July ECOS Board Meeting – Great Speaker Line-Up!

Free and open to the public! Join the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) on our mission to achieve regional and community sustainability and a healthy environment for existing and future residents.

We host a brief social/networking reception (with wine and light refreshments) at 5:30 pm. The meeting begins at 6:00 pm.

Presenting on July 24th… a panel on Affordable Housing and Transit-Oriented Development!

Panelists include:

• Prof. Jesus Hernandez (UC Davis Sociology) – Sacramento Region communities – history and ways to achieve equity

• James Boyle (Planning Director, Sacramento Regional Transit District) – Sacramento City plans for Transit-Oriented Development Ordinance

• Cathy Creswell (Sacramento Housing Alliance, Board President) – How to achieve Affordable Housing in our region

We encourage you to use public transit, walking or biking to get to the meeting. Parking is restricted to street parking and is limited. There is secure bike parking in the downstairs hallway.

Location: 909 12th St, Sacramento, California 95814 (in the Sierra Club CA conference room on the 2nd floor).

View the full agenda here: https://goo.gl/YtWF7z

International Honors for Mutual Housing’s Sustainable Housing Model

A member organization of the Environmental Council of Sacramento, Mutual Housing California has been honored with the 2017 World Habitat Award. Each year the World Habitat Awards, in partnership with the United Nations–Habitat, are presented to two outstanding and innovative housing projects—from more than 100 entries from across the globe. The judges—who include Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing—choose developments and providers that not only produced outstanding housing solutions, but also can be copied elsewhere.

Mutual Housing at Spring Lake being 100% Zero Net Energy, means the utility bills are extremely low. Built in 2015, the 62-apartment and townhome community generates energy by solar panels installed on buildings and carport roofs to meet its electricity needs. Each home has a real-time, color-coded meter that helps residents track their energy use and stay within expected amounts for their apartment size. A water-based system for heating and air-conditioning also contributes to the energy savings, which are expected to reach 45,439 kilowatt hours and $58,000 annually.

The community has received LEED platinum certification, the first for a multi-family affordable housing development in Yolo County. The community also received the Environmental Protection Agency’s Indoor airPLUS certification and a Cool Davis Climate Solution Award in 2016.

Mutual Housing’s sustainability commitment and breakthrough of providing zero net energy to a very low income population is remarkable but, what sets Mutual Housing apart is more than physical housing. The World Habitat award also highlights their achievement in providing a high-quality housing option that is affordable to agricultural workers and their families – many of whom struggle with housing insecurity. The estimated 6,000-plus agricultural workers in Yolo County endure some of the worst housing conditions—and most dangerous jobs—in the country.

“We are grateful to receive the 2017 World Habitat Award—and to join the ranks of so many remarkable finalists that are improving the housing conditions of people facing enormous challenges,” said Roberto Jiménez, Mutual Housing CEO. “We’re proud to have developed the first certified Zero Net Energy Ready rental-housing community in the USA, and equally proud that agricultural workers and their families are the beneficiaries of this achievement.”

Further still, Mutual Housing’s resident engagement work is broad and deep. They work with adults, children, and the elderly in a way which is inclusive and empowering, with a multiplicity of programs that speak to the genuine interests and challenges of resident members.

“Through the Community Organizer and other staff I have been presented with opportunities to work though some of my past traumas and grow my leadership skills,” said resident member Hector Sanchez. “We strive to build a community with one another knowing that each of us shares a connection to the agricultural land.”

The Environmental Council of Sacramento congratulates Mutual Housing California. The honor validates the exciting work being done as they continue to push the envelope of sustainable housing.

The other winner was the Post-Haiyan Self-Recovery Housing Programme in the Philippines. After the widespread devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, this project helped more than 15,000 families rebuild their homes and self-recover.

Instead of relocating families, the project helped people rebuild their housing using locally available materials and debris from destroyed houses. This means families were reached and helped more quickly and fewer were forced to leave the area. They also gained useful skills in the process.

