving water selfsufficiency by 2023. OSE worked with the Water Resources Division and a third-party consultant to develop recommended projects to achieve water self-sufficiency. The City's original water self-sufficiency goal was set at 99% locally sourced water. One percent of the City’s water supply would still be purchased from MWD to maintain the imported water connections for emergency purposes. The goal of achieving 99% locally sourced water by 2023 has been impacted by the 2020 Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and the Covid-19 Pandemic. As discussed in the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan and presented to Council at the June 8, 2021 City Council Meeting, the 99% goal may be impacted by as much as 20%, but this impact could potentially be mitigated through increased water conservation efforts to achieve 85-90% water self-sufficiency.
a. Sustainable Water Master Plan (SWMP)
The SWMP lays out the City’s strategy to achieve water self-sufficiency by 2023. The SWMP uses a combination of water demand reduction strategies and increased development of local water supplies to achieve this goal. Water reduction is achieved through implementation of various water conservation and efficiency programs designed to permanently reduce residential and commercial water use. Development of new sustainable local water supplies comes from:
• Alternative water sources such as harvesting stormwater, captured dry weather urban runoff, and municipal wastewater for non-potable uses (e.g., irrigation and toilet flushing) and groundwater recharge;
• Increased efficiency of the City’s water treatment systems; and 12 of 43
• Restoring impaired groundwater aquifers and expanding local groundwater production within sustainable yield limits.
Notably, the recently completed Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP) will produce up to 1.5 million gallons per day of purified water, or approximately 10% of the City’s water supply, for non-potable (e.g., irrigation) and potable reuse (e.g., groundwater recharge). In addition, the Olympic Well Field Restoration and Arcadia Water Treatment Plant Expansion projects broke ground in January of 2022 and are scheduled to be completed in Fall of 2023. Both of these projects were designed and implemented by the City’s Water Resources and Engineering Divisions with initial policy guidance from OSE.
b. Water Conservation
The City of Santa Monica offers residents and businesses multiple opportunities to reduce water use through programs, resources, and enforcement which support water conservation and drought response. Water conservation rebates include the popular “Cash-for-Grass” rebate to incentivize switching out traditional water-thirsty grass lawns for drought resilient gardens and the rain harvest rebate for rain barrels and cisterns to capture and re-use valuable rainwater. Other rebates are provided for high-efficiency toilets, clothes washers, and irrigation controllers. The City also offers free onsite water use consultations to help our customers identify ways to save water at their properties.
In addition, building projects are reviewed and inspected for water efficiency by ensuring compliance with the City’s Water Neutrality ordinance and the Water Efficient Landscape and Irrigation Standards.
OSE led the development of the City’s landmark Water Neutrality Ordinance, adopted in 2017, which prohibits new developments from exceeding the historical water use for the site. The law caps water use to the historical five-year average. If compliance is not feasible, fees paid in-lieu of reducing water demand onsite go into water efficiency projects elsewhere in the community. Most recently, the City has addressed current drought conditions by declaring enhanced outdoor watering restrictions to reduce water used for landscape irrigation along with enforcement of reported violations. The City is 13 of 43
also in the process of implementing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), or Smart Water Meters, that would provide the customers real time monitoring of their water use and reduce water leaks on the customer side.
Cumulative reduction in water demand (through December 2022) is holding steady at
21.7% below 2013 levels and 1.5% below 2020 levels. Residential per capita water use has declined from over 100 gallons per day in 2013 to 73.6 gallons per day in 2022.
Annual Water Use
2. ZERO WASTE BY 2030
Adopted by Council in 2014, the City’s Zero Waste Strategic Operations Plan (Zero Waste Plan) provides an environmental policy framework to guide the City on its path of achieving zero waste. OSE collaborated with the City’s Resource, Recovery, and Recycling Division (RRR) and a third-party consultant to develop strategies for the Zero Waste Plan, which sets an ambitious goal of achieving 95 percent landfill diversion, or a 14 of 43
disposal rate of 1.1 pounds per person per day by 2030. Key elements of the Zero Waste Plan include:
a. SB 1383 – Mandatory Organics Recycling
Adopted in 2016, SB 1383 sets statewide targets to reduce the amount of organic waste disposed of in landfills (75% reduction by 2025). It also sets a goal to rescue at least 20% of currently disposed edible food by 2025 and redirect that food to people in need.
To comply with the State law and to continue Santa Monica’s commitment to achieving its zero waste goal by 2030, the City Council adopted a new Mandatory Recycling Ordinance for Santa Monica on November 9, 2021. Under the ordinance, which took effect January 1, 2022, all Santa Monica single- and multi-family households and commercial customers are required to separate waste using a three-bin system: black for refuse, blue for non-organics recycling such as cardboards and bottles, and green for organics recycling. While many customers have three bins, there are some that do not have a green bin, commonly known as the bin for yard waste. The green bin serves a wider use for all organics, which means food waste, food-soiled paper waste that is mixed in with food waste, natural fiber materials (e.g. chopsticks and wood cutleries), and green waste (e.g., landscape and yard waste). The Mandatory Organics Recycling program is led by RRR, with support from OSE.
b. Sustainable Procurement and Extended Producer Responsibility “Extended Producer Responsibility” is a strategy to place a shared responsibility for end-of-life product management on producers and other entities involved in the product chain, instead of local governments or the general public. It encourages product design changes that minimize negative impacts on human health and the environment at every stage of a product’s lifecycle. The City has applied these principles in goods ranging from compost and mulch to batteries and paint and electronics. Sustainable procurement ensures that the products and services the City buys have the lowest environmental impact and highest social benefits.
