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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWQCT Agenda with Draft Minutes 03032022CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH WATER QUALITY/COASTAL TIDELANDS COMMITTEE AGENDA Newport Beach Utilities Yard Thursday, March 3, 2022 - 3:00 PM Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee Members: Council Member Duffy Duffield, Chair Council Member Noah Blom, Vice Chair Peter Belden, Member Curtis Black, Member Louis Denger, Member Charles Fancher, Member Lawrence Houston, Member Richard McNeil, Member George Robertson, Member Staff Members: Jim Houlihan,Deputy Public Works Director/City Engineer John Kappeler, Senior Engineer Karen Gallagher, Administrative Assistant The Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee meeting is subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act. Among other things, the Brown Act requires that the Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee agenda be posted at least seventy-two (72) hours in advance of each regular meeting and that the public be allowed to comment on agenda items before the Committee and items not on the agenda but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee. The Chair may limit public comments to a reasonable amount of time, generally three (3) minutes per person. The City of Newport Beach’s goal is to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in all respects. If, as an attendee or a participant at this meeting, you will need special assistance beyond what is normally provided, we will attempt to accommodate you in every reasonable manner. Please contact John Kappeler, Water Quality Enforcement Manager, at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting to inform us of your particular needs and to determine if accommodation is feasible at (949) 644-3218 or jkappeler@newportbeachca.gov. NOTICE REGARDING PRESENTATIONS REQUIRING USE OF CITY EQUIPMENT Any presentation requiring the use of the City of Newport Beach’s equipment must be submitted to the Public Works Department 24 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. 1) CALL MEETING TO ORDER 2) ROLL CALL AND INTRODUCTIONS 3) PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS (10 min) Public comments are invited on agenda items. Speakers must limit comments to five minutes. Before speaking, we invite, but do not require, you to state your name for the record. The Committee has the discretion to extend or shorten the speakers’ time limit on agenda items, provided the time limit adjustment is applied equally to all speakers. As a courtesy, please turn cell phones off or set them in the silent mode. 4) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES (5 min) Recommendation: Approve minutes as presented Water Quality Draft Minutes 10072021 5) CURRENT BUSINESS (55 min) 1 March 3, 2022 Page 2 Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee Meeting (a) Committee Goals/Objectives (Bob Stein) (5 min) Review and status update on the committee’s goals and objectives. Recommendation: Committee Discussion (b) City of Newport Beach Water Conservation Ordinance (Mark Vukojevic) (20 min) Update and presentation on City’s water conservation ordinance. Recommendation: Committee Discussion (c) City of Newport Beach Utilities Yard Tour (Mark Vukojevic) (30 min) Tour of the Utilities Yard. Recommendation: Committee Discussion 6) ON-GOING BUSINESS (0 min) (a) No on-going business this meeting. 7) COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) (5 min) (a) City of Newport Beach Refuse Update (April 2022) - Objective 3 (b) Bacteriological Rapid Testing Methods (April 2022) - Objective 4 (c) City of Newport Beach Sustainability Plan (May 2022) - Objective 9 (d) Fecal Coliform Time Schedule Order (TSO) (May 2022) (e) Trash Interceptor Public Outreach Plan (Summer 2022) - Objective 19 (f) NASA Study - Sea Level Rise (Summer 2022) - Objective 5 (g) Balboa Island Drainage Plan (Summer 2022) - Objective 12 (h) Shellfish Monitoring (Summer 2022) (i) IRWD Siphon Reservoir Project (Fall 2022) - Objective 18 (j) City of Newport Beach Street Sweeping Program (Fall 2022) - Objective 3 (k) City of Newport Beach Foodware Service Ordinance (Fall 2022) - Objective 3 8) PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (10 min) Public comments are invited on non-agenda items generally considered to be within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Committee. Speakers must limit comments to three minutes. Before speaking, we invite, but do not require, you to state your name for the record. The Committee has the discretion to extend or shorten the speakers’ time limit on non-agenda items, provided the time limit adjustment is applied equally to all speakers. As a courtesy, please turn cell phones off or set them in the silent mode. 9) SET NEXT MEETING DATE (5 min) Recommendation: April 7, 2022 2 March 3, 2022 Page 3 Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee Meeting 10) ADJOURNMENT 3 1 City of Newport Beach Water Quality/Coastal Tidelands Committee Meeting Minutes Date: October 7, 2021 Time: 3:00 p.m. Location: Newport Beach Civic Center, Crystal Cove Conference Room Meeting Minutes prepared by: 1. Call meeting to order The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. by Chair Duffield 2. Roll Call and Introductions Committee Members Present: Councilmember/Chair Duffy Duffield Councilmember/Vice Chair Noah Blom Peter Belden Curtis Black Louis Denger Charles Fancher Tom Houston Committee Members Absent: George Robertson (Teleconferencing) Richard McNeil Guests Present: Grant Bixby, Resident Nancy Gardner, Orange Coast River Park Hoiyin Ip, Sierra Club Monica Mazar, Resident Staff Present: Carissa Macias, Recreation Supervisor Bob Stein, Assistant City Engineer Dave Webb, Public Works Director 3. Public Comment on Agenda Items Hoiyin Ip reported both Assembly Bill (AB) 1276 - Single-use foodware accessories and standard condiments and AB 1200 – California Safer Food Packaging and Cookware Act were by Governor Gavin Newsom. 