“All of this year’s World Habitat Awards finalists are interesting and important,” said Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. “They are helping so many people in difficult and vulnerable circumstances.

“Billions of people across the world still lack a safe home. These remarkable projects show that it doesn’t have to be like that,” said David Ireland, Director of World Habitat, funders and coordinators of the World Habitat Awards.

“Brilliant people and ideas have come together to show that people on low-incomes can live safely free from the fear of disease, natural disasters and insecurity.”

The World Habitat Awards began 30 years ago with the first awards being given in London in 1986 by HRH the Prince of Wales and the Dr. Arcot Ramachandran, UN-HABITAT Executive Director, at the time.

Run with support from UN-Habitat, the World Habitat Awards are the world’s leading housing awards. Full details can be found at www.worldhabitatawards.org.

Mutual Housing will be presented with the award in February at a United Nations conference in Malaysia. And coming up in March, the organization will break ground on the second phase of this housing community, planned to achieve positive net energy.

Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Columbia, Md.-based Enterprise Community Partners funded capacity-building grants to further Mutual Housing’s work in rural communities and sustainable development.

Founded in 1988, Mutual Housing California develops, operates and advocates for sustainable housing for the diversity of the region’s households.

A member of NeighborWorks America—a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization that supports community development nationwide—Mutual Housing has more than 3,200 residents, nearly half of whom are children.

For information, visit www.mutualhousing.com.

To get a chance to hear from Mutual Housing California in person, please attend the ECOS Board Meeting on January 23rd, 2018.

ECOS Board Meeting – Jan. 23rd, 2018

Location: Sierra Club California Conference Room, 909 12th Street, Sacramento (2nd floor)

Join the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) for our January 2018 ECOS Board Meeting! Everyone who is interested is welcome. Bring a friend!

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018

5:30 pm Reception

Please come and meet and socialize with ECOS Board Members and guests. Light appetizers and refreshments served. Feel free to bring something to share.

6:00 pm Meeting Begins

Presentations:

Sustainable and Zero Net Energy Housing
Bryan Dove, Director of Asset Management of Mutual Housing California, a member organization of ECOS
(10 minutes)
Sacramento’s Housing Crisis, Gentrification, and What We Can Do About It
Veronica Beaty, Policy Director of Sacramento Housing Alliance, a member organization of ECOS
(10 minutes)
Discussion/Question and Answer session (10-15 minutes)

As usual, ECOS Committees will report on their current business. Announcements from members and attendees are welcome at the end, as time allows.

Disparate Interests Pan Elk Grove’s Expansion Plans at Sacramento LAFCo Meeting

December 18, 2017

Elk Grove News.net

Notwithstanding their 40-plus minute presentation, the City of Elk Grove was criticized at last week’s meeting of the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) for its plans to enlarge the city. The criticisms, which were made by a variety of interests, condemned Elk Grove’s planned expansion through the sphere of influence (SOI) process.

The presentation to the LAFCo commission was made by Elk Grove assistant to city manager and planning specialist Christopher Jordan [sic] at the Wednesday, December 6 meeting. Jordan’s presentation, which was as much part history lesson and part public relations pitch, focused on the city’s state-mandated general plan update and three current SOI applications, which are the initial steps to annex property.

…

During public comment, the presentation was criticized by three environmentalist, two agriculture interest, and one Elk Grove resident. There were no public comments in favor of Elk Grove’s expansion plans.

Speaking on behalf of the Mother Lode chapter of the Sierra Club, [and Co-Chair of the Environmental Council of Sacramento’s Habitat Conservation Committee] Sean Wirth noted there was nothing in Jordan’s presentations on the effects on the environment. He also opined what environmental documents included in the application were faulty.

“If this new SOI is approved outside the urban services boundary, there is going to a general belief that other areas nearby will also be able to be part of this sphere,” Wi[r]th said … [“It is going to be impossible to do conservation in that area. The effect will be that it is going to be too expensive to buy any land there.”] … .*

Wirth also noted flooding that occurs every seven to ten years on the southern portions of the city along the Cosumnes River which affect sandhill cranes. When flooding occurs, the cranes flee to higher ground and if the land is developed, they will lose habitat.

