2009 FINAL REPORT SAN DIEGO CITY ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REPORT CARD PREPARED BY Strategic Community Consulting University of California, San Diego School of International Relations and Pacific Studies Statgic Communit Consultng 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0520, La Jolla, CA 92093 • email: [email protected] • http://irps.ucsd.edu/scc/ About Us History of SCC Strategic Community Consulting (SCC) was founded at the University of California, San Diego's School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) in 1995. Leveraging the rigorous training in pro- gram design, evaluation, finance, accounting, marketing, and quantitative analysis received at IR/PS, SCC specializes in providing affordable consulting services to San Diego’s non-profit community. SCC is comprised of three second-year student directors who hire consultants within IR/PS. The organization is guided by an advisory board that includes IR/PS faculty and staff, as well as professionals in the local non-profit community. Project Managers Nicole Nakagawa, Marketing Director Contact: [email protected] Michelle Quan, Finance Director Contact: [email protected] Blake Tye, Operations Director Contact: [email protected] Consultants Casey Mcgrath Contact: [email protected] Tristan Mecham Contact: [email protected] Zachary Wagner-Rubin Contact: [email protected] Acknowledgements Special thanks to David Robertson, SCC Advisor and Director of Career Services, Rebecca Alvarez of NP Strategies and donor Buzz Woolley for their continued support and guidance. Front cover photo kindly provided by Kai Ostwald. Table of Contents Executive Summary!................................................................................................1 Introduction!.............................................................................................................3 About the Environmental Quality Report Card! 3 History of the Environmental Quality Report Card! 3 Effectiveness of the Environmental Quality Report Card! 3 Supporting Organizations! 4 Final Grades!.............................................................................................................7 City Councilmembers! 7 Mayor’s Office! 8 Grading Methodology!............................................................................................9 City Councilmembers! 9 Mayor’s Office! 9 Category Grading and Grading Scale! 11 Notable Issues of 2009!..........................................................................................12 Water Quality! 12 Land Use and Habitat! 16 Energy and Green Jobs! 17 Important Issues for 2010!.....................................................................................21 High-Speed Rail! 21 S trategic Community Consulting 2009 Environmental Quality Report Card i Plastic Bag Ban! 21 San Diego Green Jobs Ordinance! 22 Wetlands Deviation Project! 23 City Council Profile!..............................................................................................26 District 1: Sherri Lightner! 26 District 2: Kevin Faulconer! 27 District 3: Todd Gloria! 27 District 4: Tony Young! 28 District 5: Carl DeMaio! 29 District 6: Donna Frye! 30 District 7: Marti Emerald! 31 District 8: Ben Hueso! 31 Mayoral Profile!......................................................................................................33 About Mayor Sanders! 33 Mayor’s Comments! 33 S trategic Community Consulting 2009 Environmental Quality Report Card ii Executive Summary The 2009 San Diego City Environmental Quality Report Card (EQRC) is the most comprehensive to date. Nearly one hundred City Council votes and twenty-six Mayoral public statements were analyzed and weighted according to their respective environmental impacts. Additionally, twenty-seven individual budget items directly related to the environment of San Diego were examined and evaluated. At first glance, it may appear that the grades are significantly lower than they have been in past report cards. This is because the 2009 EQRC is the first year in which total environmental quality has been ana- lyzed. Previously, City officials were only graded on their decisions regarding water quality. By broaden- ing the scope of the 2009 EQRC, it is hoped that San Diego’s decision makers will not only be held better accountable in all aspects of their environmental stewardship, but also in future decisions regarding San Diego’s environmental quality. TOTAL TOTAL NAME DISTRICT GRADE SCORE (%) POSSIBLE EARNED Sherri Lightner 1 C 75.0 47.0 35.25 Kevin Faulconer 2 D 63.5 63.0 40.0 Todd Gloria 3 A- 90.0 47.5 42.75 Tony Young 4 D 64.7 58.75 38.0 Carl DeMaio 5 F 58.8 44.25 26.0 Donna Frye 6 A 93.5 61.75 57.75 Marti Emerald 7 C- 70.7 47.0 33.25 Ben Hueso 8 C- 72.3 64.0 46.25 Mayor Sanders ALL D- 62.0 N/A N/A How City Officials Could Have