4. Review and approval of minutes (5 min) Motion. Committee Member Chuck Fancher moved to approve the minutes as presented; Committee Member Tom Houston seconded the motion; motion approved unanimously. Chair Duffield requested Public Works Director Dave Webb provide an update on the October 2nd oil spill. 4 2 Public Works Director Webb reported that the discharge plume was approximately 1 mile off the coast of San Clemente. He advised it came onto Huntington Beach rather quickly because there was an onshore breeze at the time and noted by the time it got to Newport Beach the winds had shifted. He reported there was oil and tar on the beach but nowhere near what Huntington Beach received. He advised crews reported that small droplets of oil remain on the beach, but it has gone down a lot. He noted the crews of approximately 150 people have been contracted by the Federal Government and the State and will continue with clean-up efforts. He hopes the beaches will open once the water samples are taken and the County determines it is safe to open the beaches. He reported the harbor is still closed by the regulatory agencies and noted their concern was to make sure the plume is further away from the harbor and that a decontamination area is in place to clean any boats that come into the harbor. He believes Harbormaster Paul Blank was working on setting up decontamination at Marina Park. In response to Committee Member Chuck Fancher’s inquiry regarding an action plan protocol once a spill is detected, Public Words Director Webb advised there is an Incident Command Plan. He advised the Fire Department’s Lifeguard Operations Division took incident command right away. He explained any oil spill in the ocean is overseen by the Federal Government under the Coast Guard. He advised the City does not have the resources to find the leak and noted the City has limited booms it stores at Marina Park that can be placed at the Santa Ana River mouth or Talbert Marsh to at least get control of the spill. He advised he has 6 Hazmat employees on his staff that is capable of cleaning up an oil spill but is not enough resources for a spill of this size. He noted many residents called in to volunteer for clean-up efforts. Chair Duffield confirmed there is a defined plan in place that includes vessels to sync with diesel tanks such as a tugboat. He noted Newport Beach does not see many oil spills but sees many boats contribute to that problem. In response to Committee Member Fancher’s inquiry about reimbursement of the cost of damages to local businesses, Vice Chair Blom advised there are several resources available for relief and noted the Small Business Administration (SBA) is setting up a system for Emergency Disaster Relief Loans for some larger operators. He advised an abatement of fees or a grant program can be discussed with the Finance Committee, but the City is currently looking at Federal and State funding. He reported there is a hotline impacted businesses can call to obtain information and noted they will be recompensed if they were directly affected by the oil spill. Committee Member Peter Belden reported he called the hotline to file a claim and noted it only took 3 to 4 minutes to work through. In response to Committee Member Belden’s inquiry regarding water testing, Public Works Director Webb explained the City knows how to conduct the water testing, but the bigger concern is the decontamination area for the harbor. Committee Member Belden expressed concern on the impact the Harbor closure is having on local businesses and inquired if anything can be expedited for those who use the Harbor commercially. The PW Director advised no one will be able to cross the boom at this time so commercial users of the Harbor will need to be creative but is hearing the Harbor may be opened as early as Saturday. He advised Harbormaster Blank is working with the Coast Guard on the reopening decision. Vice Chair Blom explained the Coast Guard Port Master will make the decision and forward that information to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department who will work with the County for reopening. In response to Committee Member Fancher’s inquiry regarding volunteer opportunities, Vice Chair Blom reported the City will be issuing a press release with new information from the State on volunteering opportunities. He noted interested parties can navigate to https://calspillwatch.wildlife.ca.gov/ to register to be a volunteer. John Wadsworth, Surfrider Foundation, advised they interested parties could send a text to the Surfrider 5 3 Foundation to be added to the list and receive an application for volunteering. He noted the list currently contains 5000 names and has been transferred to the Office