South Bay Watch

WORKING WITH SOUTH BAY CITIES TO FOSTER COOPERATION, COLLABORATION, AND INNOVATION

Fall 2023

SOUTH BAY SOUTH BAY CITIES COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

GIVING IS RECEIVING

SBCCOG Celebrates the Work of Its Volunteers On Climate Action, Transportation and Other Subregional Goals

SBCCOG volunteers David Diaz and Maria Fonseca pitch in at a recent rain barrel distribution event in Inglewood in partnership with West Basin Municipal Water District.

IN THIS ISSUE

PAGE 2 Enter the SBESC 20th anniversary “Sustainability in Action” photo contest

PAGE 3 Carson retiree keeps cool thanks to solar power gift through the GRID Alternatives Los Angeles program

PAGE 4 Lawmakers note local climate progress at SBESC’s 20th anniversary celebration

PAGE 5 Learn what’s in our ocean water through an LA County Sanitation District Floating Lab Field Trip

PAGE 8 Perspective: It’s time to toss out a dated system for calculating our region’s housing needs

SBCCOG NEWS

Save the Date

SBCCOG’s 24th General Assembly – Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe for the South Bay? THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2024 9 A.M. TO 3 P.M. (REGISTRATION 8:30 A.M. CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST AND LUNCH INCLUDED) CARSON, CA

J

oin us at the 24th annual conference that brings together South Bay communities to address issues of

The General Assembly exhibit hall hosts exhibitors such as Metropolitan Water District, a sponsor of the 2023 event.

mutual interest. This year’s program will explore artificial intelligence—what it is, types of applications that could benefit cities, as well as potential red flags that cities should consider to ensure that this powerful tool will be implemented fairly, transparently and in a trustworthy manner, to serve the public good.

The conference will feature panel discussions and interactive exhibits. The community, as well as county, state and federal legislators representing the South Bay, are invited to hear speakers who will share their insights and analyses.

This free event is made possible by SBCCOG’s generous sponsors. Become a sponsor now and start receiving recognition immediately. Contact Rosemary Lackow at

Enter the SBESC 20th Anniversary “South Bay Sustainability in Action” Photo Contest

A

s the South Bay Cities Council of Governments continues its celebration of the 20th anniversary of its South Bay Environmental Services Center (SBESC) program, it invites the community to submit photos that demonstrate sustainable action in their cities and the South Bay. Creativity is welcome, but some ideas include replacing grass with drought-tolerant plants, planting a tree, taking part in a beach cleanup, installing solar panels and collecting water in a rain barrel. We want to see how you are being a good steward of this beautiful place we call the South Bay. Entries must be received by 5 p.m., on January 4. • For more information and to submit your entry, visit bit.ly/3FP183W. 2 | South Bay Watch

rosemary@southbaycities.org to sign up for one of the following categories: GOLDEN CIRCLE: PATRON: BENEFACTOR: SPONSOR:

$10,000 $7,500 $5,000 $2,500

Watch for more notices and check the SBCCOG website at southbaycities.org/general-assemblies for information.

CITY SHOWCASE

Cedric Hicks, SBCCOG board chair and Carson City Council member, greets Carson homeowner Lawrence Adams prior to installation of solar panels on Adams’ roof.

Solar Panel Gift Keeps Multigenerational Carson Household Cool While Going Green

A

fter spending several hours hammering and drilling atop the roof of Lawrence Adams’ Carson home in 90-degree July temperatures, a half dozen workers and volunteers donning hard hats made their final ladder descent all smiles and high fives. They joined Adams’ and others on his driveway to celebrate an effort that would amount to future decades of comfort for him and his family.

“This has all been such a blessing,” Adams told the group.

“Thank you.”

Adams recently retired after working for 38 years for Sparkletts, a water delivery company. Since his retirement he has been preparing his home for the arrival of his sister

and their 103-year-old mother, who recently moved from Arizona to live with him. The morning’s installation of roof-top solar panels followed another recent addition of a solar-ready electrical panel.

The solar installation was well-timed, enabling Adams to power his air conditioning to keep his family cool all summer long.