Performed Better Many City Councilmembers received low grades because of their actions related to the following issues: • Failing to vote for various pieces of legislation required to establish an Indirect Potable Reuse Dem- onstration Project to confront the challenges of San Diego’s future water supply. • Failing to support legislation to amend state law to allow a seal colony to inhabit Children’s Pool Beach in La Jolla. • Failing to support the most pro-environmental candidate for the Port Commissioner appointment. • Declaring a State of Emergency Regarding the Potential for Severe Flooding in the Tijuana River Valley. This vote was part of an effort by the City to apply for a Department of Homeland Security Border Infra- structure waiver from environmental protections related to the City's creek channel clearing program. S trategic Community Consulting 2009 Environmental Quality Report Card 1 The Mayor received a low grade because of his actions related to the following policies: • Drastically cutting the budgets of environmental programs. • Supporting an agreement to increase the amount of garbage permitted in the Miramar landfill. • Supporting a California Environmental Quality Act waiver to allow the proposed building of a new NFL stadium. How City Officials Can Earn Higher Grades in 2010 The following issues are likely to be considered by the City of San Diego, and included in the 2010 San Diego City Environmental Quality Report Card. These issues highlight specific areas where City officials can perform better and improve their overall grades in the future. • Voting to establish a demonstration project for Indirect Potable Reuse. • Minimizing impacts to wetlands in the proposed deviations to the City’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands regulations. • Reducing the potential environmental impacts of the City’s proposed creek channel maintenance program for storm water conveyance. • Improving access to and management of San Diego’s parks and open space. • Implementing policies to encourage energy efficiency retrofits to municipal buildings and private residences. • Supporting a candidate for the next Port Commission vacancy who has a record of positive environ- mental stewardship. S trategic Community Consulting 2009 Environmental Quality Report Card 2 Introduction About the Environmental Quality Report Card This is the first edition of the San Diego City Environmental Quality Report Card (EQRC). The report card assesses both the San Diego City Councilmembers and Mayor’s environmental stewardship for the 2008-2009 legislative year. The report seeks to hold City Councilmembers and the Mayor accountable for both their votes and public stances on environmental quality issues. It also serves to highlight areas where action is needed in order to educate the public about issues facing their local environment. To do this, the report considers the voting record of individual councilmembers on important environmental issues. Each councilmember is assigned a grade based on this record. Additionally, the report assesses the Mayor based on 1) his position and actions as they pertain to environmental issues, and 2) how he manages the City’s budget with respect to environmentally relevant programs. The report covers the pe- riod from October 2008 to January 2009, a time that has seen increased challenges for the City Council and the Mayor. During the worst recession in decades, the City has had to implement stringent budget cuts, while facing increased pressure to minimize services and job losses. As the City Council and the Mayor continue to grapple with current challenges, it is important to balance these interests with envi- ronmental preservation. History of the Environmental Quality Report Card From its inception, the San Diego Water Quality Report Card (WQRC) has been released to commemorate the anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972. Since 2001, Strategic Community Consult- ing (SCC) has worked with San Diego Coastkeeper (SDCK) to produce the WQRC in order to promote water resource protection in the City of San Diego. In 2008, in an effort to expand upon the ongoing WQRC, the League of Conservation Voters, Surfrider Foundation and Sierra Club joined SDCK in the commission of the San Diego County Environmental Quality Report Card (County EQRC) to assess the County Board of Supervisors on their actions related to four main environmental issues—water quality, land use, air quality and renewable energy. This year’s EQRC, a hybrid of the previous WQRC and County EQRC, encompasses multiple environmental issues including climate change, environmental jus- tice, green energy, habitat, land use, and water quality. While this report was jointly commissioned by a coalition of environmental non-profits, SCC consulted with various organizations