of Spill Prevention and Response. He confirmed he received his text with the outreach information. Committee Member Belden commented that the volunteers may not be utilized for this spill but may be mobilized during future events. Nancy Gardner noted preparing volunteers for future events has been discussed but has always gone by the wayside. Monica Mazar reported that during the 1990 American Trader oil spill many people wanted to volunteer and were upset because they were turned away and which is where they first learned about Personal protective equipment (PPE). Public Works Director Webb advised there are many volunteer opportunities for beach trash pick-up etc. In response to Recreation Supervisor Carissa Macias’s inquiry regarding clean-up efforts on rocky beaches and tide pools, Public Works Director Webb advised those areas are a little more challenging but noted those locations were on the clean-up map. He advised those providing clean-up will make several passes in the rocky areas to allow the high tide cycle to bring up the oil. He advised if anyone should see additional oil it should be reported to the Fire Department but noted Public Works staff and City Lifeguards are also patrolling. He advised they are mostly seeing tarballs that are solid and not liquid. He advised he is unsure if the sand will also need to be sampled. Ms. Mazur advised when the American Trader oil spill took place the sand was tested. Mr. Wadsworth explained this spill is more toxic than what comes out of the seafloor naturally. Assistant City Engineer Bob Stein advised these substances are not toxic but are a contaminant for sure. Ms. Mazur advised the American Trader spill was oil from Alaska, so it had a different footprint. She noted during the clean-up a small earthquake occurred and small tar balls started to show up, but they could differentiate the two types of oil due to the different footprints. Grant Bixby, a resident, noted he heard that Orange County is one of the only counties in the State to not have a local Fish and Game Division which may have led to a delay in resources such as booms needing to be shipped in from other locations. Public Works Director Webb reported there is the Fish and Game Division in the region but is unsure if there is one in Newport Beach. He reported the Coast Guard responded very quickly with six skimmer boats. He noted the Santa Ana River was already closed due to another reason and noted Talbert Marsh did not get a boom, so some material got into the marsh. 5. Current Business (50 min) (a) Committee Goals/Objectives (Bob Stein) (40 min) Review and status update on the committee’s goals and objectives. Recommendation: Committee Review and Approval/Denied/Other Assistant City Engineer Bob Stein provided a new committee objectives handout with reconfigured objectives to make it more manageable for the committee to tackle and combined many goals into one objective. He requested the committee vote on each objective so they can be prioritized. He noted the highest-ranking objectives with the most aggressive schedules will be prioritized but believes all the objectives will be tackled over the next year. Assistant City Engineer Stein reported the Resiliency and Sustainability Planning received 13 votes which are the most of any of the objectives. Ms. Gardner advised she would participate since she 6 4 developed the original sustainability plans for the City. He advised the lead would work with a staff member to develop a schedule, develop a list of potential speakers, and assign staff assignments for research. Committee Member Curt Black volunteered to be the lead for the Pesticide and Herbicide Source Control objective. Committee Member Lou Denger volunteered to lead to review options for Cherry Creek, Cherry Lake, and Santa Isabella Channel Water Quality and Restoration. Assistant City Engineer Stein explained the Green Streets Resolution promoting runoff reduction would infiltrate nuisance water through curb cuts and other methods. He noted in Newport Beach the areas that would be potential candidates would be on the peninsula where there is a sandy subgrade. In response to Committee Member Fancher’s inquiry, Assistant City Engineer Stein advised it is limited to the peninsula but may include Newport Shores. Ms. Gardner reported Crystal Cove did green streets, so it is not limited to sandy subgrades. Assistant City Engineer Stein noted the main task for this objective would be to determine the location options and then Public Works would determine if a project could be structured. In response to Committee Member Fancher’s inquiry, Assistant City Engineer Stein advised the goal is to intercept runoff before it enters the ocean. Assistant City Engineer Stein advised implementing a program to address cleaning up discharge associated with private catch basins in the City has been a longstanding question that should have a solution and noted any volunteer would need to work with staff and the City Attorney’s Office. Assistant City Engineer Stein reported the Auxiliary Trash Reduction Program would look for potential ways to reduce trash entering the bay and the ocean. Committee Member Black volunteered to lead the Auxiliary Trash Reduction Program. Assistant City Engineer Stein reported convening a joint meeting with Harbor Commission and a joint meeting with Parks, Beaches, and Parks to discuss issues in common