Environment-minded committee wants city to examine its internal practices
By Angela Randazzo Special to the Acorn

The Sustainable Simi Valley Committee held its firstever meeting on Feb. 12 in the city manager's conference room.

The purpose of the committee, which was created by the City Council in November, is to look into ways Simi Valley can become more environmentally friendly by reducing consumption, improving air and water quality, and initiating "green" building practices.

Council members Michelle Foster and Glen Becerra volunteered to represent the City Council on the committee. "We've got good things happening around the city, but we want to lead by example," said Becerra, committee chair. "The committee will focus on what we are doing correctly and what areas we are falling short on."

Also present at the meeting were Joe Cadelago, representing the Building Industry Association; Tom Tarn, representing the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce; and city planner Peter Lyons.

During the hourlong meeting, the committee agreed its first order of business would be to establish a "green" baseline by asking staff members to take an inventory of existing sustainable policies, procedures and ordinances in each city department.

"This is such a big issue," Foster said. "We should identify what we are already doing before moving forward. We need to look at how the city is doing business."

The committee also discussed the city's open space inventory and its use of water as well as other environmental concerns.

"We have certain amounts of water we have to send down the Arroyo for maintenance," Becerra said. "Let's explore ways we can reuse water to make it work harder for our community."

The committee said it would look into incentive programs to encourage residents and businesses to take better care of the environment.

Members discussed the idea of local businesses getting an honorary "green" rating for adopting environ mentally friendly practices or products.

Also discussed was the possibility of the city collaborating with utility companies such as Southern California Edison and The Gas Company to offer incentives on energy consumption.

" W e have to keep in mind the environ mental impact of our actions, or we might lose the quality of life here in Simi Valley," said Becerra, who is employed by SCE.