April 5, 2010

Mayor Kevin Johnson

City of Sacramento
915 I Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Mayor Johnson:

We are encouraged by your announcement earlier this year to launch a green initiative in
Sacramento! The Sacramento Region is currently the statewide leader in “green jobs growth,”
according to a recent study by Next 10. We applaud your efforts to further solidify the region as
an innovator and incubator in the green jobs sector, as this will continue to position us as a state,
national and global leader.

As Sacramento continues to grow, it is critical that equitable green policies and standards be
applied to all aspects of municipal government operations and programs, especially local
workforce and economic development, land use and planning, local and regional transportation,
and the manufacturing sector. In addition, the City should continue to harness local renewable
energy sources such as solar and wind to help reduce our carbon footprint and our reliance on
fossil fuels. In light of the economic recession, high unemployment, an expanding homeless
population, and rising energy cost we believe all efforts to “green” Sacramento should be done in
equitable fashion that provides disadvantaged communities and working families with the
opportunity to participate and benefit from the green revolution.

The undersigned groups urge you to incorporate the following issues as you develop
Sacramento’s agenda:

Generating Green Jobs

 Promote green jobs in the region that include support to bridge educational and job
training opportunities for low-income communities and communities of color. This
would include leadership development, green education programs and high school
proficiency training.

Developing Green Buildings

 Support continued funding to retrofit current affordable housing units based on the
highest Build It Green standards.
 Develop the highest green and healthy building standards for new and redeveloped
properties and infrastructure to include public housing that promotes mixed-use
development, guarantees building and street health, and prevents gentrification.

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Making Regional Public Transportation a Reality
 In light the recent budget cuts at the state and local level, we urge you to attract new
investments and maintain funding for transit dependant populations including low-
income communities, students, disabled and the elderly.
 Integrate regional transportation planning under the Blueprint into the actual decision
making and implementation of SB 375 policies.

Creating Healthy Food Access

 Create policies to address food and recreational deserts by eliminating barriers to the
use and development of green space for parks, community gardens, home gardens,
farms and farm stands (public and private), and outdoor recreational activities to
include use of vacant lots.
 Establish competitive bidding that gives preference to local food in city contracts,
supporting small-scale and subsistence farmers in the six-county SACOG region, while
supporting policies that protect limited remaining farm land.

Reducing Toxic Exposures

 Reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the use of pesticides in city parks and throughout city
properties and structures, and become a model for homeowners and businesses.
 Adopt the Precautionary Principle in the through City departments, including the full
range of costs of products and services, including manufacturing, use, and disposal.
Economic evaluations should broadly consider long-term costs and savings of
environmental policies.
 Encourage and adopt the use of green cleaning products in city operations that can
create a holistic approach to facility cleaning and maintenance that can provide health
benefits, improved productivity, reduced liability, and cost savings.

Harnessing Clean Energy

 Establish a program through which Sacramento homeowners and small businesses can
finance clean energy improvements, such as solar photovoltaic, solar hot water and
energy efficiency measures, with no money down.

Making Sacramento a Zero Waste City

 Establish a Zero Waste Commission, such as the one in Berkeley, CA, which would
make recommendations on City solid waste policy and goals and work towards
expanding policies for recycling programs, composting, materials reuse, and producer
responsibility.
 Avoid exorbitant and environmentally damaging types of waste-to-energy schemes,
specifically plasma arcs and incinerators, while promoting zero waste efforts that
generate the most jobs and benefits such as increased recycling, materials reuse,
remanufacturing, and large-scale composting.

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As Sacramento moves forward to embrace the green revolution, we hope you continue to reach
out to all of Sacramento's residents and put forth policies and regulations that respect the
environment. The following groups welcome the opportunity to provide more detailed
comments on our ideas to move an effective green agenda forward that benefits all sectors and
members of the Sacramento region.

Sincerely,

Charles L. Mason Jr. Paul Schramski Towers

Ubuntu Green Pesticide Watch Education Fund &
charles@ubuntugreen.org The California Food Project
paul@pesticidewatch.org

Constance Slider

Constance Slider Amy Barden

Coalition on Regional Equity (CORE) Pesticide-Free Sacramento
constance@sachousingalliance.org amy@pesticidefreesacramento.org

Rafael Aguilera Rachel Iskow

Sacramento Yard Farmer/The Verde Group Sacramento Mutual Housing
rafaeljaguilera@gmail.com rachel@mutualhousing.com