The City’s commitment to sustainable procurement is codified in the Sustainable City Plan. For almost thirty years, the City has prioritized procuring goods and services that 15 of 43
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect water and air quality, are less toxic to people and the environment, avoid waste generation, and enhance social equity and economic vitality. As part of OSE’s Sustainable Procurement program, City Departments must comply with the City’s sustainable procurement administrative instructions. The City has had particular success in procuring sustainable goods and services for: office supplies and equipment, custodial and chemical supplies, furnishings, appliances and fixtures, facilities maintenance services, and construction and building materials.
A brief history of our Sustainable Procurement Program is highlighted below:
1991 City adopts a purchasing ordinance that bans the procurement of ozonedepleting chemicals 5 years before the Federal ban. 1991 City adopts the recycled products procurement policy and begins requiring the purchase of recycled content products to reduce deforestation and improve the markets for recovered recycled papers. From 1992 to 2016, the City’s purchase of recycled paper resulted in 18,000 trees saved; 750 tons of CO2 reduced; and 8.4 millions of water eliminated.
1994 Sustainable City Plan is adopted and includes sustainable procurement as one of the 8 guiding principles to encourage the purchase of products and services that minimize negative environmental and social impacts. 1994 City adopts toxics-use reduction program aimed at procuring chemical products used in City operations that are less-toxic and hazardous then conventional products.
1994 City initiates one of the first green cleaning programs addressing facilities and fleet maintenance in the United States. By 2000, 86% of paint was low or noVOCs. 1996 An integrated pest management program is introduced to reduce the quantity and toxicity of pesticides used in City structures and landscaped/open areas.
The City was one of the first in the country to not allow monthly perimeter spraying of structures, which greatly reduced the amount of pesticide contaminating the Santa Monica Bay.
1998 City begins purchasing energy-efficient office equipment to reduce GHG emissions and become more energy efficient.
2008 City purchases of bottled water using taxpayer money is banned at City facilities, greatly reducing waste and energy/fuel used to needlessly transport bottled water.
2008 City uses recycled tires in its rubberized asphalt concrete repaving projects and has reused 480,000 tires since implementing this reuse program. 16 of 43
2013 City issues work an administrative instruction to ensure continuity and uniformity in procurement of office furniture and equipment, improving the use and reuse of items and reducing obsolescence of furniture. 2018 City receives Green Electronics Council’s 2018 EPEAT Purchaser Award for procuring EPEAT registered office electronics, which reduced the use of primary metals by 83 tons, avoided 571 kg of hazardous waste, and avoidance of 447 kg of water pollutant emissions and annually results in energy savings of 267,400 KWh of electricity.
3. CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050 OR SOONER
The City adopted a Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) in 2019, authored by OSE, which sets a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. According to the world’s leading scientists, we have until 2030 to significantly reduce carbon emissions in order to avoid catastrophic climate impacts. The world must cut emissions by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050 to stop global warming at 1.5C. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, was the world’s first collective response and commitment to avoid dangerous climate change and limit future temperature increase to
1.5 to 2°C above pre-industrial level.
The City’s 2020 greenhouse gas emissions inventory found that 62% of emissions were generated from transportation sector, 23% were generated by energy use in buildings, and 6% of emissions were the result of landfilled waste. Carbon neutrality is achieved by emitting only as many greenhouse gases as you offset or remove from the atmosphere, and the CAAP focuses on reducing emissions in three primary sectors to achieve carbon neutrality in Santa Monica:
1. Zero Net Carbon Buildings;
2. Zero Waste; and
3. Sustainable Mobility.
The CAAP also establishes an interim goal of reducing carbon emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 and provides a roadmap to advance these goals across programmatic and departmental lines. As of 2020, emissions were 60% below the 1990 baseline. An updated inventory of 2022 emission levels will be complete by mid-2023.
In many cases, the actions described in the CAAP also require new community and 17 of 43
regional partnerships to develop and test new strategies that will build on Santa Monica’s leadership role in sustainability and innovation. Implementation of the CAAP has included the following activities:
a. Clean Power Alliance
The Clean Power Alliance (CPA) is the locally controlled clean electricity provider for 32 member cities and counties in Southern California, including Santa Monica. Clean Power Alliance is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) governed by a board of directors, which includes an elected official from each member agency. Mayor Gleam Davis serves as the director from Santa Monica. Over 48,000 Santa Monica residential customers switched to Clean Power Alliance at the 100% Green Power default rate on February 1, 2019. The remaining 5,300+ commercial accounts in Santa Monica switched over on May 1, 2019. Taken together, the switch to 100% Green Power reduced the city’s greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector by nearly 30%, accelerating our progress towards carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. The City of 18 of 43
Santa Monica has procured green power for its municipal accounts beginning with Direct Access agreements since 1999. Beginning in early 2023, the City will transition all remaining municipal electricity accounts from our previous green power provider to CPA 100% Green Power so that all municipal accounts in Santa Monica receive renewable electricity through CPA.
b. Building Electrification
To achieve carbon neutrality, net increases in carbon emissions from new construction and development must be mitigated by efficient design, construction, and use of on-site and grid-supplied renewable energy. While many new buildings are utilizing zero emissions electricity sources from rooftop solar and Clean Power Alliance, the largest source of remaining emissions in buildings is methane gas.
Building electrification is a primary pathway to carbon neutrality in the City’s CAAP. In existing buildings, building electrification refers to the replacement of natural gas appliances with electric options such as heat pump hot water heaters for water and space heating. For new buildings, many cities, including Santa Monica, have developed policies to incentivize and later require that all new buildings be fully electric (no gas connection to the building). All-electric buildings significantly lower carbon footprints and have better indoor air quality than buildings that burn natural gas. Given the State RHNA requirement for Santa Monica to build approximately 8,900 new housing units over the next 7 years, requiring new buildings to be fully electric represents a significant opportunity to reduce future emissions.
