March 7, 2025
Mayor Lauing and Members of the Palo Alto City Council
Palo Alto City Hall
250 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
RE: March 10 City Council meeting agenda item 8. Approval of the 2025 City Council Priority Objectives, as well as Committee Objectives and Workplans
Dear Mayor Lauing and Members of the City Council,
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter and the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance commend the City Council for its continued commitment to addressing climate change and protecting the natural environment. The 2025 City Council Priority Objectives, which prioritize key issues such as electrification, sea level rise, stream corridor protection, bird-friendly design, and dark sky initiatives, are important steps toward a more sustainable and resilient future for Palo Alto.
As you continue to refine these priorities, we respectfully request that you consider adding two additional objectives.
Development of an ordinance to ban the use of plastic and other petroleum-based materials in landscaping. This ban should apply to plastic/synthetic grass/turf and to plastic weed barriers and petroleum-based mulch. These materials are not only environmentally harmful due to their toxic components and non-biodegradable nature, but also contribute to the broader issue of microplastic pollution and the depletion of natural resources. Two cities are already regulating the use of plastic/synthetic grass/turf in landscaping:
City of Millbrae’s Prohibition of Artificial Turf1
City of San Marino’s Prohibition of Artificial Turf2
By moving forward with an ordinance to ban plastic land cover, Palo Alto can set an example for other communities to follow.
As part of the City’s building energy code update (Objective #363), please evaluate Air Conditioning to Heat Pump as a code option.
This code would encourage residents to preferentially install a heat pump when an air conditioning unit is replaced following appliance failure or renovation. Although often more expensive up front, heat pumps are highly efficient and electrically powered appliances that allow residents to heat and cool their homes with far less impact to the environment.
With the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Rules 9.4 and 9.6 phasing out the sale of new gas furnaces by 2030, encouraging Palo Alto residents to adopt electric heat pumps will ease the process of compliance while resulting in cleaner air quality and lower greenhouse gas emissions.We appreciate the intent to phase out leaded aviation fuel at the Palo Alto Airport (Objective #774). We have known for decades the damage that lead causes to neurological systems, the lifelong impact on children and the pervasive harm to ecosystems. We commend the City for recognizing the serious public health and environmental risks associated with leaded fuel and for prioritizing its phase out. Acting on this issue demonstrates a strong commitment to protecting community well-being and the Baylands ecosystem.
We believe these measures would align well with the City’s other climate and sustainability goals and would significantly contribute to Palo Alto’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the environment and public health.
Thank you for your time and consideration of these important issues. We look forward to the continued progress of Palo Alto’s environmental and public health initiatives and hope that our requests can be incorporated as objectives this year.
Sincerely,
Dashiell Leeds
Conservation Coordinator
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
Rani Fischer
Chair, Environmental Action Committee
Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance
1 https://www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/276/Prohibition-of-Artificial-Turf
3 Present an ordinance to Council enacting the 2026 California Building Standards Code update, including the California Green Building Standards Code; submit to the California Building Standards Commission for approval.
4 Implement plan for phaseout of leaded fuel at Palo Alto Airport. With unleaded fuel now available at the airport, implement plan to conduct lead monitoring, encourage and track use of the fuel, explore potentially subsidizing the cost of unleaded fuel, and develop updated lease requirements to promote unleaded fuel.