Grades reflect small steps toward success
BROADWAY — When it comes to sustainability, City Hall is head of the class — at least in some subjects.
Like proud parents posting their children’s grades on the refrigerator, city officials were beaming last week as they unveiled the second annual “Sustainable City Report Card,” which was stacked with As and Bs in subjects such as environmental health, human dignity, community education and civic participation.
However, in the areas of resource conservation, transportation and housing, some after-school tutoring may be in order as City Hall earned two Cs and one D, respectively.
The grades measure City Hall’s progress in achieving goals set in 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.
City staff used more than 50 “indicators” to calculate the grades. Indicators range from incidents of discrimination, voter participation, and market rents, to the number of trees and parks near a particular community, job creation and air quality. It’s an internal audit of sorts, with city staff evaluating themselves.
“When the plan was first adopted, there was an emphasis on resource consumption,” said City Councilman Kevin McKeown. “But over the years, the plan has evolved. We are now looking into areas of social justice, human dignity … designing programs to make a difference. Not all are A+ yet. It’s a 10 year plan, and we’re only in the second semester. But I’ll tell you, we are doing well so far.”
Santa Monica was one of the first cities in the nation to adopt a plan for sustainability, and in doing so, has been a model for other municipalities across the globe.
Dean Kubani, the environmental programs manager for City Hall who is responsible for seeing the plan carried out, said he receives phone calls constantly from representatives from other cities looking to emulate Santa Monica.
“If I can say it, we’re kicking ass here,” Kubani told City Council members and staff last Friday as he gave an analysis of the report card. “Sustainability has really become something that has been ingrained into all of our operations.”
City Hall received As for effort and an A-grade in open space and land use, as well as community education and civic participation.
The development of a public beach club at the Marion Davies Estate along Pacific Coast Highway was mentioned in the report as a key factor in raising the open space grade from a B+ to an A-. The city’s urban forest has grown in number and diversified the average age and species of the trees, the report card said.
“Park accessibility continues to be outstanding with almost 90 percent of residents living within half mile of a park or open space,” the report stated. “A number of mixed-use development projects that combine housing, office and retail space have been built, which can help reduce traffic and parking congestion and encourage walking and transit use.”
For community education and civic participation, the grade increased slightly from a B+ in 2005 to an A-, much of which was caused by residents’ involvement around an ongoing update of the land use policy and The Village housing project, a 325-unit, mixed use complex at the Civic Center. The Cultural Affairs Division of City Hall also is engaging the community in drafting an cultural master plan, which will create a common vision for the artistic and cultural life of the city.
Other success stories include the passage of the Community Energy Independence Initiative, which will significantly increase energy efficiency and the use of solar power throughout Santa Monica over the next 20 years.
Kubani also mentioned the city’s fleet of vehicles, 81 percent of which now runs on alternative fuel, with the Big Blue Bus at almost 50 percent. Earlier this year, City Hall installed a liquefied natural gas fueling facility and reopened Virginia Avenue Park, the first park in the U.S. to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification.
Kubani said the success highlighted in the report card shows,“that Santa Monica is not resting on its laurels, but that it is actively addressing the remaining challenges to becoming a sustainable city.”
But like parents, city officials showed concern for low marks earned for transportation, resource conservation and housing.
Regional constraints and a robust local economy, particularly condo construction and traffic congestion generated by commuters, made a significant impact on City Hall’s ability to reach its aggressive vision of sustainability, Kubani said.
“In just about every goal area we are making progress. We’ve seen a remarkable amount of change,” Kubani said. “The real problem is coming from influences in the region. They are hindering our ability to be a sustainable city.”
With carpooling continuing to expand and ridership robust on the Big Blue Bus, City Hall received an A for effort, the same grade in 2005. However, because traffic congestion remains constant in some areas of the city, and the current network of bicycle lanes and paths are inadequate to meet residents’ needs, City Hall was given a C grade, just a small step up from 2005 when the mark was a C-.
When it comes to resource conservation, City Hall again received an A for effort, but only a C+ grade. City officials said water use is higher than the target set by the plan, as is the amount of garbage being generated. However, 67 percent of the solid waste is being diverted from landfills and City Hall continues to purchase 100 percent renewable electricity for its operations, Kubani said.
Housing may pose the most difficult challenge given that City Hall has seen the cost at almost half of the rent controlled apartments increase significantly since 1999. This, combined with “sustained upward pressure on real estate prices has severely reduced the availability of affordable housing,” the report card stated.
City Hall’s housing and redevelopment division, did spend $19 million on the production of 80 affordable housing units in five projects within the past year, half of which was targeted towards residents with special needs. Those efforts are what helped City Hall earn an A for effort, raising the overall grade from a D-to a D.
“This is not a fraud to say we’ve developed measures to see how we’re doing and be straight about it … and then to look at those results and see what can we do to do better.” Council member Pam O’Connor said to those who may doubt the sincerity of the internal audit.
Craig Perkins, the director of City Hall’s department of environmental and public works management, said, “The Report Card shows that we are making progress toward becoming a sustainable city.
“We are seeing that many key groups in the city, including some businesses, institutions, elected officials and city staff now use the term sustainability to describe their mission and that of the community,” Perkins added. “However, if we are to achieve our goals, all members of the community need to become more involved in the process.”
For a more detailed look at the report card, visit www.smepd.org.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 25, 2006. Read the original PDF.