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New Construction
In 2020, the City adopted an Energy Reach Code that was authored by OSE that incentivized all-electric new construction while offering a mixed-fuel pathway for compliance. Buildings could include natural gas if they were designed to have a lower energy design rating than the state building code required. In 2022, Santa Monica adopted a Zero Emission Building Code, joining over 60 cities in California that now require all new buildings to be fully electric. There are minor exceptions including commercial kitchens (which must be designed to electric-ready standards) and emergency and medical equipment. The new code took effect January 1, 2023.
Advancements in electric technologies such as battery energy storage and demand management, as well as evolving market factors are creating new pathways to energy reliability and resilience. Additionally, new, modern buildings include technologies that allow for maximizing energy load flexibility. For example, using heat pump water heaters as thermal storage can help match the timing of electricity demand to the generation of renewable energy, as well as reduce the severity of the late-afternoon demand ramp as solar output rapidly decreases.
Existing Buildings
While the implementation of the Zero Emission Building Code will drastically reduce emissions from new buildings, most emissions from the building sector come from existing buildings. Tackling the existing building sector will include a mix of prescriptive and performance-based approaches developed collaboratively with community and building stakeholders. In 2021, Santa Monica participated in a cohort-based program led by the Rocky Mountain Institute called the California Equitable Home Electrification Program (CEHEP). This program was designed to facilitate equitable building decarbonization through a series of workshops. The program delivered a local partnership with Santa Monica Black Lives Association (SMBLA), offering tools and resources for SMBLA and the City to jointly create an Existing Building Electrification Roadmap. The roadmap establishes pathways to achieve existing building electrification. The City and SMBLA secured additional funding to initiate a community 20 of 43
outreach campaign centered on building electrification programs, education and incentives. Expanding programs and funding and developing policies to support existing building electrification are priority areas for OSE staff in 2023.
As part of Santa Monica’s broader decarbonization and electrification efforts, the City launched the Electrify Santa Monica rebate program in 2020 to incentivize fuel switching from gas to electric and EV adoption. The program offers rebates (including incomequalified amounts) on all-electric appliances and EV chargers. Standard EV charger rebates are $1,500 and low-income applicants are eligible for $3,000. More than 50 residential EV chargers have been funded through this program.
Lot 5 South – 24 ports installed through the SCE Charge Ready program 21 of 43
c. Vehicle Electrification
The Electric Vehicle (EV) Action Plan was authored by OSE and adopted by Council in 2017 to help reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector – the largest contributor to citywide emissions as identified in the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan.
The EV Action Plan outlines policies, programs, and infrastructure projects that facilitate the shift to electric vehicles for residents and visitors. Since the plan was adopted, OSE has led the installation of more than 100 public EV charging stations, adopted policies to increase the level of EV charging infrastructure required in all new buildings, and implemented a rebate program to assist residents of multi-family buildings with home charger installations, among other items. Staff continue to build out the City’s EV charging network and develop policies to support greater EV adoption, including the City Fleet discussed later in this report. There are nearly 200 public EV chargers on City property and many more non-City operated stations throughout Santa Monica, including private locations such as grocery and other retail facilities, hotels, car dealerships, and Tesla Supercharger sites. Public charging is increasingly important as more residents make the switch to EVs, particularly for those who live in multi-family buildings and lack access to home charging due to insufficient electrical capacity or barriers to installation of charging infrastructure.
The EV Action Plan also called for policy development to increase the quantity of EV chargers required in new buildings. The City adopted an EV Charger Reach Code in 2020 and recently updated the code in advance of the new state building code cycle under CALGreen. The new EV Charger Reach Code requires EV charging access in 75% of parking spaces in multi-family buildings (exceeding the state’s 35% requirement) and increased the requirement for workplace charging facilities by 20%.
The City has an agreement with EVgo to install, own and operate DC fast chargers at certain City lots. There are currently three City EVgo sites offering a total of 36 fast chargers. The City has taken advantage of utility incentives through the Southern California Edison Charge Ready program to install EV chargers at several city parking facilities, including 31 ports installed on the Civic Structure rooftop in 2018 and 24 EV 22 of 43
charge ports installed at Beach Lot 5 South in 2020. The City has two more projects in the design phase to add chargers at Virginia Avenue Park and Clover Park in 2023.
SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMY PROGRAMS
In addition to the programs described previously that are designed specifically to achieve water self-sufficiency, zero waste and carbon neutrality, the City of Santa Monica has established additional programs to achieve the broader sustainability goals established in the Sustainable City Plan. These include programs to nurture a sustainable local economy, efforts to engage the community in broader sustainability practices, and municipal programs specifically
designed to improve sustainability outcomes within
City operations.
Santa Monica has a long history of active engagement
with our business community to support a local
economy built on sustainable practices. Overtime,
Santa Monica has demonstrated that economic vitality
and environmental protection are mutually supportive.
Between 1990 and 2015, the City saw a 20%
reduction in our carbon emissions. At the same time, we increased local employment by over 50%, demonstrating that a cleaner and more prosperous economy is possible. A summary of some of the current sustainable local economy programs managed by OSE are presented below:
Sustainable Local Economy Programs
1 Green Business and Green Business Certification Program 2 Sustainable Quality Awards
3 Buy Local Santa Monica
Demonstration of Santa Monica's ability
to reduce carbon emissions from 1990
- 2015 while economy and jobs were
growing
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1. Green Business Program and Green Business Certification The Green Business Program and Green Business Certification Program are implemented through a partnership with Sustainable Works, the Chamber of Commerce, Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, the City of Santa Monica Buy Local Program, and the California Green Business Network. The City contracts with Sustainable Works to ensure that local businesses who participate in the Green Business programs meet rigorous certification standards in the areas of energy and water conservation, toxics use reduction, resource use reduction, sustainable purchasing, and ethical business practices. The City and Sustainable Works collaborate to recruit, certify, and recognize new and existing businesses into the green business programs with an annual target of enrolling 24 businesses into the free Green Business Program and certifying 14 businesses in the Green Business Certification Program.