is important, so it was ranked the highest. He advised exploring options for providing more public restroom services around the harbor including consideration for a floating restroom project that could also be a future Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) project and noted the lead would help develop those options. In response to Committee Member Fancher’s inquiry, Assistant City Engineer Stein advised the Harbor Commission handles more of the nuts and bolts and he sees this as more of a CIP project but would be fine with them taking lead. Chair Duffield noted there is a lot of the objective cross-over with the Harbor Commission and should not be duplicated. Committee Member Fancher and Ms. Gardner agreed. Vice Chair Blom noted the hardest thing now in the crossover issue is the Harbor Department is new and the Finance Committee is trying to determine the best way to get funds allocated to them because it is hard to look at historical data. He noted he looks at this committee to be an advisory committee that can help direct how funds are used in the Harbor Department. He advised this committee is the research side and the Harbor Department is the action side. Assistant City Engineer Stein advised this was probably built on the Public Works CIP and is probably looking for someone to study the Harbor fixed and floating restroom assets and make a recommendation to the City Council. 7 5 Committee Member Houston advised he would hate to spend more money on public restrooms that are just housing the homeless. Assistant Senior Engineer Stein noted the homeless issues are complicated but the need for public restrooms is a whole other issue. Committee Member Houston noted there should be a way to determine where the homeless congregate. Chair Duffield advised there are not a lot of public bathrooms in the Harbor and noted there are long stretches that do not have a bathroom. Assistant City Engineer Stein advised another object needing a lead is the completion of the Harbor Hazardous Waste drop-off site located at Balboa Yacht Basin and the consideration of the option of two additional sites. Committee Member Houston volunteered to lead the objective. Assistant City Engineer Stein advised another object needing a lead is the Newport Harbor Underwater Clean-up Committee. Chair Duffield reported the “Help Your Harbor” is already doing that work well and sees no need to duplicate efforts. Assistant City Engineer Stein advised another object needing a lead is the Vessel Pump-out Stations, Caulerpa Removal, Balboa Island Drainage System, and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Committee member Tom Houston agreed to take the lead. Committee Member Fancher noted there is a lot of interface with the Harbor Commission and suggested assigning a Harbor Chairperson to interface with the Harbor Commission. Committee Member Black concurred and noted partnering goals could be expanded and recommended having a Harbor Committee Member attend the Water Quality meetings. Committee Members Black and Belden volunteered to be liaisons to the Harbor Commission. Public Works Director Webb expressed concern about the workload volume and noted it needs to be prioritized. Vice Chair Blom advised identifying the list and who will take lead is important and recommends bringing it back to the next meeting for prioritization. Ms. Gardner recommended having staff review the objectives to determine how much of staff’s time will be required. Assistant City Engineer Stein advised when the Senior Engineer Kappeler sets up the meetings so they are touched on during the year, but the highest-scoring objectives will be prioritized. He reminded the committee to rank the objectives as 1, 2, or 3. There was no further action taken on this item. (c) Surfrider Ocean Friendly Restaurant Program (John Wadsworth) (10 min) Update and presentation on the key elements of the plan. Recommendation: Committee Discussion John Wadsworth, Surfrider Foundation, provided a brief overview of the Ocean Friendly Restaurants (OFR) to the Committee Members. He hopes the program can help shepherd the food ware ordinance and help it move forward. He provided a brief overview of the Surfrider Foundation’s mission and noted they have been delivering on it for the last 37 years. He reported the five initiatives the Surfrider Foundation works on are plastic pollution, ocean protection, beach access, coastal preservation, and clean water. 8 6 Mr. Wadsworth reported the foundation works with local cities, the State, and the Federal government to impact change. He noted the Surfrider Foundation was instrumental in banning single- use food ware in Laguna Beach and Solana Beach and believes those would be good templates for Newport Beach. Mr. Wadsworth provided a brief overview of the OFR program and advises plastic pollution is a major issue and noted 11 million metric tons of plastic make their way to the ocean every year. He explained OFRs deal with issues at the source, one restaurant, and one customer at a time. He noted the program provides businesses with the tools and support needed to switch from single-use plastics to more sustainable reuse. Mr. Wadsworth reported there are 800 OFRs nationally and advised it took a huge hit during the pandemic but noted the program is now ramping back up. He advised there are 7 OFRs in the Newport Beach region so it is a huge priority for