Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting of the Human Rights Commission - Location: Executive Session Conference Room (Room 1027)(Note: This meeting is open to the public.)
1 a E, j HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AGENDA Monday, October 28, 2019 5:30 p.m. – Adjournment City Hall Executive Session Conference Room (Room 1027) (This meeting is open to the public.) 301 W. Second St. Austin, TX 78701 CURRENT COMMISSION MEMBERS:Sareta Davis, Chair Kristian Caballero, Vice Chair Jared Breckenridge Garry Brown Jamarr Brown Isabel Casas Idona Griffith Maram Museitif Courtney Santana Alicia Weigel Nathan White CALL TO ORDER CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Citizens signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. ANNOUNCEMENTS None. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Consider approval of the minutes from the Human Rights Commission’s September 23, 2019 Regular Meeting. 3. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion and possible action on scheduling the appeal filed to the Austin Human Rights Commission of the Equal Employment/Fair Housing Office No Reasonable Cause determination in Case No. HRC-CF-18-003 under City Code Chapter 5-2, Discrimination in Public Accommodations. (Caballero/G. Brown) b. Discussion and possible action regarding a recommendation to City Council to recognize International Human Rights Day. (Caballero/Davis) c. Discussion regarding Homelessness in Austin Photo campaign. (Weigel/White/Caballero) d. Discussion and possible action to present a climate action plan to City Council. (White/Weigel) 2 e. Discussion and possible action regarding a recommendation to City Council to Protect and Serve the Community of People Experiencing Homelessness. (Caballero/Weigel/White/Griffith) f. Discussion and possible action to approve the 2020 meeting schedule. (Davis/Caballero) 4. OLD BUSINESS a. Commissioners will report on and discuss the status of the Commission’s key priority areas of concern for 2019-2020, including plans and strategies for meeting those key priority areas of concern: i. Institutional Equity ii. Environment & Land Use iii. Health Access & Nutrition iv. Autonomy & Human Rights ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice 48 hours before the meeting date. Please call Jonathan Babiak at (512) 974-3276, Human Resources Department, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Human Rights Commission, please contact Jonathan Babiak at (512) 974-3276 or visit http://www.austintexas.gov/hrc.
Austin 10 Year Climate Action Plan (Draft) For Human Rights Commission Meeting on 10/28/19 ‐Institute opt‐in procedure for natural gas use in new constructions, to include a prohibitive permitting fee. ‐Introduce a detailed wind‐down plan, including job placement for workers, within a maximum of two years for the natural gas‐powered plants in Austin and the immediate withdrawal of ownership of the coal‐powered Fayette Power Project. ‐Install solar panels, rooftop turbines, rainwater collection systems, and/or passive rooftop gardens on ALL city‐owned properties. ‐Install enough power storage capacity for municipal use through public‐private partnerships with large‐scale battery manufacterers and implementation of mechanical passive storage towers. ‐Significant, massive, and immediate improvement and expansion of our waste water recycling program to irrigate all public lands. ‐An immediate investment in industrial scale indoor urban agriculture to include aquaponics, hydroponics, aeroponcs, and any other density‐condusive method of growing produce with city‐scale output ‐Implement heat island mitigation techniques such as reflective paint on concrete, increasing moss cover on sides of buildings, passive rooftop moss gardens on all bus stops, and increased tree canopy starting in East and Southeast Austin ‐Partner with the county to plant 1 million trees, to be irrigated by the expanded purple pipe system ‐Introduce basic universal electricity by implementing a credit to accounts for an allocated amount of KWH before paying a slightly higher price per KWH for the remaining electricity used. ‐Create an office in the city government to hire people in the city to accomplish these projects, as city employees, beginning with those experiencing homelessness. ‐Large‐scale increase in water storage, including expanded use of underground caverns and a property tax credit for privately owned rooftop water collection system
Land Development Recommendation WHEREAS, The burning of natural gas is not a carbon‐free source of power WHEREAS, The City of Austin retains the right to determine land use and best practices WHEREAS, The population of Austin has repeatedly affirmed in various ways through bond issues, attendance of events, and proliferation of climate‐minded non‐profits, etc. it’s desire to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and contribute to a green economy WHEREAS, The oversaturation of natural gas burning products decreases the price of such products, which in turn increases their appeal amongst consumers WHEREAS, The right to a hospitable environment is crucial and imperative in the retention, expansion, and preservation of all other human rights THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, The Human Rights Commission for the City of Austin calls on the City Council to adopt a measure which prohibits or makes highly undesirable through prohibitive permitting fees the use of natural gas‐based products in all new developments of any size.
