More work needed on water quality
DOWNTOWN If the sustainability movement in the city was a high school student, it might want to consider spending a bit more time in study hall.
The 2008 Sustainable City Report Card, which was released on Thursday, showed that while there’s been gradual progress made in much of City Hall’s eight goals toward an environmentally healthy future, there is still a lot of work to be done.
While the fourth annual report card averaged a respectable B for grades and even better A for effort, areas such as resource conservation, transportation, housing and environment and public health continue to maintain a C, much as they have in the past few years.
But there was an overall reason for celebration at this year’s Sustainable City Report Card breakfast where city officials praised work in the areas of land use and open space, affordable housing, and community education and civic participation.
The latter saw improvement in the past year with the revamp of the Land Use and Circulation Element, which is the 20-year-update of the general plan. City Hall held numerous meetings over the past year to solicit input from the public. Each gathering drew more than 100 people.
The realm of open space saw a boost this year with the conversion of a beach parking lot into a recreational park. City Hall took out 83 spaces at 2400 Barnard Way and in its place planted a special type of grass called Netlawn, which is designed to accommodate cars when necessary. The conversion combines open space with an infiltration system that is designed to stop pollutants from entering the Santa Monica Bay.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction with the grades over the last four years moving up incrementally,” Dean Kubani, who heads the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, said.
The one goal area that experienced the most problems this past year was in environmental and public health, mostly due to the 31 percent increase in posted beach warnings during the dry season, according to Sustainable City Manager Shannon Parry. The goal has gradually regressed over the past four years, from a B in 2005 to a C this year.
As in past years, the beaches in Santa Monica were ranked as among the worst this year by Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card, singling out the water underneath the Santa Monica Pier. City Hall is in the process of getting Measure V clean water projects going.
Voters passed Measure V, the Clean Beaches and Ocean Parcel Tax, in 2006.
To help alleviate the situation, Heal the Bay, a nonprofit organization, will hold its annual Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Sustainable City Report Card also mentioned that solid waste generation continues to increase,as well as electrical and natural gas usage. The problem was identified in the Resource Conservation section of the report card, earning a C+, a slight improvement from last year when it received a C.
Kubani said that for the most part, progress is being made.
Total water usage has gone down by 6 percent while solid waste diversion is approaching the 70 percent target.
The number of households disposing at the Household Hazardous Waste Center has also increased from 36 percent to 43 percent this year when the number of e-waste collected citywide doubled from 21 to 42 tons.
The areas of open space, community education, economic development and human dignity all posted high marks, earning Bs and As for both grades and effort.
The number of local businesses joining the sustainability movement continues to grow with more and more earning their Green Business Certification. More than 30 businesses have been recognized for their efforts through the certification and the Sustainable Quality Awards.
One point of pride for city officials this year is the increase in collaboration among different local entities.
“In the past it was just the city leading everything,” Kubani said. “Now we’re past the tipping point where everyone in the community is working on this.”
The Sustainable City Program was adopted 14 years ago as a way to get the community to think about acting as better environmental citizens.
Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bloom said the popularity of sustainability has exploded since then.
“We’re part of a movement that is on hyper drive,” Bloom said. “It is such a different atmosphere today.”
The program includes different goals and strategies. The report card, which grades the program on its goals, was created four years ago.
Mark Gold, the executive director of Heal the Bay, said that few agencies would be willingly self-critical.
“Few will lay it out on the line,” he said. “That is the extraordinary thing about this community.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 19, 2008. Read the original PDF.