Item 2e. Letter from Tesla Outreach Community Alliance (TOCA) — original pdf

Backup

To: Elon Musk 1 Tesla Road Austin, TX 78725 June 14, 2022 Communities Request Dialogue and Partnership from Tesla towards Sustainable Development in Del Valle Given that: Tesla’s arrival in 2020 – with significant tax abatements – was met with community optimism that the company would provide high quality jobs for residents of southeastern Travis County, along with many other hoped-for community benefits. Given that: Tesla has rapidly constructed one of the nation’s largest car factories east of Austin, adjacent to communities of color that have historically endured environmental injustices, making dialogue with Tesla’s neighbors all the more necessary. Given that: Tesla needs to have frequent and sufficient contact with the community most impacted by their project, and expectations that the company go beyond the limited requirements of their economic incentive deal with Travis County. THEREFORE, to address community concerns, we propose a series of public meetings with Tesla, in collaboration with Travis County and the City of Austin—in order to ultimately reach a written “contract with the community” that would help guide the company as it makes plans for corporate social responsibility programs in the future. Our coalition of groups, as the Tesla Outreach Community Alliance (or TOCA), has begun this process by laying out the following list of potential efforts we hope that Tesla would undertake, divided into four categories: On Labor • Develop plans to hire otherwise qualified people living near the plant who need language training or other language accommodations On Partnership • Develop plans – including job fairs – to hire people who do not have access to web recruiting tools • Improve plans to hire otherwise qualified people who are reentering from the criminal legal system • Establish a Community Advisory Panel of neighbors and grassroots groups • Report regular status updates to the public on the progress towards these community needs • Fund anti-displacement programs to support neighboring communities On the Environment On Infrastructure of Austin • Improve protection of water quality from stormwater runoff and hazardous waste, and ensure air quality is not degraded • Develop an ecological conservation and restoration plan for Tesla’s riverfront property, and plans for a community park • Enhance measures to mitigate flood risk for downstream communities • Help fund the extension of water and sewer pipelines to connect nearby neighborhoods to utility service from the City • Commit to the completion of the Harold Green Road extension before end of 2022 • Develop programs to attract and/or construct community-oriented infrastructure for current residents of Del Valle We believe it is in Tesla’s best interest to begin dialogue with the community on these issues voluntarily, without having to resort to state intervention that would establish a more formal, obligatory mechanism for public engagement on the project. We look forward to working with you and succeeding together towards sustainable development in Del Valle. We kindly request Tesla to join us and provide a written response at the June 28, 2022, community meeting at Travis County Community Center (3518 FM973, Del Valle, TX 78617), at 6:00pm. Respectfully, Community Coalition for Health Hornsby Bend Alliance Raza Roundtable People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources Del Valle Community Coalition NAACP Austin Rapid, Equitable, & Sustainable Energy Transitions Lab Texas Anti-Poverty Project