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7. Staff Reports A. Update on Climate Change Activities by the City of Redwood City City Manager Everett gave the update stating that the City with the guidance of the Council has been quite active on the topic for some time. He cited back in 2000 the reduction of 11 % in kilowatt hours usage. He credited the Water Task Force for modifying some of the City's water conservation suggestions, pushing harder for water conservation, resulting in 815 acre feet that will be saved by the year 2009. A fleet of hybrid engines and sedans has been developed with 83% of the fleet, excluding police cars, are now hybrids. The City Council has developed Guiding Principles for the General Plan Update, one of which is sustainability. The development of a Precise Plan encourages transit oriented development and last year, 59 of the 69 approved residential units, were considered "green" or LEED certified. A City team was composed to determine what has been done and what more can be done to save on electrical and reduce our carbon footprint as it relates to building codes and vehicle use. The second part is, as a city, how we begin to engage the community if we are serious about reducing our carbon footprint. The two next steps are: 1) to bring the cool cities initiative to Council for consideration, and 2) to provide a DVD of "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore for Council Members' viewing. Council comments included thanking staff for the work and bringing it forward stating that it is up to the local cities to support. Council Member Howard submitted a report from former Menlo Park Mayor Gail Slocum who now works in Government Relations for P.G.& E.. The report outlines some efforts she is requesting of Menlo Park to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; also included is a report of Palo Alto's activities. She stated her interested in the co- existence of solar panels and trees within the community; and thanked Assemblymember Ruskin for his involvement in this effort and providing the information. Public Comment: Rick Nordensten, stated that he is a Redwood City resident, PACT graduate and member of the Community Builders program. He is currently in a volunteer position with the Sierra Club to be the Cool Cities lead for Redwood City. The goal is to work with cities to implement smart energy and other technologies to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He explained various steps to becoming a Cool City. He expressed his support for the City's efforts and his hope that at the City Council's Priority Session in February, that climate change can be identified as a key priority. Bob Gellman lives and works in Redwood City, considers himself a friend of Redwood City and commended the staff and Council for considering the Cool Cities Initiative and potentially signing on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection agreement. He stated that there are critical decisions facing us all as to the climate REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 22, 2007 PAGE 4 MINUTE BOOK NO. 61 Page No. 319