By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer

MAIN LIBRARY Rather than improving upon last year’s performance, Santa Monicans have taken a tiny step backward when it comes to reducing their impact on the environment, according to the third annual Sustainable City Report Card, which was released by City Hall Thursday.

Overall, Santa Monicans received an A for effort, but in the areas of resource conservation, and environmental and public health, grades dropped slightly from a C-plus to a C and a B-minus to a C, respectively.

The poor marks were attributed to a drop in the amount of refuse that gets diverted from landfills, an increase in water usage and an inability to reduce the number of beach closures due to urban runoff and sewage spills.

An increase in construction activity and a robust economy were blamed for the setbacks.

Regional factors also played a role, leading city officials who administer Santa Monica’s environmental programs to remind residents and business leaders to not get hung up on the grades and instead continue to focus on the collaborative efforts underway and the “aggressive” vision the community has for the future.

“These issues are very complex and are not going to be solved in a year,” said Dean Kubani, who is in charge of implementing the Sustainable City Plan, a comprehensive strategy adopted 12 years ago to ensure that Santa Monica can continue to meet its current environmental, economic and social needs without endangering the quality of life for future generations.

“It is going to take some time to get straight A’s, but these are still grades that you should be proud to take home and show mom,” Kubani said as he addressed city staff and community stakeholders at the Main Library, a building that has received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification.

“If we don’t track it, then change doesn’t happen,” Kubani added. “The bad grades we receive helps us focus our attention on a problem and come up with solutions, while the high grades draw attention to solutions that are working and allow us to pat ourselves on the back.”

The grades measure the city’s progress in achieving goals set in the Sustainable City Plan, an offshoot of the Sustainable City Program, first adopted by City Council in 1994. Nine years later, in 2003, the council approved an expanded version — the Sustainable City Plan, which was developed by a diverse group of community stakeholders and lays out far-reaching sustainability goals for the community in eight areas, Kubani said.

Grades are calculated using more than 100 environmental indicators that range from population growth and voter participation rates to bus ridership and the number of affordable housing units.

Staff calculates the grades and then turns them over to the Sustainability Task Force, the Task Force on the Environment and the Sustainability Advisory team, comprised of residents selected by the council, who then review the findings and make adjustments.

“I think the grades are fair,” said Genevieve Bertone, executive director of Sustainable Works, a non-profit environmental education organization that is funded partly by City Hall and Santa Monica College. As a member of the advisory team, Bertone had a hand in reviewing the grades.

“I think it’s important to remember that if we weren’t putting this kind of effort into it, our grades would be much worse,” Bertone said. “Our population is growing, and with that, our energy use is growing and that translates into an increase in all of these impacts.

“So the fact that we are maintaining is good.”

In the spirit of sustainability, city staff made sure Thursday morning’s news conference was “carbon neutral” and Styrofoam-free. City staff estimated the amount of people who would be attending and purchased credits to offset emissions. Food was served on recyclable plates.

EASING ON DOWN THE ROAD

While many grades remained the same, Santa Monicans did make gains in transportation, raising the grade from a C to a C-plus thanks to an increase in carpooling and strong ridership on the Big Blue Bus transit system, which is now almost 100 percent alternatively fueled. Staff also drew attention to the bike valet program, which was used at the Pier Concert Series and implemented at the Main Street Farmers’ Market. More than 16,000 bikes were parked last year.

In the area of economic development, the grade remained a B, however, city staff celebrated the fact that more than 20 businesses have been recognized for their commitment to sustainable practices through the Green Business Certification Program. That was offset by an increase in the jobs/housing imbalance, which rose to 1.52 this year, a further move away from the 1.0 target established under the plan.

When it comes to open space and land use, Santa Monica received an A-minus — the same as last year — even though the city celebrated the opening of Airport Park, the first new park to open in Santa Monica since 1983. Overall, the city added 8.3 acres of park space, making it so that almost 90 percent of residents live within a half mile of a park or open space.

Housing continues to remain a challenge, both in Santa Monica and the region. Santa Monicans earned a D, the same grade as last year. The loss of rent-controlled units was seen as the main culprit. Since vacancy decontrol went into effect in 1999, the affordable housing stock has dropped from 86 percent to 40 percent. To offset that, City Hall has invested almost $16 million for the production of more than 60 units of affordable housing in three projects. Design development for the Civic Center Village is underway and will include at least 160 affordable housing units.

In the area of human dignity, the city received a B-minus, the same as the year before. City Hall has provided more than $6.7 million annually to support local family, disability, employment and homeless services. As a result, 1,116 people were placed in housing and 502 people were employed, according to the report.

However, public safety in the Pico Neighborhood remains a significant concern, as does homelessness.

When it comes to community education and civic participation, Santa Monicans scored an A-minus. Much of that has to do with residents’ widespread awareness of community issues and their voter participation, which continues to exceed LA County, state and federal averages.

The grade also reflects continued participation in the update of the Land Use and Circulation Element as well as major civic projects.

City staff and elected officials emphasized the fact that goals in the plan have been set extremely high and that reaching them will be difficult, but possible.

“We must look at this as an ongoing learning experience,” said Councilman Kevin McKeown, who does his part by riding a bicycle to many community events. “This is a time for us in the community to celebrate our successes and to identify obstacles that we need to address to meet our goals.

“We can never be a sustainable city,” McKeown said. “We must be a sustainable community because we are all in this together.”

kevinh@smdp.com