To lessen Adams’ reliance on the city’s electricity grid and help reduce the city’s overall carbon footprint, Adams’ home was one of 33 in Carson since 2015 to qualify to receive no-cost installation of solar systems through the GRID Alternatives Los Angeles program. GRID Alternatives provides green technology and services to low-income households and people of color in disadvantaged communities.

Clean Power Alliance (CPA), the local energy provider for the City of Carson and the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) communities of Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills Estates and Los Angeles County, awarded GRID Alternatives a $30,000 Community Benefit Grant to cover the cost of the installation. CPA accepted applications through October 6 for its annual Community Benefits Grant. Adams also had recently qualified to receive a new roof through the Neighborhood Pride Program, funded

by Carson’s annual allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds to assist upgrades to low- and moderate-income owners of single-family detached dwellings.

Ted Bardacke, CPA’s chief operating officer, joined Carson City Council Member and SBCCOG Board Chair Cedric Hicks and other South Bay elected leaders to help with the installation. Hicks said that because Carson is home to Marathon’s Los Angeles oil refinery— the ninth largest in the United States—every unit reduction of CO2 emissions counts. Among his goals as chair is supporting the SBCCOG’s mission to reduce carbon emissions in the entire subregion.

“The sustainability stars aligned perfectly to enable us to provide Lawrence and his family access to this green equipment and technology,” Hicks said. “In addition to helping the region meet its energy goals, over the next few decades Lawrence will save thousands of dollars on his electricity bill. Often disadvantaged communities don’t have the same access to technological advances, so this is a proud moment to see everyone who came out with their sleeves rolled up and ready to help Lawrence—and proud for our city and community.”

The SBCCOG is working with Carson and its 15 other member cities to conduct greenhouse gas inventories, most recently updated in 2012. The effort involves gathering data from utilities such as Southern California Edison and SoCalGas. The SBCCOG then uses the ClearPath tool (icleisui.org/clearpath) from ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability to quantify emissions. Once the review is completed, the SBCCOG will begin working with cities to update their climate action plan (CAP) strategies, first developed in 2017 for South Bay cities and the entire subregion. CAPs provide cities with an advantage during the competitive bidding process to qualify for funding programs, such as GRID Alternatives, to advance climate goals.

“Carson has been my home for 50 years,” Adams said. “I’m really happy to do my part to reduce carbon emissions in my community and for the planet.” • To learn more and apply for a CPA Community Benefits Grant, visit cleanpoweralliance.org/calpinegrant.

Fall 2023 | 3

•C E

• RS

TING 20 Y EA BRA E L

RO

VI

EN

CE

S CENTER

S O U T H B AY VI

N M E N TA L S

ER

SBESC partners, from left: Ivana Dorin, program manager, The Energy Coalition; Jenyffer Vasquez, water policy and resources analyst West Basin Municipal Water District; Leah Myhre, project manager, The Energy Coalition; E.J. Caldwell, general manager, West Basin Municipal Water District; Kim Fuentes, executive deputy director, SBCCOG; Gus Meza, senior water policy and resources analyst, West Basin Municipal Water District; Harold C. Williams, MSCE, P.E., immediate past board president, West Basin Municipal Water District; Bernadette Suarez, Lawndale Council member; Cedric Hicks, SBCCOG board chair and Carson Council member; Jacki Bacharach, executive director, SBCCOG; and Rodney Tanaka, SBCCOG 1st vice chair and Gardena Council member.

Here’s to 20 More

South Bay Cities Council of Governments Celebrates 20 Years of Environmental Service to the South Bay

O

n September 28 the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) hosted a reception celebrating the 20th anniversary of its South Bay Environmental Services Center (SBESC).

Since 2003, the SBESC has collaborated with its 16 member cities and portions of Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles, public utility providers and various agencies, to provide a wide variety of environmental resources to South Bay cities, school districts, residents and businesses.

