Menlo Spark submits the attached comments for Item D.1.
For ease of reference, the body of the attached letter is also recopied below.
Sincerely,
Brian Schmidt
Letter text:
Dear Mayor and City Council,
Menlo Spark submits the following comments on the draft Environmental Justice General Plan Element. We begin by thanking the City and staff for moving forward on this vital work.
* We support the fact-finding and conclusions submitted by Climate Resilient Communities regarding the EJ Element, especially that it should have mandates and be adequately funded.
* Environmental Justice should include the economic benefits of environmental improvements such as those found from reducing utility costs via installation of solar panels and battery systems.
* Menlo Park should work with Peninsula Clean Energy to make sure that underserved communities like Belle Haven are first in line rather than last (as so often happens) for new environmental opportunities like Virtual Power Plants that reward people financially for using residential battery systems.
* Net Energy Metering 2.0 disproportionately benefited wealthier populations but is no longer in place, except in a form still available for affordable housing. Menlo Parks EJ element should emphasize the use NEM 2.0 for affordable housing to help make up for years of environmental/economic inequity.
* While City Staff stated at the June 3 Planning Commission that the General Plan elements are "policy" and ordinances are "law," there is in fact no obstacle to placing mandatory components requiring actions or forbidding actions in General Plan elements. Whether to do this is up to the City Council in consultation with the broader community, and in consultation with City staff. We believe that some very important issues, such as those dealt with in the Environmental Justice element, properly belong as mandates in the General Plan and should be expressed in terms like "shall," "must," "shall not," and "must not".
Sincerely,
Brian Schmidt
Executive Director
Menlo Spark
Brian Schmidt (he/him) | Executive Director
MENLO SPARK
brian@menlospark.org | 415-994-7403
Visit us: www.MenloSpark.org & www.FossilFreeBuildings.org
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Climate Neutral for a Healthy, Prosperous Menlo Park
EV, PV & Fossil Free: Guides for Electric Cars, solar & Fossil Free Homes at: http://menlospark.org/what-we-do/