the local chapter and noted there is much work to do. He advised the track every OFR on its website. Mr. Wadsworth explained to become an OFR they must follow the mandatory criteria which include the use of reusable food ware for onsite dining, no use of polystyrene styrofoam, paper straws only upon request, no beverages sold in plastic bottles, no plastic bags for takeout, proper recycling, and single-use utensils available only upon request. He advised OFRs also need to follow at least 3 of the optional criteria. He noted the most important item is the no single-use or bio-based plastic containers. He provided a brief overview of how the process works from signup through implementation. Mr. Wadsworth advised this program has become a powerful brand across the country and becoming more mainstream. He would like to partner with the City to roll out the program and are fine with the City rolling it out on its own as long as it accomplishes the goal of reducing single use. He noted some ideas are an opt-in program sponsored by the City that would offer tax incentivize for restaurants. He advised there is a cost to become more compliant and noted restaurants often complain that moving to a more sustainable and biodegradable container will cost more. He agreed it will cost more and noted the cost is not significant but believes there is a way to mitigate that with Surfrider Foundation promotion and buying power with corporate partners that restaurants can leverage. Committee Member Houston recommended pushing the OFR program starting at the beachfront and working inland. Mr. Wadsworth advised oceanfront restaurants should be the stewards of this program. He reported San Diego currently has 100 restaurants that are compliant and noted people seek out OFRs. In response to Committee Member Houston’s inquiry, Mr. Wadsworth reported there are 175 Surfrider Foundation student clubs across the country. He reported all the local high schools have a chapter and noted all five initiatives are ingrained into the student clubs. Committee Member Houston advised there is an Australian video presentation of the North Pacific Gyre and noted it is helpful for students to comprehend the big picture. Ms. Mazer noted the Santa Ana Delhi Channel reminds her of the research Jack Skinner conducted that determined that people would throw out mostly the fast-food restaurant waste and miss the trash cans. Mr. Wadsworth reported the Surfrider Foundation adopted a mile of the Santa Ana River which is cleaned every month. In response to Ms. Gardner’s inquiry, Mr. Wadsworth reported a list of OFRs can be found at 9 7 Surfrider.org. He advised once a restaurant signs up as an OFR, they have access to promotional materials locally and nationally. Vice Chair Blom advised the Newport Beach Restaurant Association is defunct but the new Newport Hospitality Association has been formed which includes small businesses including restaurants and advised they already have a large membership. He recommended the Surfrider Foundation make its OFR presentation to that board. He advised many restaurants are already in compliance with the basic 7 criteria. Committee Member Fancher inquired about the status of the disposable foodservice ordinance. Chair Duffield advised it has been stalled due to supply chain issues. Vice Chair Blom explained the ordinance was an all-out ban on take-out ware. He advised new products are coming to market including such as potato ware but doubt it is compostable. He believes the OFR program speaks much better to restaurants than all-out bans that help create the supply chain that feeds these types of items. Recreation Supervisor Carissa Macias recommended restaurants that have joined the OFR program be added to the City website under a sustainability tab as another way to be recognized. Mr. Wadsworth confirmed this is done by other cities such as Long Beach. Committee Member Belden requested case studies of how the Surfrider Foundation has partnered with other cities and what incentives those cities have offered restaurants. Mr. Wadsworth advised the Surfrider Foundation has not yet partnered with a City and noted they focus their efforts one restaurant at a time but partnering would help achieve the goal quicker. Ms. Gardner noted the Newport Hospitality Association seems to be the perfect place to introduce the program. Vice Chair Blom noted he would not be surprised to hear many restaurants are already in compliance and would create a groundswell. Committee Member Fancher noted that the ordinance is not to ban the items but to charge for them to reduce the supply. He noted the City is paying to clean up pollution in the streets and beaches and advised the single-use ware fills the landfills. There was no further action taken on this item. 6) On-Going Business (5 min) (a) Bay and Ocean Bacteriological Test Results (Monica Mazur) (5 min) Review and discussion of recent water quality test results within Newport Bay and along the ocean shoreline. Recommendation: Receive and File Ms. Mazur provided a brief overview of the Bacteriological Report for the Committee. She reported this month there was only one violation in the Upper Newport Bay at Vaughn's Launch and noted the sample taken afterward tested clean. She reported no events occurred in the Newport Slough in quite some time. She reported there have not been any violations in the Lower Bay in several