SBCCOG Chair and Carson Council Member Cedric Hicks welcomed and then led everyone down memory lane with “The South Bay’s Journey to Green”—a presentation highlighting SBESC programs through the years. First Vice Chair and Gardena Council Member Rodney Tanaka and Second Vice Chair and Lawndale Council Member Bernadette Suarez assisted in telling how the SBESC programs grew from a single energy efficiency campaign to eventually include energy and water efficiency giveaways, extensive community outreach and education, climate action planning, technical assistance and much more.

Several federal, state and local elected representatives joined the reception remotely to offer congratulations, including U.S. Representative Nannette Barragan, 44th Congressional District; U.S. Representative Ted Lieu, 36th Congressional District; California State Senator Ben Allen, 24th District; California State Senator Steven Bradford, 35th District; State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, 66th District; Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, 2nd District; and LA City Council Member Tim McOsker, 15th District.

SBCCOG Chair Cedric Hicks and attendees receive remote congratulations from State Senator Ben Allen.

“When we know better, we do better and that’s why the training and workshops offered to help cities adopt energy-efficient policies and practices are so very important. So I’d like to commend the SBESC for making an annual effort to provide information to the public at more than 100 community, employee and business events. We see you,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell in a prerecorded message. •

Learn more about the SBESC and its programs and read the complete “South Bay’s Journey to Green Timeline” at southbaycities.org/environmental-services-center.

4 | South Bay Watch

Floating Lab Field Trip Teaches Local Students to “Think Watershed”

I

n Los Angeles, water that runs off streets— and everything in it, including trash, pesticides, fertilizers, soap, oil and pet waste—goes into storm drains that eventually empty into the ocean. One of SBCCOG’s partners, the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, has teamed up with the Think Earth Environmental Education Foundation as a sponsor of its Think Watershed program to help educate local students about the watershed’s impact on the marine environment.

The program’s centerpiece is a field trip on a floating lab, which is run by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. On board a three-hour cruise in Long Beach or Los Angeles Harbor, students from upper elementary to middle school engage in handson marine science learning activities. As the boat motors through the harbor, students observe and discuss marine life such as sea lions, dolphins and birds. They help pull in a trawl net to catch fish and invertebrates

Shawn Fujioka, SBCCOG project coordinator, makes friends with a Pacific Rock Crab.

(e.g., crabs, shrimp, sea stars). Students then rotate stations to: • touch, hold and learn about the creatures brought up in the trawl net.

• gather plankton and identify phytoplankton and zooplankton under a microscope.

• measure the clarity, color and temperature of the ocean water.

• pull up and examine the ocean’s bottom sediment and what might be living in it.

• At each station, students learn what affects the marine habitat and inhabitants and why it is important to protect the health of this environment.

The SBCCOG’s South Bay Environmental Services Center team recently accompanied local middle schoolers on a field trip aboard the floating lab. They were joined by colleagues from partner agencies: Water Replenishment District, West Basin Municipal Water District and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. •

To learn more about the Think Watershed educational program visit: thinkearth.org/think-watershed and lacsd.org/community-outreach/educational-programs/think-watershed.

Dakota Townson, SBCCOG project coordinator (right), observes as Kathy Burton, Think Watershed educator, examines plankton using an optical microscope and iPads to identify various species of phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Matt Christopherson, Think Watershed educator, invites students to get up close and personal with an angel shark pulled aboard in a trawl net, before returning the shark to the ocean.

Fall 2023 | 5

COVER STORY

Giving is Receiving

Volunteers Get Back as Much as They Give While Advancing the SBCCOG’s Mission for the South Bay

W

hen teaching classes as a substitute teacher, David Diaz likes to present information and materials to his students about timely topics, such as the environment. When students throw him questions about ways to solve some of the greatest environmental challenges, like drought management, he can provide answers based on the latest facts from reliable sources. That’s because his work as a volunteer for the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) has provided him opportunities to interface with representatives from local water agencies such as the Los Angeles Department of Water

and Power, Torrance Water Department, the Water Replenishment District and West Basin Municipal Water District.

“I was recently speaking with Darryl RamosYoung, a public information specialist at West Basin, and asked him, ‘Why not desalination?’