Speaking for agriculture interests was Bill Bird from the Sacramento Farm Bureau who in part echoed Wirth. Bird said agricultural uses were not taken into account and once the land is annexed, farms will be abandoned for a variety of reasons.

“When you consider all three sphere of influence amendments, you are talking about taking roughly 1,800-acres out of agricultural production,” he said. “Once these amendments are granted, the writing on the wall for farmers is crystal clear – the message is – GET OUT!”

Addressing Elk Grove’s performance regarding employment development was resident Lynn Wheat. In her comments Wheat noted there was no mention of the quality of the new jobs developed, the 2,000 promised new jobs should the Wilton Rancheria gain approval of their proposed casino will be low wage hospitality jobs, and that the Elk Grove Unified School District remains the largest employer in the city.

Wheat also noted former Mayor Gary Davis’ announcement two years ago that NRC Manufacturing, whom he called a large Silicon Valley concern, was locating to Elk Grove. Since that time NRC has not relocated any of their operations to Elk Grove.

“A firm from the Bay Area NRC was to come a couple of years ago,” Wheat said. “Since it was presented to our city council and spoken about we haven’t heard anything, so the joke in our community is N R C stands for not really coming.”

…

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to read the comments the Environmental Council of Sacramento have submitted on these attempts by Elk Grove to enlarge their city.

*This sentence was originally misquoted and the meaning was unclear. It was corrected for the purpose of this post.

Jonathan K. London at ECOS Board Meeting – highlights

Professor Jonathan K. London of the Center for Regional Change at UC Davis spoke to ECOS at our September 18th Board Meeting about their work on Environmental Justice. The Center for Regional Change has grown into a well-known policy-oriented research organization that aims to create linkages between the university and the region of which it is a part.

Professor London presented several tactics for how an organization such as the ECOS coalition can do more to help improve social equity in the Sacramento region. London directed us to get to know the Center for Regional Change’s report called “Capitalizing Environmental Justice in the Sacramento Region.” The report assesses the dire conditions of environmental injustice confronting low-income communities and communities of color in California’s Capital Region. However, local residents and regional leaders have begun to develop a cohesive framework for action to improve conditions in their communities, and to contribute to the region’s burgeoning Environmental Justice movement.

London reminded us of the plethora of information offered by CalEnviroScreen, including some analyses done by the Center for Regional Change on mapping pollution levels and drinking water contamination in the Sacramento region.

London also highlighted a tool called “IVAN” (Identifying Violations Affecting Neighborhoods). IVAN is an Environmental Monitoring System that connects the community with real people that can help solve local environmental problems.

The presentation emphasized the importance of environmental injustices to people living in rural areas and engaging them in environmental advocacy work. Connecting with neighborhoods, working to help bolster affordable housing options and joining food justice efforts are all also effective.

ECOS members in attendance were appreciative of the presentation, its cutting-edge research and the new tools for advocacy with which we left. Thank you to Jonathan K. London!

You can suggest future speakers to present to ECOS by emailing our office at office[at]ecosacramento[dot]net.

Sacramento’s New Downtown

November 5, 2016

Interview By Cosmo Garvin

The Sacramento City Council is likely to approve the downtown railyards development plan this Thursday, November 10. Most of the buzz about the project has been around the proposed stadium for the Sacramento Republic soccer team.

The media has paid less attention to the amount and type of housing that will (or won’t) be built there, even though this is probably the most important part of the whole enterprise.

In Cosmo Garvin’s latest podcast, he interviewed Earl Withycombe and Alexandra Reagan of the Environmental Council of Sacramento, who say that “the current plan for the Railyards doesn’t include enough affordable housing, or enough of any kind of housing. They say the project isn’t dense enough, isn’t ambitious enough, about building a transit friendly, environmentally sound, inclusive urban core.”