Since 2007 the program has certified 241 businesses and engaged 41,000 local employees. The cumulative impacts and savings of businesses who have participated in these programs equal 4,029,285 pounds of CO2 emissions reduced, 4,737,656 kWh or $480,019 in energy savings, 13,293,589 gallons of water conserved, and 1,208,360 lbs of waste diverted.
2. Sustainable Quality Awards
Held annually since 1995, the Sustainable Quality Awards (SQA) promote the efforts of local businesses making significant achievements in the areas of sustainable economic development, social responsibility, and stewardship of the natural environment. The SQA nurtures Santa Monica’s sustainable business community, inspiring other businesses to adopt their own sustainable practices and providing residents and visitors Green Certified Businesses display this logo in their window or framed in their business 24 of 43
with a healthy economy and clean environment. The SQA Grand Prize is given for combined excellence in Sustainable Economic Development, Social Responsibility, and Stewardship of the Natural Environment. Specific Excellence Awards are given to businesses with outstanding achievements in any one of the three areas. For almost thirty years, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Works, and the City of Santa Monica have partnered to host the SQA, providing awards to local Santa Monica businesses. Award winning businesses range from local hotels and schools to non-profit organization who were each recognized for their excellence in sustainable practices. The SQA has provided 210 awards to 166 businesses with the awards ceremony attracting over 200 participants annually. OSE coordinates and produces this event on behalf of the City.
3. Buy Local Santa Monica
Buy Local Santa Monica is an initiative created by the Santa Monica business community and the City to encourage local buying that strengthens our community by raising awareness about the economic, environmental and community benefits of thinking local first. The campaign was launched in 2010 as a partnership between the City, Downtown SM Inc, Main Street Business Improvement Association, Montana Avenue Merchants Association, Pico Boulevard Improvement Organization, SM Pier Corporation, SM Chamber of Commerce, SM Travel + Tourism, SM Place, SM Education Foundation, GOSAMO, SM Spoke and Sustainable Works.
There are over 1,500 Santa Monica businesses actively participating in the Buy Local Santa Monica campaign. The program is free to all businesses located in the City of Santa Monica. Every year the annual Most Loved Santa Monica contest (now in its 9th year) invites residents, employees and visitors to participate in voting for their favorite businesses. This contest is a partnership with the Santa Monica Daily Press. From Most Loved coffee bar to the favorite Santa Monica Farmers Markets' vendor, the Buy Local partners put the call out to discover and celebrate the Most Loved Businesses in Santa Monica. In 2021, over 70,000 votes were received. The winners are celebrated at City Hall at an annual awards ceremony. OSE and the Economic Development 25 of 43
Division are founding members of Buy Local and serve as the City’s representatives on the Buy Local Santa Monica Executive Committee.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS
Santa Monica residents have been active participants in our efforts to achieve meaningful sustainability outcomes since the Sustainable City Plan was adopted. Over time, OSE on behalf of the City has partnered with organizations to educate and engage our local residents. A summary of the current programs is presented below:
Community Engagement Sustainability Programs
1 Community Sustainability Programs
2 Sustainability Poster Contest
3 Sustainability Film Screenings
4 Climate Action Santa Monica
5 Youth Climate Corp
1. Community Sustainability Programs
OSE contracts with Sustainable Works, a local non-profit organization, to provide residents with the information, tools, and resources needed to integrate more sustainable practices into their daily lives. The Community Sustainability programs target Santa Monica residents with a range of educational opportunities and interactive events focused around distinct aspects of sustainability. These events educate, inspire, and empower residents to take action and reduce their environmental impact. These programs offer an opportunity for residents, local businesses, non-profit organizations, subject area and policy experts, local and regional industry leaders, and vendors the opportunity to interact around sustainability related topics. Past programs have included sustainable food expos, organics recycling and reusable packaging forums, alternative transportation and green building expos, community festivals, and sustainable fashion shows. These events successfully engaged over 50,000 residents per year.
2. Sustainability Poster Contest
OSE partners with Sustainable Works to engage students from kindergarten through twelfth grade in a community-wide sustainability themed poster contest. Themes in past 26 of 43
years have addressed water conservation, sustainable transportation, climate change, buying local, and connecting with nature. Each year a panel of judges reviews over 600 posters and presents winners across multiple categories at an event attended by students, parents, teachers, and city staff. The City and Sustainable Works provided 33 presentations to over 1150 students during the 2022 “Do Your Part Be Water Smart” poster contest. Environmental education programming has been provided to almost 10,000 SMMUSD students over the duration of this program.
3. Sustainability Film Screenings
OSE partners with Sustainable Works to offer film screenings each year. The films have historically been screened in person at the Aero Theatre but shifted to a virtual format during the pandemic. The screenings are followed by a panel discussion that includes a moderator, a representative of the film, a community leader or subject matter expert, and civic leader. An average of 350 people view each film and participate in the panel discussion. 1400 people participate in the film screenings throughout the year.
Following each film, participants receive a survey with a list of actions they would be most likely to take. After the last survey 85% of responders said they would reduce the number of products they consume and 84% said they would conserve energy at home.