He explained that it was very expensive and that there are more efficient ways to solve water shortages,” Diaz said. “We [the general public] might think something is great, but it may not necessarily be right for the community. So I share information with my students to prevent misinformation. It’s also an education for me, and I enjoy that. I’m a lifelong learner just like my students.”

Diaz, who lives in Redondo Beach, is one of 20 volunteers whose work supports the SBCCOG. When not teaching or performing gigs as a musician, he can regularly be seen helping the SBCCOG’s community outreach team at more than 100 community, employee and business events at which the SBCCOG participates annually. At the SBCCOG’s booth, he helps present information and materials about services available to South Bay residents related to the SBCCOG programs that work to improve the environment and transportation, provide services to seniors and the homeless, and manage land use.

Through the SBCCOG’s South Bay

Left: SBCCOG volunteer David Diaz speaks to community members about rebates and incentives for saving energy and water.

6 | South Bay Watch

Clockwise from left around table: Volunteers Kathy Young, Vibbha Joshi, David Diaz and Rick Ramirez listen as SBCCOG Executive Director Jacki Bacharach leads a recent orientation meeting for the 2023/2024 SBCCOG volunteers.

Environmental Services Center (SBESC), Diaz has helped promote rebate and incentive programs to residents and businesses for replacing grass with more drought-tolerant California native plants, switching out waterwasting faucets with more efficient models, or replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs. The outreach team also offers the community information about ridesharing and a new transportation initiative—the South Bay Local Travel Network—which will offer safe pathways designated by a Rolling Turtle sign to use low-speed, zero-emission vehicles for local trips. Diaz has also helped the organization with tasks such as data entry and distributing rain barrels at West Basin community distribution events.

Diaz is one of several volunteers recently recognized for achieving more than 100 hours of volunteer service. Since 2008, more than 300 volunteers have provided more than 20,000 hours of service to the SBCCOG. In addition to community outreach and data entry, volunteers have also assisted with projects such as the creation of website pages, the development of grant opportunities and the completion of geographical information system (GIS) mapping—depending on their skills, background and interests.

“We are truly fortunate to have the diverse level of skills and backgrounds our volunteers bring to the SBCCOG to enhance

From left: SBCCOG volunteer Maria Fonseca and CivicSpark Fellow Lauren Estrella worked to catalog the South Bay’s greenhouse gas emissions.

our programs,” said Martha Segovia, manager, volunteer services for the SBCCOG. “Their perspective enables us to view some of our programs through a fresh lens, and some of the volunteers have eventually become employees of the SBCCOG.” Another volunteer who has achieved nearly 100 service hours is Maria Fonseca. Fonseca has used her passion and career background in sustainability as a solar and electrical project engineer to advance the SBCCOG’s Sustainable South Bay program.

One of her primary projects has been working with the SBCCOG’s CivicSpark Fellows to conduct a meticulous review of greenhouse gas emissions for each of the 16

South Bay cities. They worked with cities to collect data and quantify emissions using the ClearPath tool (icleiusa.org/clearpath) from ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

GHG inventories were previously conducted in 2005, 2007 and 2012 through a grant provided

by SoCalGas and Southern California Edison.

The new data is being compared with the old to identify usage trends and opportunities to increase savings.

Once the research is completed, the SBCCOG will update climate action plan (CAP) strategies for South Bay cities. The SBCCOG developed CAPs for each city and the South Bay in 2017. These reports outline specific strategies for cities to implement in order to reach their goals.

Fonseca was born in Peru but grew up in the South Bay, where she graduated from North Torrance High School prior to earning an environmental engineering degree at the University of California, San Diego. She enjoys the opportunity to help the community she calls her hometown make tangible change.

“The South Bay has given me so much, and I wanted to give back,” she said. “It takes all of us working together if we want to see more sustainable initiatives come to fruition.

Legislation can come, but it takes people on the ground doing the actual legwork to actually push it through. But little by little, municipal building by municipal building, city by city, we can start making a larger change.” •

To learn more or become an SBCCOG volunteer, contact Martha Segovia at martha@southbaycities.org.

