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CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTING THE CHULA VISTA SMART CITY STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN
RESOLUTION NO. 2017-172 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA ADOPTING THE CHULA VISTA SMART CITY STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommended Action
Council adopt the resolution.
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SUMMARY
The City of Chula Vista has established itself as a leader in the growing “smart city” movement, earning recognition locally, nationally and internationally for its innovative approach to using technology to create a more efficient and effective government. In an effort to clarify the city’s smart city vision and formalize a strategy going forward, staff worked with Madaffer Enterprises to develop the City of Chula Vista’s Smart City Strategic Action Plan (Action Plan). The Action Plan serves as a roadmap and outlines the goals, objectives and initiatives that will help the City achieve its smart city vision. As a smart city, Chula Vista leverages innovative technology and data tools to better serve and engage citizens, enhance sustainability, improve public safety and promote local economic development.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Environmental Notice
Environmental Notice
The activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required.
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Environmental Determination
The Director of Development Services has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result in a physical change in the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is required.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
Not Applicable.
DISCUSSION
The City of Chula Vista has a proud history of civic innovation and leadership. The city is widely recognized for its early contributions to climate change response, dating back to the mid-1990s, and continuing with early action on developing transit-oriented neighborhoods, the historic agreements related to the Chula Vista Bayfront, and the purchase and designation of land for a University and Innovation District, among others. Leadership within city staff has also operated for many years around a philosophy of continuous improvement - constantly working to become a better, more nimble, more flexible municipal government. The development of a smart city strategy is just the latest example of innovative thinking for Chula Vista.
A smart city uses information and communication technology to enhance livability, workability and sustainability. Chula Vista is one of a growing number of cities and local governments around the world that are turning to smart technologies to enhance efficiency of city operations and boost effectiveness of services, including public safety and emergency response services. These cities are also exploring how innovative technology can generate new revenue and promote economic development.
Chula Vista’s smart city vision began to emerge more clearly when the City and the Port of San Diego worked with Black & Veatch to complete a formal assessment of the energy and smart technologies that could be incorporated into development at the Chula Vista Bayfront to help achieve the aggressive energy reduction targets required by the Master Settlement Agreement. The resulting Chula Vista Smart Bayfront reports identified and investigated energy efficiency and distributed energy generation technologies, communication network architectures, and smart infrastructure applications. Designing and implementing these innovative solutions will make Bayfront development a test-bed for smart city technology that can be expanded across the city and throughout the region.
Department heads and their teams across the City are already committed to various smart city projects. These include:
• A new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in the Finance Department
• A new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system in the Police Department
• A new asset management system in the Public Works Department
• Fiber Assessment study
• A Traffic Signal Communications Master Plan in the Engineering Division
• The designation of local streets by the U.S. Department of Transportation as one of 10 Autonomous Vehicle Proving Grounds (AVPG)
Combined with the results of the Smart Bayfront reports, the growing number of smart city projects made it clear that the City needed a strategic action plan to define the city’s smart city goals and evaluate how to leverage and prioritize resources to accomplish our goals, objectives and initiatives.
In October 2016, the City engaged Madaffer Enterprises to assist staff in developing a Smart Cities Strategic Action Plan (Action Plan) that would serve as a roadmap that outlines priorities and guides the City’s smart city efforts. The Action Plan was developed through a collaborative process across city departments and represents the collective vision of city leadership, department heads, and key stakeholders in the community and region.
The process of developing the Action Plan began with a comprehensive “SWOT analysis” to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the City’s smart cities efforts. Working closely with city staff, Madaffer Enterprises then conducted individual interviews with all department heads, including Police and Fire. The meetings intended to capture critical input from departments to ensure a collective process in defining the city’s smart cities vision and Action Plan. Madaffer also conducted a public opinion survey with Chula Vista residents to gather input on smart cities priorities to also ensure community input on the development of the Action Plan. After concluding this investigative process, Madaffer worked closely with staff to develop the goals and implementation strategies for Chula Vista’s smart city efforts.
The Action Plan consists of four (4) goals that are supported by ten (10) objectives and thirty-nine (39) initiatives/actions. In addition, the Action Plan also includes the following three (3) supporting appendices as part of the project scope.