months. Assistant City Engineer Stein mentioned that the data looks clean and hopes to get those locations delisted. Ms. Mazar advised there used to be a delisting protocol and will be working to recreate it. 10 8 Ms. Mazur reported there were a few violations in the Coastal Area around the Santa Ana River mouth. She advised there was one hit back on the Wedge on September 1st and the second sample tested clean. There was no further action taken on this item. 7) Committee Announcements on Matters which Members would like placed on a future agenda for discussion, action or report (Non-Discussion Item) (5 min) (a) City of Newport Beach Utilities Water Conservation Ordinance and Tour (November 2021) – Objective UR1 (b) City of Newport Beach Refuse Update (January 2022) – Objective T9 (c) Trash Interceptor Public Outreach Plan (January 2022) – Objective T10 (d) Fecal Coliform Time Schedule Order (TSO) (February 2022) – Objective UR7 (e) Bacteriological Rapid Testing Methods (February 2022) – Objective T8 (f) City of Newport Beach Sustainability Plan (March 2022) (g) NASA Study – Sea Level Rise (Spring 2022) – Objective H3 (h) Balboa Island Drainage Plan (Spring 2022) – Objective H8 (i) Shellfish Monitoring (Summer 2022) – Objective H8 (j) IRWD Siphon Reservoir Project (Summer 2022) – Objective P2 (k) City of Newport Beach Foodware Service Ordinance (Summer 2022) – Objective T6 (l) City of Newport Beach Street Sweeping Program (Summer 2022) – Objective T7 Committee Member Fancher requested to discuss the Committee Resolution to expand the committee’s scope. Senior Assistant Engineer Stein advised the Harbor has been specifically tasked with looking at sea level rise impacts to the Harbor but believes starting with the ocean beaches is good enough. He noted the committee has enough on its plate and believes it can expand to a larger scope once it is done working on these objectives. Committee Member Black inquired about Electric Vehicle (EV) funding. Senior Assistant Engineer Stein advised Civil Engineer Peter Tauscher has been working on EV chargers, exploring solar shades, and other energy savings. He believes the motivator will be identifying grant funding. He recommended Committee Member Fancher revisit the Committee Resolution in six months. There was no further action taken on this item. 8) Public Comments on Non-Agenda Items (10 min) Mr. Bixby advised he would like to speak about the Business Alliance Protecting the Pacific Coast (BAPCC) and noted it is an organization made up of 7500 business owners on the West Coast including Washington, Oregon, and California. He noted sister organizations include the Gulf Coast Alliance and the Atlantic Coast Alliance that have 55,000 business members that have signed onto the mission of opposing expanded and future offshore oil and gas drilling. He noted the organization simply does not like new and expanded offshore oil and listed interested businesses. He advised his background is in real estate and noted many of his clients who have properties in the peninsula have seen cancellations due to oil spills for the next several months. He noted the Gulf of Mexico did not see tourism levels increase for years due to the Deepwater Horizon blowout. He expressed concern that this oil spill will impact local tourism in the region for years. He requested the City take a stand by joining BAPCC and sign a resolution stating the City is not in favor of future and expanded offshore oil and gas drilling. Committee Member Belden reported his business is a member of BAPCC. He advised this is not a ban but 11 9 states the City of Newport Beach is not in favor of future and expanded offshore oil and gas drilling and expressed support for the City to join with BAPCC. Ms. Mazur noted this is not a ban on new platforms but to ensure platforms already in place are maintained. Mr. Bixby expressed support for joining BAPCC and advised BAPCC is already lobbying Congress to work on a federal level to ensure there is accountability and overall maintenance. Vice Chair Blom reported the City Council has met in a closed session to discuss the possibility of litigation and noted other agencies and businesses have already filed litigation. He noted the City does not want to see any more platforms and noted the City Council is now listening. Ms. Gardner expressed frustration that it takes an oil spill for the City to support initiatives like this. Committee Member Fancher suggested Committee Member Belden place this in Item No. 07 for future consideration. Vice Chair Blom explained the City has no authority or jurisdiction over the existing platforms. He advised the City could file a brief showing support for the resolution. He noted the City Council will support the will of the people. Mr. Bixby reported 290 municipalities have already signed a resolution like this and advised it is helpful when lobbying federally to push the ball forward. He noted it is a bipartisan issue. Committee Member Belden requested Mr. Bixby provide them with a draft resolution for review and recommended it become an action item. Ms. Ip recommended the City divest from big oil and big plastics and can provide policy examples from other agencies. 9) Set Next Meeting Date (5 min) Recommendation: November 4, 2021 Chair Duffield set the next meeting for November 4, 2021. 10) Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m. Chair / Duffy Duffield 12