Fall 2023 | 7

PERSPECTIVE

The Regional Housing Needs Assessment: Time to Go

T

By Wally Siembab, Research Director, South Bay Cities Council of Governments he Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) was introduced in 1969 during Ronald Reagan’s first term as California’s governor. It requires that every local jurisdiction ensure there will be enough sites appropriately zoned for affordable housing construction to accommodate projected growth as calculated by state bureaucracies every eight years.

This top-down, fair-share allocation of backroom calculated “need” looks like the “build, baby, build” growth policy that it is. The current shortage of affordable housing in dense suburbs within the metropolitan core is evidence of ineffective performance after 54 years of RHNA. RHNA’s “accomplishments” are increased density and gentrification—not affordable housing.

RHNA may have been effective in the 1970s when economic expansion was driven by the growth of population and jobs, and especially land development to accommodate both. That party is over.

The worsening climate crisis now changes the priority to survival. NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space announced summer of 2023 as Earth’s hottest on record. Extreme heat brings public works and food harvesting to a stop; air conditioning threatens the grid; people die. No place in the world is safe from heat domes, forest fires, smoke, droughts, floods, water shortages or food insecurities.

When the United Nations declared that maintaining ecosystems hospitable to human habitat requires that institutions abandon “business as usual” and make sustainability (carbon reduction) and resilience (adaptations to extreme weather events) top priorities, it is directing Sacramento to scrap RHNA and replace it with housing and other policies that address the threat to human existence.

CORE PRIORITIES ARE: • Housing proximity to destinations to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

• Planning dictated from the local level, not top down.

• Incentives for creating more compact local housing development patterns must replace mandates to indiscriminately build density at the developer’s discretion.

HERE ARE SUGGESTIONS FOR STATE POLICIES: • “Fair share” allocation should be scrapped immediately with 100% of housing construction directed to central business districts that need it: San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Sacramento and others, where the largest concentration of destinations and the best public transit service are located.

• Fund the assessment of whether there is enough water, open space, solid waste, etc. and potential climate threats in every subregion in California. Let that dictate what the growth areas can accommodate. As temperatures rise, portions of California will attract large numbers of climate migrants; locals need to know their region’s capacity.

• Invest in local planning capabilities to develop sustainable neighborhoods. State housing legislation has reduced local planning departments to arms of the state kept busy planning indiscriminate density. Centralized eight-year plans are incompatible with a turbulent future.

Only locals can produce short-range plans essential for agility and adaptability.

• Offer models and incentives for developing “complete neighborhoods” and 20-minute subregions.* Incentivize mature suburban retrofits and construction of new outskirt communities. (*Regions that enable travel to any destination within 20 minutes) • Fund robust “resilience centers” that offer digital hubs, mobility hubs and microgrids as an essential component of complete neighborhoods.

• Offer incentives for backyard gardens in single-family neighborhoods and community gardens on vacant parcels, public property and parking lots—food insecurity is around the corner.

• Incentivize short-range, inexpensive, small-battery electric personal mobility devices as the transportation component in complete neighborhoods. •

8 | South Bay Watch

South Bay Watch is a quarterly bulletin by the South Bay Cities Council of Governments to inform local leaders of subregional progress and alert them to emerging issues.

Governing Board: Chair Cedric Hicks, Carson 1st Vice Chair Rodney Tanaka, Gardena 2nd Vice Chair Bernadette Suarez, Lawndale Immediate Past Chair John Cruikshank, Rancho Palos Verdes Members: Carson, County of LA, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance SBCCOG Executive Director Jacki Bacharach Legal Counsel Michael Jenkins, Best Best & Krieger LLP Treasurer Matthew Robinson, City Treasurer City of El Segundo Editor: Colleen Farrell, Senior Project Manager, Communications, SBCCOG Contributor: Rosemary Lackow, Administrative Assistant Design: Vincent Rios Creative, Inc.

To subscribe to SBCCOG newsletters or view past editions, visit southbaycities.org/newsletter.

To view a schedule of SBCCOG meetings, visit southbaycities.org/calendar.

Website: southbaycities.org

Follow us: facebook.com/SBCCOG facebook.com/SBESC @SouthBayCC @SBESC @southbayccog