Possible Partner Organizations Water: Well Aware, Water to Thrive, Clean Water Action, Austin Water Center for Environmental Research, Texas Water Conservation Association, Water Enironment Association of Texas, Nature Conservancy, Save Barton Creek Association, Shoal Creek Conservancy, Sierra Club Food: Urban Patchwork, Urban Roots, Hausbar Urban Farm, Feeding Texas, Central Texas Food Bank, Food is Free Project, Sustainable Food Center, Wheatsville, Interfaith Action of Central Texas, Hungry Souls Reforestation: TreeFolks, Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, Keep Austin Beautiful, Texas Land Conservancy, Families in Nature, Generation Serve, Austin Parks Foundation, Austin Environmental Justice Team, Hill Country Conservancy Power: Tesla, Solar Austin, Energy Vault, Austin Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Go Solar Texas, The Texas State Energy Conservation Office, The Texas Solar Power Association, The Texas Renewable Energy Industries Alliance, Environment Texas Sustainability: Austin Resource Recovery, Austin Eco Network, Habitat for Humanity, Evolve Austin, Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, Partners for Education Agriculture and Sustainability, Earth Share of Texas
Key Climate Facts ‐By 2050, the average “feels like” temperature in Central Texas will reach 120 degrees F ‐Webberville solar project covers 380 acres of land, creates 35 MW of power, has sustaining lease agreement with property owner, initial cost of $250 Million. ‐Roughly 400,000 residential customers with an average need of 1000 KWh/month ‐Average output of residential solar roof installation: (Tesla’s quote) $42,500/2000sq ft with 10kWh ‐With peak output, if Austin “gave” away solar roofs, spending the same amount for the Webberville project equates to: $250 million ÷ $42,500 = 5,882 solar roofs with 58.823 MW of output. ‐Increased tree canopy can reduce heat island effect by 20‐45 degrees F during peak high temperatures (https://www.epa.gov/heat‐islands/using‐trees‐and‐vegetation‐reduce‐heat‐islands) ‐The average rooftop is capable of collecting 0.62 gallons of water per square foot per inch of rainwater. Average Square Footage of Austin single family home is 2,068 square feet. Austin has an average of 34 inches of rain per year. This means roughly 43,593 gallons of water is available to be stored per single family home per year. One person uses roughly 80‐100 gallons per day for a total of 29,200‐36,500 gallons per year. ‐Conventional farming (lettuce as example crop) produces about 1.09 lbs of food per square foot. Rough estimates for vertical style urban gardening are around 10.8 lbs of food per square foot, with the best case scenario being 32.5 lbs of food per square foot. These estimates grow rapidly when stacked vertical farming is implemented. ‐A company called Energy Vault has developed a new power storage technique that relies on potential and mechanical energy storage versus conventional chemical storage (batteries). They are partnering with India to create a 35MWh peak‐demand storage system. The blocks used in this system have an early estimate of a 40 year lifespan before maintenance or replacement. ‐Moss rooftops are a low‐cost, low‐weight alternative to larger garden rooftop constructions while also lowering heating and cooling costs ‐Simply painting a roof white raises the ambient air temperature by only 10‐25 degrees versus an average of 90 degrees with dark colored roofs. ‐Multiple municipalities in California are adopting reflective or light‐colored paint for roadways and pedways which can lower ambient temperatures. “A study in the 1990s for the city of Los Angeles by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory calculated that if all pavements and roofs in downtown LA increased ‘albedo’ [albedo is a measure of how …
