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Bay Friendly Landscaping Ordinance 3 May 4, 2009 Current City Council Policy Not applicable Previous City Council Action(s) At the City Council meeting of February 6, 2006, City Council adopted a resolution to endorse the Bay Friendly Landscape program as a reference standard. This resolution also directed staff to return with an ordinance to mandate a Bay Friendly Landscaping certification for civic projects. Applicable General Plan Policy The City's General Plan, adopted in 2002, includes a series of goals and policies related to resource conservation and environmental sustainability. Page 23 of Chapter 5 (Open Space, Parks and Conservation), provides a detailed review of sustainable landscape practices. Specifically, Policy 28.02 (Planning and Building Practices) states that the City should "encourage construction, landscaping, and site planning practices that minimize heating and cooling costs and ensure that energy is efficiently used." Permits and/or Variances Granted Not applicable Environmental Review Not applicable Code Compliance Review Not applicable Board/Commission Findings Not applicable Summary of Outreach Efforts Extensive technical meetings were conducted over the period from March 2009 to the present with the primary internal stakeholders from the Public Works, Engineering and Transportation and Community Development departments. For the public, there has been ongoing educational efforts regarding the general sustainable landscaping program through public meetings associated with Green Building outreach. In addition, the building permit counter area of Community Development has an informational kiosk display, featuring sustainable landscaping as well as green building materials and techniques. Bay Friendly Landscape guidelines are provided to the public free of charge. StopWaste.Org also conducts extensive home gardener outreach on Bay-Friendly including how-to workshops, a garden tour and also has a partner nursery in San Leandro, Evergreen Nursery and Garden Supply, that labels plants adapted to our climate and soils as "Bay-Friendly". Fiscal Impact Certain City projects would be subject to the Ordinance. However, the additional expense related to first costs in construction of sustainable landscape projects would be offset by reduced operational expenses over the lifetime of the City-owned buildings. Additionally, the Import Mitigation funds provided to the City of approximately $90,000 yearly are contingent upon the passage of this ordinance by June 30, 2009.