Recently screened films have included The Biggest Little Farm, Living in the Future’s Past, Kiss the Ground, Eating Our Way to Extinction, The Ants and the Grasshopper, The Story of Plastic, and 2040. Notable panel participants include moderator Sarah Spitz, environmentalist, entrepreneur, and activist Paul Hawken, and Former Vice President Al Gore. Other notable panelists include Emmy-winning director - John Chester, acclaimed director, cinematographer and producer - Susan Kucera, a recorded message from - Jeff Bridges, directors/producers - Josh and Rebecca Tickell, Los Angeles based visual artist and Co-Founder/CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition - Dianna Cohen, James Beard Award winning activist and New York Times bestselling writer - Raj Patel, and scientist and author - Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop.
4. Climate Action Santa Monica
OSE partners with Climate Action Santa Monica (CASM) to conduct community engagement surrounding sustainability and the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan 27 of 43
(CAAP) on behalf of the City. CASM conducts climate education sessions for youth and adults and builds community support for implementation of the CAAP and participation in the Santa Monica Climate Action Network (SAMOCAN). CASM staff and youth volunteers have recently conducted outreach to communities on a variety of climate opportunities, for example: collaborating with Santa Monica Black Lives Association and OSE to collect data on electrification at the 2022 Juneteenth event; serving on the Zero Emissions Delivery Zone advisory committee; promoting climate-safe commutes to school along with SMMUSD through the GoSaMoHi campaign; and supporting the City’s rollout of the statewide organics recycling program by reaching out to local supermarkets.
5. Youth Climate Corp
In collaboration with OSE, CASM also runs a Youth Climate Corps, an intensive summer program with additional youth volunteer activities year-round. The program educates participants on climate issues, offers practical experiences through projects and public engagement, and supports youth in developing personal leadership and professional development skills. In Summer 2022, 21 youth participated in a 5-week, 50-hour per person Climate Corps program with three areas of focus: water and adaptation to drought in collaboration with the City’s Water Resources division; organic waste recycling in collaboration with the City’s Resource Recovery & Recycling division; and decarbonization and building electrification in collaboration with the Office of Sustainability and the Environment. In Summer 2022, the City was awarded $258,000 through the #CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Development Grant Program, which will enable CASM, as the grant subrecipient, to expand its Climate Corps to underserved populations through Spring 2024.
MUNICIPAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMS
The City of Santa Monica has been a leader in municipal sustainability for decades.
During the course of that time, OSE has established multiple Administrative Instructions (AI) to guide sustainable practices across the City organization and created additional programs to support the outcomes in the Sustainable City Plan. A summary of some of the current programs are presented below:
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Municipal Sustainability Programs led by OSE
1 Sustainable Fleet AI
2 Procurement AI
3 Toxic Use reduction AI
4 Sustainable Building AI
1. Sustainable Fleet Administrative Instruction
The City adopted a Sustainable Fleet Administrative Instruction in December 2015 with the goal of setting policies and practices in place to align the City’s vehicle fleet decarbonization goals with the City’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. The primary purpose of the AI is to establish policies and guidelines to minimize emissions, fossil fuel use, and overall life-cycle impacts of the City’s current and future fleet of vehicles and equipment. The City also established a sustainable fleet team comprised of City fleet operations managers that meet on a quarterly basis to discuss progress towards achieving the goals of the Sustainable Fleet AI. The City’s fleet currently operates at 70% alternative fuels, including vehicles from the Big Blue Bus running on a mix of all electric, hybrid electric, biodiesel, and renewable natural gas.
Most light-duty fleet vehicles are electric.
2. Sustainable Procurement Administrative Instruction
The Sustainable Procurement AI requires departments to use the Easy Guides prepared by OSE when procuring specified goods and services. Each Easy Guide includes specifications that enable departments to purchase environmentally and socially responsible goods and services in the following categories: Office Supplies and Equipment, Custodial and chemical supplies, Furnishings, Appliances and Fixtures, Facilities and Maintenance Services, and Construction and Renovation Materials. 29 of 43
3. Hazard Communication Plan for the Safe Handling of Hazardous Substances in the Workplace Administrative Instruction
This AI is intended to ensure the City’s compliance with Cal-OSHA's Hazard Communication regulations and to go beyond compliance by using a process that identifies the least hazardous and least toxic chemical products that will perform the function required by the end-user while also protecting environmental and human health.
4. Sustainable Building Administrative Instruction
This AI, developed by OSE and adopted in 2017, established sustainable building design requirements for all municipal-owned new construction building projects to ensure that City buildings meet high standards for building performance that are consistent with the City’s goals outlined in the Sustainable City Plan and Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. The policy required that all municipal new construction projects that exceed 10,000 square feet meet the following standards:
• LEED v4 Gold Certification,
• Net-Zero Energy Building Certification from the International Living Future Institute, and
• Zero potable water may be used for non-potable end uses in the building or in any newly installed adjacent landscaping.
KEY SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMS, POLICIES & PROJECTS
Santa Monica has achieved meaningful sustainability outcomes through the sustainability programs and policies outline below:
Key City Sustainability Programs
1 Single Use Plastic Ban Ordinances
2 Solar Santa Monica
3 Community Gardens
4 Santa Monica Library
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5 Annenberg Community Beach House
6 Beach Dune Restoration Project
7 Eliminating Glyphosate
8 Big Blue Bus
9 Zero Emissions Delivery Zone
10 City Hall East
1. Single-Use Plastic Ban Ordinances
Santa Monica was one of the first cities in the nation to ban polystyrene food service containers in 2007 and single-use plastic bags in 2011. OSE led the stakeholder engagement and policy development and paved the way for other cities regionally, statewide and beyond to follow suit. In August 2018, Council approved modifications to the 2007 Nonrecyclable Plastic Food Service Container Ordinance and adopted the Disposable Food Service Ware ordinance. The modifications expand plastics banned to include all single-use plastics for prepared foods, including #1-6 plastics, bio-plastic (#7/PLA), as well as aluminum. Disposable food service ware items include straws, utensils, stirrers, lid plugs, plates, trays, bowls, and containers. Additionally, compliant straws and utensils may only be provided upon request.
