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How will Menlo Park go green?
• Council members eliminate solar permit fees, eye other ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

by Rory Brown

One "green" action down for the Menlo Park City Council, a lot more to go.

The council voted unanimously on Nov. 20 to eliminate the city's solar panel fees — a move that will cause the city to lose about $8,000 of revenue for the remainder of the fiscal year, but an act council members said will encourage more residents to go solar.

The council discussion was short, consensus was swift, and effective immediately, residents won't have to pay the average $330 of fees associated with installing new solar panels on their property.

GRCC report

But if council discussion of a report issued by the Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens' Committee — a citizens' greenhouse gas emissions task force — is a any indicator, efforts to address global warming are likely to get tougher, and the tradeoffs will get touchier.

The report includes 130 recommendations regarding how the city can reach climate neutrality — the ability to offset the negative impacts of the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by Menlo Park homes, automobiles and businesses.

But some of the 32 top priorities listed by the committee as steps toward climate neutrality, including supporting high-speed rail and constructing multi-story, high-density homes, are controversial issues in Menlo Park.

"You have some very tough policy choices in front of you," resident Elias Blawie said at the meeting.

Former councilwoman Gail Slocum, a member of the citizens' committee, urged the council to take the report seriously.

"If you had a loved one like planet earth that was diagnosed with a life threatening disease, you would not withhold treatment," she said.

Council action

Council members voted unanimously to accept the report and directed city staff to examine the committee's recommendations.

Mayor Kelly Fergusson and Councilman Heyward Robinson, who launched the committee in March, said they would like to see staff come back with some aspects of the report analyzed "sooner, rather than later."

"Environmental stewardship is a council priority," Mr. Robinson said. He said the report should go directly to city commissions for review, and eventually back to the council for action on some of the recommendations.

Councilman John Boyle stressed that the city should carefully examine each recommendation before taking action, and said the council already has other goals to accomplish — a concern seconded by City Manager Glen Rojas.

"We're not getting everything done as it is," Mr. Boyle said. "In my mind, we're still in the exploring stage."