DEPARTMENT: Office of Sustainability
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Douglas Melnick, AICP, ISSP-SA, CNU-A
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
SUBJECT:
Memorandum of Understanding between the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and the City of San Antonio in support of the American Cities Climate Challenge
SUMMARY:
Ordinance approving a Memorandum of Understanding which establishes the terms and conditions for the working agreement between the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and the City of San Antonio in support of the American Cities Climate Challenge. There is no fiscal impact to the City for this initiative, however American Cities Climate Challenge initiatives may have a fiscal impact that will require approval from City Council prior to implementation.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of San Antonio was selected as a Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC) City, which was open to the 100 most populous cities in America. Twenty-five cities were selected to receive technical assistance and support packages over a two-year period valued at up to $2.5 million per city to work on buildings and transportation-related initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Office of Sustainability is coordinating with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (NRDC) who was selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies to serve as the core partner supporting cities on overall project strategy, outreach and education, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, and coordination of best-in-class technical assistance from a variety of national organizations with expertise in buildings and transportation.
While San Antonio continues work on SA Climate Ready’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, many of the strategies identified in the ACCC initiative are found within the SA Tomorrow Sustainability Plan that was adopted by City Council in August 2016 with the goals of improving air quality, reducing energy consumption, increasing local energy security, and increasing transportation options.
Focused on the transportation and building energy sectors, many of these initiatives are already underway and include:
• Meeting municipal electricity demand with renewable energy;
• Deep Energy Retrofits and Zero Net Energy Policy (ZNE) for municipal buildings.
• Benchmarking, audit, and retro-commissioning (RCx) policies for existing buildings;
• New financing programs for energy efficiency, renewables, and infrastructure;
• EV and solar readiness;
• Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure;
• Commuter incentives;
• Improving public transit speed, reliability and user experience;
• Define and expand the high-frequency public transit network to achieve significant ridership increases
ISSUE:
While San Antonio will not receive direct financial support as a selected participant in the American Cities Climate Challenge, The City will receive:
• Two City Advisor Contract Employees that will be housed within the Office of Sustainability to facilitate the development and implementation of high-impact actions;
• Data, design, and innovation resources from national experts;
• Leadership development support for city officials;
• Implementation coaching to drive results;
• Citizen education and outreach support to maximize community engagement;
• Stakeholder engagement strategy;
• Polling and communications support to build momentum and amplify the city’s progress against goals; and,
• Robust peer-to-peer learning and networking to ensure the learnings are scaled and cities support each other’s ambitions.
The term of the challenge ends December 31, 2020. Office of Sustainability staff will work with NRDC to periodically communicate progress made on the identified initiatives. The attached draft MOU outlines full terms of the agreement.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should this MOU not be approved, the City will withdraw from the American Cities Climate Challenge.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact to the City to participate in this initiative; however, American Cities Climate Challenge initiatives may have a fiscal impact that will require approval from City Council prior to implementation. The Office of Sustainability will provide temporary office space for the two City Advisor Contract Employees and access to shared office equipment needed to reasonably perform their duties in compliance with City laws, ordinances, rules and policies.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of this Ordinance and the Memorandum of Understanding with the NRDC to provide support to meet the City’s participation in the American Cities Climate Challenge.