2. Solar Santa Monica Program
Rooftop solar array in Santa Monica
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In 2006, the Solar Santa Monica program, managed by OSE, began providing community services to residential and business property owners seeking to install solar energy systems. Solar Santa Monica, in partnership with consultant EcoMotion, provided free technical assistance to residential and commercial property owners. The services included: energy efficiency recommendations, rooftop analysis for solar feasibility, financial payback and solar bid comparison. Solar Santa Monica provided impartial analysis by a third-party consultant based on estimated solar energy system performance, cost, assumptions and included services and warranties. Solar Santa Monica has been instrumental in supporting Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) as a financial vehicle for solar energy systems as well as virtual net energy metering for multifamily properties. The program has been on hold since 2020, but will be relaunched in early 2023.
3. Community Gardens Program
OSE currently manages the City’s Community Gardens program. The Main Street Community Garden, built in 1976, was one of the first Community Gardens established on the westside of Los Angeles and the first in Santa Monica. A small area was added in 1981 on Park Drive and expanded in 2006, followed by an additional garden at Euclid Park in 2007. Ishihara Park Learning Garden, the first communally operated garden, opened to the City in 2017 and the newest community garden recently opened at Marine Park in November, 2022. The program has 140 plots that are rented out to residents, who maintain the land by growing their own fruits, flowers and vegetables.
Ishihara Park and Marine Park each have communal spaces which allow for those without their own plots the opportunity to share in growing food for the community, while engaging with other members of the community. For our residents, the gardens serve as community meeting spaces, create diverse habitats of plants and animals, capture and filter rainwater, recycle organic waste, provide emotional therapy for those that visit and create outdoor opportunities where young and old can participate in a common task. The gardens provide monthly educational opportunities on a variety of urban agriculture and environmental topics including small space gardening, soil mycology and home composting systems. Additional efforts are underway to expand the community composting program and create a school garden network. 32 of 43
4. Santa Monica Library Programs
The Santa Monica Public Library has a
robust sustainability collection that has
been established over a multi-year
collaboration. The Library sustainability
collection provides a wide range of relevant
books, magazines, and audiovisual
materials that can be checked out. Library
visitors will find material on subjects as diverse as interior design and architecture, sustainable landscaping and organic gardening, water conservation, sustainable living and social responsibility. In 2019, OSE developed a DIY Energy Sustainability Toolkit for residents to check out to help reduce their energy use, water use, and utility bill. The toolkit included a user handbook and tools to monitor energy efficiency and water use, such as a kill-a-watt meter to measure energy demand from appliances and an infrared thermometer to check for heat loss. The program was on hold during the pandemic and will be available again in 2023.
The Santa Monica Public Library established the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature in collaboration with OSE to encourage and commend authors, illustrators, and publishers who produce quality books for adults and young people that make significant contributions to, support the ideas of, and broaden public awareness of sustainability.
This was a nationally recognized award and the first of its kind established by a public library. As a result of citywide restructuring due to the impacts of Covid-19, 2020 marked the final selection year of Green Prize for Sustainable Literature books. This list of recognized books remains in the library’s catalog and titles are marked with a Green Prize sticker in the collection.
5. Annenberg Community Beach House
The Annenberg Community Beach House is the first LEED certified, publicly accessible beach club in the United States. OSE worked with staff from the Community & Cultural Services Department, Fredrick Fisher and Partners, and designers to incorporate 33 of 43
advanced sustainability features, earning a LEED Gold rating from the US Green Building Council when it opened in 2009. The 5-acre oceanfront site upon which the Annenberg Community Beach House now sits was originally developed during the Gold Coast era of the 1920s by William Randolph Hearst for actress Marion Davies. The site underwent significant remediation as part of the construction. Building insulation uses post-consumer blue jeans instead of fiberglass. An underground water retention system captures 90% of urban runoff before it reaches the ocean. Native and drought-tolerant plants and trees are irrigated through a drip system that reduces water usage by 50%.
Additionally, the Beach House runs on green power. Water for the pool and splash pad is heated by solar collectors on the roof of the Event House. Outdoor lighting throughout the facility and parking lots minimizes light pollution from the site. The Annenberg Community Beach House provides public access to all Santa Monica residents and visitors while also modelling green building practices.
6. Santa Monica Beach Dune Pilot
Over the last 5 years, the City of Santa Monica, led by OSE and The Bay Foundation have been working to restore approximately three acres of coastal strand habitat on the north end of the Santa Monica Beach. By restricting beach grooming activities, seeding native plants and using fencing to build dunes, a rare coastal habitat was successfully brought back to Santa Monica. Endangered species such as the Western Snowy Plover were seen on the Santa Monica Beach for the first time in over 70 years. After a successful proof of concept in the pilot project, the Bay Foundation has been approved for a $300,000 grant from the Refugio Trustee council for a second phase Santa Monica Beach Dune restoration project. The new restoration area will be located adjacent to the current pilot project site. The project aims to restore almost five acres of sandy coastal habitat by transforming a portion of the current beach into a sustainable coastal strand and foredune habitat that is resilient to sea level rise. The project will be implemented over the next 5 years by OSE and The Bay Foundation and outreach/planning/permitting is set to begin in 2023. This new project aims to build on the success shown by the pilot project, and will offer long term resiliency to coastal residents and the Santa Monica Community as a whole.