1. A communications plan designed to assist the Office of Communications in messaging and effective tactics for promoting and marketing smart city initiatives
2. A two-page handout that provides context and summary for the Smart Bayfront assessment report and the role of the Bayfront in the City’s larger smart city strategy
3. A two-page handout that explains economic development benefits of the City’s smart city strategy.
One of the fundamental elements of all smart city applications is reliable, secure broadband connectivity. The Action Plan identifies improving the City’s network as a top priority, and work on this goal is already underway. In August, the City released a Request for Proposals for a consultant to help City staff develop a Telecommunications Master Plan, and the procurement process will be complete this fall. Similarly, the Traffic Signal Communications Master Plan has been completed and plays a pivotal role in the Smart City strategy.
Successfully implementing the Action Plan will depend heavily on cross-departmental collaboration. To ensure success, the plan’s implementation will be led by the Smart Cities Working Group (SCWG), which has been established to help coordinate efforts citywide and facilitate information sharing. The cross-functional working group meets monthly and includes the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Deputy City Manager, multiple department directors and Police and Fire. The SCWG efforts will be coordinated by the Chief Sustainability Officer who acts as the City's "Smart Cities Champion." In addition, Chula Vista will continue to work with our regional partners, including the Port of San Diego, SDG&E, SANDAG, Caltrans, City of San Diego and Cleantech San Diego to identify opportunities for successful deployment of smart city technologies across our region. The City will continue to ensure that our smart city initiatives are sustained by long-term stakeholder engagement across our region.
Knowledge sharing will also be a critical component of the Action Plan implementation. City staff will continue to participate in various national and international forums to discuss best practices and share critical knowledge. These include Smart Cities Week, Smart Cities Council, Smart Cities Connect, Envision America and What Works Cities.
City staff are excited about the significant anticipated benefits from implementation of the Action Plan to city operations, residents and communities. These include maximizing the value of taxpayer dollars through increased efficiency of city operations and optimization of city resources. Highlighted below are some of the key areas that are anticipated to benefit the most from the implementation of the Action Plan.
• Public Safety Enhancement: One of the biggest benefits of adopting smart cities technology is in the area of public safety. Our efforts will be instrumental in order to meet the public safety standards for police and fire. Through integration of and use of IoT tools (i.e. data, sensors, GPS, enhanced connectivity) emergency service departments will be better connected to information, can be deployed with greater accuracy and through the use of intelligent traffic signals they will experience improved response times. In addition, technology will improve officer and personnel safety and reduce emergency call response times. In addition, as part of the Action Plan initiatives, we expect to see a reduction in traffic accidents and vehicle emissions.
• Public Works: The use of smart technology in managing the condition of our turf at 60+ parks, the scheduling of our recreation centers and park amenities, the monitoring of our wastewater system, street and traffic lights and enhanced building management systems that integrate data into a centralized dashboard. These technologies allow staff to manage the cities resources without the deployment of personnel to go to the site, providing enhanced services to our residents.
• Economic Development Growth: A pioneer in renewable energy, the San Diego region’s clean technology cluster is second to none. Our region is one of the nation’s top locations for research and development in engineering, life sciences and biotechnology, which are critical to the success of the cleantech cluster. In 2016, the region ranked #3 in the nation for cleantech leadership. Continued growth in markets such as solar, wind, energy efficiency, storage and electric vehicles has elevated our region as a leader in the climate action and smart cities movements. With a commitment to innovation, sustainability and collaboration that includes everyone from technology companies and academia to local government and the military, our region continues to lead in the development and adoption of clean technologies. San Diego County employs 1.9 times as many people in the cleantech/smart cities arena as the national average and ranked #1 nationally in solar installations with more than 93,000 systems in the region. San Diego County is recognized as one of the world’s top 10 smart cities projects. This recognition within the region attracts companies and venture capital to San Diego County allowing us to attract job creation and businesses to Chula Vista.
DECISION-MAKER CONFLICT
Staff has reviewed the decision contemplated by this action and has determined that it is not site specific and consequently, the 500-foot rule found in California Code of Regulations section 18704.2(a)(1), is not applicable to this decision. Staff is not independently aware, and has not been informed by any City Council member, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter.
LINK TO STRATEGIC GOALS
The City’s Strategic Plan has five major goals: Operational Excellence, Economic Vitality, Healthy Community, Strong and Secure Neighborhoods, and a Connected Community. Chula Vista’s smart city initiatives and programs will enhance and promote all the major goals.
CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT
Any financial commitments related to the implementation of the Smart City Strategic Action Plan will be brought forward for City Council consideration along with the individual projects or programs being proposed.
ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT
Any financial commitments related to the implementation of the Smart City Strategic Action Plan will be brought forward for City Council consideration along with the individual projects or programs being proposed.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Smart City Strategic Action Plan.
Staff Contact: Dennis Gakunga, Chief Sustainability Officer