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Title:
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Discussion of the City’s Participation in Earth Hour 2008.
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City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council consider the City’s participation in Earth Hour
2008 and direct staff to participate in this event.
BACKGROUND:
On October 15, 2007, the City Council received brief comments related to an event
entitled “Lights Out Los Angeles.” (See Attachment 1) The event was held on
October 20, 2007 in both the City of Los Angeles and the City of San Francisco (and
other cities nationwide). The event traces its origins to an event in Sydney, Australia
held on March 31, 2007 where residents and businesses were encouraged to turn
off their lights for one hour with a goal of energy conservation.
During the October 15, 2007 meeting, the City Council expressed an interest in
learning more about the event so the Council could determine if the City should
become a participant.
DISCUSSION:
As mentioned in Attachment 2, rather than promote a separate event, the organizers
of “Lights Out America” have determined to support a worldwide event sponsored by
the World Wildlife Federation scheduled for March 29, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. known as
Earth Hour (please see Attachment 3 for additional information on Earth Hour).
Meeting Date: 03/17/08 Item Number: A-4
AGENDA ITEM: Discussion of the City’s Participation in Earth Hour 2008
Contact Person/Dept.: Catherine Vargas,
Public Works
Phone Number: (310) 253-6411
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification:
Master Notification List (03/12/08)
Department Approval:
Charles Herbertson ()
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (03/11/08)
Fiscal Impact Review:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (03/12/08)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (03/12/08) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
The goal of Earth Hour is to have as many non-essential lights turned off, thereby
saving energy. For example, the event in Sydney in 2007 reported a decrease of
10% in electricity use.
Should the City Council determine to have the City become a participant in this
event, staff would evaluate lighting used for City purposes and turn off non-essential
lights. Items such as street lighting and other lighting sources deemed to be safety-
related would remain fully illuminated.
To conserve resources, staff would also propose (1) posting information regarding
the event on the City’s website and (2) sending an e-mail notification through the
City’s master notification list (as was accomplished before last October’s event).
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
Reduced usage of electricity would result in (1) a decrease in energy usage at City
Hall and other City owned buildings resulting in a reduction in expenditures for
electricity; and (2) a decrease in revenues associated with the Utility Users Tax.
However, the one hour duration of this event is not expected to have a significant
impact on either revenues or expenditures.
Participation in this event was not included in the work plan adopted by the City
Council as part of the Fiscal Year 2007/2008 Budget. However, the City Manager
recommends participating in this event as it furthers the City Council’s overall
environmental policy.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. “Lights out in Los Angeles” September 30, 2007 from Monsters and Critics.com
2. Information on Lights Out America (from lightsoutamerica.org)
3. Information on Earth Hour (from earthhour.org)
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Authorize the City’s participation in Earth Hour 2008 on Saturday, March
29, 2008 between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM (excluding from participation any
safety or essential lighting as determined by the City Manager or other
appropriate staff); and City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
2. Determine the level of City participation will include (1) placement of
information on this event on the City’s website, (2) sending an electronic
message to subscribers on the City’s e-mail master notification list notifying
them of the availability of this information; and (3) directing staff to minimize
non-essential/non-safety related lighting on City owned properties as
determined by the City Manager or other appropriate staff.