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This Photo shows the Santa Monica Beach Dunes pilot site looking along the north end towards the ocean. Sand fencing is employed to control erosion, help sand dune stabilization, and to recruit new native plant species such as beach evening primrose and yellow sand verbana.
7. Eliminating Glyphosate
Based on the City’s long standing integrated pest management program and input and concerns staff and Council had received from the public regarding Roundup/glyphosate, the use of this toxic pesticide was discontinued in April 2019 in all Santa Monica public landscaped areas and parks. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the popular weed killer Roundup. As more studies began to show that Roundup is potentially harmful to humans and the environment, the City (led by OSE) applied the precautionary principle and determined that prohibiting its use on City managed areas would be the best course of action. In 2015 1,300 ounces of Roundup was used to kill weeds in the City and that number dropped to zero by 2019.
8. Big Blue Bus
Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to operate its entire fleet on alternative fuels, including electricity and renewable natural gas (RNG), a form of liquefied and compressed natural gas (LNG/CNG). OSE has 35 of 43
worked with BBB to support the transition to cleaner fuels, including RNG procurement, the shift to electric buses, and participation in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program.
In August 2019, the City began
operating its first full-size all-electric
Big Blue Bus. The 40-foot bus seats
38 passengers, is powered by 100-
percent renewable energy, and can
be fully charged in under four hours.
BBB deployed an additional 18
battery electric buses in 2021, and
continues its strategic transition to full
zero-emissions technology, while ensuring a consistent delivery of outstanding service quality for its customers and enabling its staff the opportunity to take an active role in the development and deployment of the new technology.
BBB participated in Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready program to install 18 chargers for the battery electric buses. As of Fiscal Year 2021-2022, about 10% of Big Blue Bus fleet is zero emission buses. The zero emission BBB fleet drove approximately 128,320 miles throughout the fiscal year. The City continues to move towards a full transition to a complete clean energy fleet by 2030.
9. Zero Emissions Delivery Zone
The rise in deliveries, from e-commerce to food deliveries, has meant more congestion and pollution from delivery vehicles on the road. In 2020, The City of Santa Monica was selected by the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) to participate as the host community for the Zero-Emissions Delivery Zone (ZEDZ) Pilot Program, the first pilot of its type in the country. The program aligns with the City’s goal to reduce pollution and congestion from the transportation sector, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions as outlined in the Council-adopted Climate Action & Adaptation Plan and EV Action Plan. OSE and the Mobility Division led the pilot implementation.
Charging station for Big Blue Fleet
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Street signs developed for the zero-emissions delivery zone program
10.City Hall East
View of the internal courtyard at City Hall East
City Hall East, an expansion to historic City Hall, was built to meet advanced sustainability measures through the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge – making it the largest government building in the country (50,000 square feet) to be slated for this certification. OSE was the initial thought leader for this project 37 of 43
in 2014 and worked closely with the Architecture Services Division and third-party designers to make it happen. The building opened in 2020, though limited staff worked in the building for the first couple years due to Covid-19. The building is net zero water, thanks to an advanced water reclamation system that converts rainwater from an onsite well into potable water and composting toilets that reduce water usage by 48%. It is also net zero energy, which is achieved by passive design, energy efficiency measures coupled with a smart building management system to reduce energy demand, and solar arrays on the roof. The additional office space enabled staff that were previously working in leased office spaces to eliminate high-cost leases throughout the City and to be consolidated under one roof to streamline customer service at the public counter.
The building model aimed to support efficient operations, a healthy and productive workplace, and positive contributions to the natural environment. The project embodies the City’s sustainability platform of achieving carbon neutrality, zero waste, and water self-sufficiency paving the way for private sector projects to follow suit.
RECOGNITION FOR SANTA MONICA’S SUSTAINABILITY ACHIEVEMENTS For these efforts and others, the City of Santa Monica is regularly recognized for sustainability leadership by outside organizations. Recent recognitions that the City has received for its leadership in sustainable practice are included below:
LEED for Cities Platinum - 2021
In 2021, Santa Monica became the first
city to achieve Platinum certification under
the LEED for Cities version 4.1. LEED
was created by the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC) and is the world’s most
widely used sustainability rating system.
With LEED for Cities, Santa Monica is demonstrating leadership and accountability through certification at the community scale. The City of Santa Monica achieves these recognitions for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at improving sustainability and the standard of living for Santa Monica residents. The programs and initiatives described in this Information Item contribute to significant LEED for Cities emblem
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sustainability outcomes and measurable success in our efforts to achieve the goals established in the Sustainable City Plan.
Carbon Disclosure Project Reporting - 2020
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a non-profit organization that runs the global environmental disclosure system. Each year
CDP “supports thousands of companies,
cities, states and regions to measure and
manage their risks and opportunities on
climate change, water security and
deforestation.” Recently, the City of Santa
Monica was named to the CDP ‘A’ list for the
2022 reporting year. CDP’s Cities A List is
based on environmental data disclosed by
local governments to CDP-ICLEI Track. CDPICLEI Track is the world's leading climate reporting platform and progress accountability mechanism for cities. The City of Santa Monica joins only 122 cities globally who have attained this best-in-class rating for our carbon reduction and disclosure efforts. A clear momentum in local climate disclosure and action is building – for the first time, over 1,000 cities and counties (1,002 in total) received a rating for their climate action from CDP in 2022, a rise on the 965 cities and counties scored in 2021. In 2022, just over one in ten local governments scored by CDP (12% of such local governments) received an A. This recognition reaffirms Santa Monica’s status as a local leader in sustainability.
