Mayor Hosts Private 'Green' Leadership Forum

Just days before Michael DiVirgilio's tenure as mayor will end, he hosted an invite-only Green Idea City leadership forum on Friday at City Council Chambers. 

The event was intended to further the city's efforts to become carbon-neutral, the mayor said. In response to a grass-roots campaign, the City Council announced carbon neutrality as an official municipal goal earlier this year.

"In our small community, it's a culture of innovation, especially in 2010, that has us embracing what we have been calling 'green,' but it's really sustainability," DiVirgilio said.

Environmental advocates first presented a plan to the city's Green Task Force in March to turn Hermosa Beach into the first carbon neutral city in the South Bay. 

But a few green advocates in the area who were not invited to the recent leadership forum, and were turned away when they asked to be included, criticized the mayor for excluding them.

Joe Galliani, who writes an environmental column for Patch, said his efforts to attend the meeting were rebuffed. This forum, and any other event intended to further civic interest, should be open to the public, he said.

"It did remind me in an ironic way of former Vice President Dick Cheney's secret White House energy task force after George W. Bush took office," Galliani wrote on his personal blog.

According to the invite, the forum was meant to convene "leading thinkers and sustainability experts to initiate conversations, develop ideas and establish partnerships that will help Hermosa Beach become the first carbon neutral city in Los Angeles County."

The guest list included the city's partner AECOM Technical Service, a support service provider that assists the city with securing grants for energy-efficient projects, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Los Angeles County. 

No major decisions that would impact the public were made at the forum, the mayor said. But the city hopes this brainstorming event, and others, will help it to best utilize the partnership with AECOM, and future partnerships, he said. 

Claire Bonham-Carter, director of sustainable development at AECOM, was the featured speaker at the meeting. 

"Our partnership with AECOM two months ago, that's the biggest tangible win" for the city's green effort, DiVirgilio said.

DiVirgilio defended the exclusive nature of the forum, saying he often hosts private gatherings in the Council Chambers, or other areas in City Hall, when space is available. 

Facilities within City Hall are open for private use by city officials if the request is made when no other event, such as a City Council meeting, will be taking place, according to city policy.

DiVirgilio said that similar "green" events will be open to the public as the city moves forward in reaching its goal of carbon neutrality.