SAN MATEO, CA - What do a real estate agent, a Chamber of Commerce president and a Sierra Club activist have in common? They're all on a committee attempting to shape the future of San Mateo as a "green" city, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

On Monday, San Mateo's Sustainability Advisory Committee met for the second time to discuss how the city can take local responsibility for issues relating to climate change, energy use and recycling, among other areas.

Some of the potential recommendations, such as the plastic bags issue, could have a major impact on local businesses, while others, such as a new "green building code" commissioners are considering, could impact developers and contractors' bottom lines.

• Early steps
  

  The city has already taken steps in other areas. It recently purchased seven hybrid cars for city staff to use during working hours. Its library will achieve at least a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating for its green design; its new police station will also be an example of green building. Its diesel-run trucks and construction vehicles all use a 20 percent biodiesel blend.

  Using comments from the public, the committee will decide which changes it would like to see become requirements in the future, instead of simply suggestions or guidelines. Grotte suggested that a first step for the city council to take would be to make some features of a new green building code advisory, but later mandatory.

  "I'd like to rely on people's willingness to do the tight thing, but I'm not sure that's completely reliable. I think oftentimes people don't think about the ramifications of what they do," he said.

• Dual focus
  

  Monday, committee members agreed on two major areas of focus for the remainder of their meetings. One was climate change, which includes protecting waterways, managing trash, encouraging bike use, getting homes retrofitted to minimize energy use, and increasing solar panel installation through bulk buying and other incentives. The other area of focus will be the creation of a comprehensive new green building code that includes energy and water-saving design and materials while protecting the environment a building occupies.

  That task could take years to accomplish, but it would be worth it, Councilman Brandt Grotte said.

  "As a planning commissioner in my prior life, I came to the conclusion that with a lot of the development that was going on in San Mateo, and in particular in Bay Meadows Phase II, we really needed to look at actions to mitigate the impacts. We need to make sure that we're going to be a lot more cognizant of how much of a CO2 footprint a structure can bring to its existence," he said.

  Sustainability consultant Jill Boone, who was hired to lead the Sustainability Advisory Committee process earlier this year, is taking a "climate inventory" of San Mateo's day-to-day operations from 2006 to measure for improvements in the future.