National Leadership in Sustainability Award - 2020
In 2020, Santa Monica received the 2020 National Leadership in Sustainability Award from the International Code Council (ICC). The ICC recognizes outstanding contributions to building codes or public policy in the fields of energy efficiency and sustainability. The Award honors cities who go above and beyond to raise compliance with building energy codes – and by doing so, improve the efficiency of America’s new and existing buildings and homes using cost-effective, practical, and innovative CDP grading scale and how cities are graded
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strategies. Santa Monica was one of the first three cities in California to introduce a solar PV requirement for new construction in 2016, and was the first to introduce a Net Zero Energy Building Code for residential new construction in 2017. Santa Monica introduced an Energy Reach Code to incentivize all-electric construction in 2019, and strengthened our electric-preferred energy code to mandatory electrification earlier this year. Our Electric Vehicle Charging Reach Code increased EV infrastructure requirements in all new construction making it easier to switch to an electric vehicle by providing more charging infrastructure and facilities.
EPEAT Purchaser Award - 2018
The City received the Green Electronics Council’s 2018 EPEAT (electronic product environmental assessment tool) Purchaser Award for procuring EPEAT registered office electronics, which reduced the use of primary metals by 83 tons, avoided 571 kg of hazardous waste, and avoidance of 447 kg of water pollutant emissions and annually results in energy savings of 267,400 KWh of electricity.
Harvard Kennedy School Roy Family Award – 2016
Every two years, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government recognizes a public-private partnership that demonstrates the highest level of leadership in environmental sustainability and natural resources protection. In 2016, the Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership was presented to the California Healthy Nail Salon Program and its project partners for addressing the environmental health and justice issues faced by workers in the salon industry. The City of Santa Monica along with four counties in the Bay Area were among the five critical project partners that were recognized. OSE, with support and funding from the City Council, was the first in southern California to implement a Healthy Nail Salon program. OSE worked closely with a California Healthy Nail Salon program liaison to identify 6 nail salons to assist in becoming recognized healthy nail salons. Recognized healthy nail salons utilize safer and healthier nail care products, proper ventilation, and personal protective equipment to minimize harm to nail salon workers and their clients. 40 of 43
The Beacon Award - 2016
The Beacon Award, sponsored by the Institute for Local Government and the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative, is a statewide program recognizing California cities and counties that are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and adopt policies and programs that promote sustainability. Participating in the voluntary Beacon Award program provides local agencies and their leaders with positive recognition for saving energy, conserving resources, promoting sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Santa Monica began participating in the Beacon Award program in early 2012. To date, Santa Monica has documented its best practices in sustainability, promoting energy efficiency and has achieved significant accomplishments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions communitywide and energy use in city operations.
PEER NETWORKS
In an effort to amplify the impacts of our sustainability work here in Santa Monica and learn from peer cities in the region, across the state and the nation, Santa Monica has been an active participant in multiple sustainability related peer networks. The three primary sustainability networks that Santa Monica participates in are detailed below:
1. Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN)
USDN brings local government sustainability practitioners together to learn, collaborate, and accelerate the work of local sustainability. By equipping them with the knowledge, resources, and partnerships they need to succeed, USDN helps advance change locally in member communities as well as across the field of practice. The aggregate impact and influence of USDN’s collective work makes an equitable, resilient, and sustainable society more attainable. The City was a founding member of USDN.
2. Green Cities California (GCC)
GCC is a network of leaders and innovators in local government who create, share, and adopt sustainable policies and practices. GCC serves as a catalyst for bold, successful implementation of policies and initiatives that create vibrant, verdant, and healthy communities throughout the state. The City is a founding member of Green Cities California and serves on the Steering Committee.
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3. Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC)
LARC is a network of local and regional decision-makers ensuring a sustainable Los Angeles County prepared for the impacts of climate change. It is one of eight regional collaboratives in California supporting climate change science, policy and planning efforts across sectors. LARC's climate mitigation and adaptation work is driven by cutting edge research on local climate impacts. As LA’s sole climate collaborative, LARC’s network includes climate practitioners from city and county government, regional agencies, non-profits, businesses, and academia. The City is a founding member of LARC and serves on the Leadership Committee.
Examples of Sustainability networks and organizations Santa Monica participates in
Conclusion
For almost three decades, the City of Santa Monica has been modeling sustainable practices that demonstrate that economic vitality, social equity and environmental protection are mutually dependent priorities for our community. The City has taken responsibility to act locally and address the risks of climate change, drought, extreme 42 of 43
heat, social injustice and economic volatility by integrating sustainable practices across our organization and knitting sustainability into the fabric of our community.
This staff report provides a general overview of the current programs and policies the City of Santa Monica has established in order to integrate sustainable practices in our community. The Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE), divisions and departments citywide, and community organizations, residents and businesses are all participating in programs designed to enhance our resources, prevent harm to the natural environment and human health, and benefit the social and economic well-being of the community for the sake of current and future generations. These programs, and additional sustainability efforts throughout our community, contribute to the outcomes established in the Sustainable City Plan (SCP). While we have met remarkable success with our sustainability programs, work remains in our collective effort to improve economic vitality, protect environmental health, and address social equity.
Staff will be coming to Council later this Spring to provide an update on the outcomes in the SCP. A summary of our current progress to achieve the outcomes established in the SCP can be found at data.sustainablesm.org.
Environmental Review
The Sustainable City Plan is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15307. Section 15307 exempts a class of projects (Class 7) consisting of actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by state law or local ordinance to assure the maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of a natural resource where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.
The Sustainable City Plan would establish programs and policies to enhance environmental resources and prevent harm to the natural environment. Therefore, the project qualifies for Class 7 exemption.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action.
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Prepared By: Ariana Vito, Sustainability Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council