Green Vision 2012 Annual Report Executive Summary
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CITY OF SAN JOSE Green Vision 2Annual012 Report Including Tips For A Greener Community Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................. i-viii Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Strategic Framework..................................................................................................... 2 Climate Change ............................................................................................................. 3 Clean Tech Jobs............................................................................................................ 5 Reduced Energy Use .................................................................................................. 14 Renewable Energy ...................................................................................................... 24 Green Buildings........................................................................................................... 29 Zero Waste................................................................................................................... 34 Recycled Water ........................................................................................................... 45 Sustainable Development........................................................................................... 49 Clean Fleet Vehicles.................................................................................................... 56 Trees & Zero Emission Streetlights........................................................................... 62 Interconnected Trails.................................................................................................. 69 Urban Environmental Accords................................................................................... 76 Glossary....................................................................................................................... 82 Comprehensive Work Plan......................................................................................... 84 City of San José Green Vision 2012 Annual Report Executive Summary Executive Summary After a decade of severe City budget shortfalls, San José is starting to experience some relief and the City’s fiscal condition is starting to stabilize. Although there may be some opportunities for funding implementation efforts in the future, staff will continue to seek out external funding opportunities and partnerships, as they have been doing for the past five years, to advance the Green Vision goals. Through the Green Vision, San José continues to lead by example and advance environmentally sustainable practices through strategic partnerships and community engagement. By advocating for regional, state and federal policies and exploring new financing mechanisms, San José’s Green Vision is enabling innovative clean technologies to grow in the Silicon Valley and create more clean tech jobs. As the economy rebounds from the recent recession, staff will continue to look for opportunities to supplement the City resources necessary to advance Green Vision goals. To date, San José has received over $102 million in grant funding related to Green Vision projects. Although, substantive federal and state grants have been available in recent years, including federal stimulus dollars, most of these grants are nearing completion and staff is looking at other funding opportunities to advance Green Vision goals. At this five year milestone in the fifteen year Green Vision strategy, it is important to evaluate the successes to date as well as identify challenges and opportunities over the next five years, and determine the best path forward in achieving the Green Vision goals. 2012 Key Achievements The Green Vision Annual Report provides information on the accomplishments and progress for each of the Green Vision goals. Examples of some key accomplishments on the Green Vision include: 3,176 new Clean Tech jobs in 2012, 10,176 total clean tech jobs; nearly $8.1 billion in total venture capital invested in Clean Tech companies in Silicon Valley, with $1.08 billion invested in 2012 alone 11 energy audits and 40 efficiency projects were completed in 2012 and are anticipated to generate an ongoing savings of $230,000 per fiscal year. In total, 64 audits and 70 energy efficiency projects are expected to be complete through EECBG funding, and anticipated to generate on ongoing savings of over $450,000 per fiscal year Silicon Valley Energy Watch (SVEW) served 1,545 homes and small businesses saving nearly $3 million in utility bills. The Better Buildings Program achieved 260 energy upgrades, saving homes an average of nearly ten percent or approximately $150 per year To date, 3,514 solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with a total capacity of 47.8 MW have been installed in San José making it California's top solar city and a national leader Over 6.7 million square feet of certified green buildings completed to date, including 19 municipal buildings totaling to over 2 million square feet Continuing to have some of the highest diversion rates in the nation including a 73% overall diversion rate, 77% multi-family, 87% City facilities; the commercial recycling i City of San José Green Vision 2012 Annual Report Executive Summary rate has already increased from approximately 25% to a current estimate of 70% due to new commercial solid waste system roll out in July 2012 Constructing two of the nation’s largest and most advanced solid waste processing facilities in San José: Republic’s facility at Newby Island Landfill and the Zero Waste Energy Development (ZWED) plant on San José/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant lands. These projects represent over $80 million in infrastructure investment Over 694 customers served by 130 miles of recycled water pipelines and the average daily use of 10.6 million gallons of recycled water per day. Facility improvements underway including construction of the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) The City adopted amendments to Title 20 (the Zoning Code) to further Envision General Plan goals, policies and actions, including economic streamlining, increased maximum heights, increased allowable residential densities, reduced parking requirements and promotion of certified farmer’s markets In collaboration with CommUniverCity and the County of Santa Clara, San José was awarded a $635,594 grant to develop an Urban Village Master Plan for the East Santa Clara Street corridor between City Hall and Coyote Creek Despite fleet reductions, San José has maintained 40% of City fleet to run on alternative fuel; fleet GHG emissions reduced by 41% compared to 2003 baseline In partnership with Our City Forest (OCF), planted 2,031 new trees in 2012, celebrated the opening of OCF’s community tree nursery, and completed over 60% of the street tree inventory with the help of grants and AmeriCorps volunteers To date, 0.8 million kWh of electricity has been saved as a result of installing 2,497 smart Light Emitting Diode (LED) streetlights in San José A total of 54.7 miles of trails and 216 miles of on-street bikeways. 2012 Trail Count survey indicated a 12% increase in trail usage across 6 count stations. Over $10 million in grant funding in 2012 for trails and on-street bikeways and pedestrian improvements Awards & Accolades In 2012, the City’s Green Vision garnered numerous awards and accolades including: San José Ranked #1 in U.S. Metro Clean Tech Index: Clean Edge, a national research consultancy released its first annual U.S. Metro Clean Tech Index that provides a comprehensive analysis of how the 50 largest U.S. metro regions compare across the clean-tech spectrum. The City of San José received two Awards of Merit at the 2012 Trails and Greenways Conference, the first in recognition of the City’s Guadalupe River Trail Reach 6 and the second for the Coyote Creek Trail Master Plan. Additionally the California Parks and Recreation Society (CPRS) awarded San José two 2012 CPRS Awards of Excellence for those same projects. ii City of San José Green Vision 2012 Annual Report Executive Summary Waste & Recycling News awarded the “2012 Green City Award” to the City of San José for having the most effective and successful residential recycling program for a large city in the United States. San José was awarded USA Today’s Magazine Make a Difference Day award for efforts to involve residents in East San José and Overfelt High School students in an education and action campaign to remove graffiti, pick up litter and offer energy upgrade measures through the Better Buildings Program. Please see the Green Vision website Awards and Accolades page for a comprehensive list: http://greenvision.sanjoseca.gov 2012 Key Performance Metrics 2012: 10,176 jobs 2011: 10,118 kWh 2011: 7,000 jobs 2010:10,524 kWh Per capita baseline figures have been adjusted to reflect service population numbers instead of only number of residents. This better aligns with Census Bureau data. 2012 electricity usage data is not available from PG&E until July 2013 and will be updated as those figures are available. 2011: 21% 2012: 6.7 million square feet 2010: 17% 2011: 5.4 million square feet 2012 data is not available from PG&E until July 2013. iii City of San José Green Vision 2012 Annual Report Executive Summary 2012: 73% (still pending