HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Comment - October 2024
City of Palm Springs, Office of Sustainability
To: Sustainability Commission
From: Lindsey-Paige McCloy, Director, Office of Sustainability
Re: September Updates to the Sustainability Commission
Meeting Date: 15 October 2024
The Office of Sustainability would like to provide this update on activities since the last
Commission meeting to help speed discussion at the in -person meeting. The following items can
be discussed in more depth at the meeting, if desired by the Commission.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
• Next Council meeting topics:
o TBD: Tree ordinance, buildings reach code, greenhouse gas emissions update,
expanding foodware ordinance to include styrofoam coolers; update on foodware
ordinance compliance
o Please note that the palm tree trimming item has been deferred with no specific
date set
• Next Subcommittee meeting dates:
o SSCOWR: November 7
o Climate Action: November 13
• Recurring events
o Next Farmers’ Market table: tbd – transition with new market manager
o Next shredding and e-waste event: October 19, pre-shredding in the CH Lobby
from October 15-17
• Upcoming special events
o Zoning Code open house on Wednesday, October 16, 5pm at Demuth
Community Center
▪ Coffee Chat with Zoning Code for Sustainability Commissioners –
Thursday, October 17, 10AM at City Hall – email LP + Christian if you
would like to attend so we can track numbers
o State of the City, Wednesday, October 30 at the Art Museum
▪ SOTC Program is free and runs from 6 -7pm, tickets are not required
▪ Reception beforehand from 5-6pm, tickets available for $65 via
pschamber.org
Commission Administrative Matters
• We are no longer permitted to email personal email addresses for Commission matters.
If you are still having trouble with the email address, please email
ithelp@palmspringsca.gov and let them know that you are a Sustainability Commission
member.
• A reminder from our City Clerk’s office: Commissioners are encouraged to minimize
absences. Commissioners with three consecutive absences are subject to removal from
the Commission.
Updates on Ongoing Work
Water
DWA held their annual Landscaper Workshop on October 8. They presented a full room
of engaged landscapers with information about upcoming regulations. Ken Lyon from
Planning presented on the City’s approval processes for landscape conversions.
Turf Conversion
Planning staff brought a proposal for converting the grass at City Hall and restoring the
historic desert landscape to the City Council for direction on September 26. The Council
provided direction to staff to continue to explore the project, focusing on a return to
historic conditions in the front and demonstration aspects in the back.
Waste and Foodware
LP and Benito conducted several foodware ordinance outreach visits this month focusing
on businesses still using styrofoam. Some businesses are responding well while others
are acting more slowly or presenting more resistance. We are exploring recognition
opportunities for “most improved” businesses and understanding different pathways to
support businesses in more difficult scenarios.
Batteries
Still waiting on that battery box business license! Such are the vagaries and delights of
institutional purchasing. Battery volumes are going back up.
Airport
We have no updates this month on the Airport’s Strategic Planning process. We are
working with the Airport team to hire a Climate and Sustainability Specialist focused on
sustainability this fall.
EV Charging Stations
Current status of the stations is as follows:
- Museum Station: 6 of 7 Level 2 (medium speed) chargers functioning, 4 of 4
DCFC fully functioning!
- City Hall Station: Both DCFC fully functioning; both L2 functioning
- Village Green/Belardo stations: both functioning
- Convention Center stations: 2 functioning, 2 not functioning.
We will be doing troubleshooting on the Convention Center chargers this month to get
closer to a 100% functionality rate. We are looking good going back into our high
season!
Transportation
Our team supported Engineering at three open houses for road reconfigurations on
Racquet Club and South Palm Canyon to include expanded bike infrastructure and some
traffic calming elements. The project will host another round of outreach meetings in
mid-November.
Urban Environment
Christian led a group review of the Tree Ordinance with City staff on October 10 to
establish consensus on the ordinance’s elements. We will now make sure that
operational systems are in place and supporting materials can be developed before
taking the ordinance to the Council, aiming for a completion of all readings by Arbor Day
2025.
Community Garden
The Garden opened applications for this season on October 1. We are seeing a healthy
amount of interest and anticipate filling the plots this year again!
Buildings and Energy Efficiency
Benito and Juliet led an Induction Breakfast in collaboration with the Mizell Center. They
will provide some updates on this event during Staff Comment in tonight’s meeting.
We will be discussing the Energy Efficient Renovations reach code in this evening’s
meeting. Juliet has led work on this for several months in collaboration with David
Freedman, DCE and I-REN Program Manager at CVAG and former Sustainability
Commissioner.
Fleet Electrification and City Emissions Reductions
We anticipate receiving some feasibility analyses this month for some energy efficiency
projects in City facilities. We are also using some federal formula grant funds to
purchase solar EV chargers.
Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Accounting
We are awaiting results from the CVAG GHG analysis that we will share with the
Commission upon availability.
Air Quality
CVAG has increased focus on regional air quality challenges and is working closely with
the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). We plan to support their
efforts and collaborate more with the CVAG team.
Team Updates
We are focusing on hiring for at least one specialist this month.
Key Goals for Next Month
We are ramping up this fiscal year by focusing on the following:
- Preparing for kickoff for Caltrans Heat and Shade Grant
- Completing grant acceptance processes for Safe Streets for All grant
- Beginning planning for next 2 -year budget cycle
- Finalizing MOU for CalRecycle grant project for edible food recovery
- Completing reviews of energy efficient renovations ordinance
- Preparing tree ordinance for the Council
- Visiting at least 10 business for foodware audits
- Executing the shredding event and other fall events