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2-14-24 ESC Adopted MinutesMINUTES Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) r Meeting Wednesday, February 14, 2024 - 6:00 PM City Hall, Commission Chamber 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 Present: Bruce Andrews, District 1308 Member Sarah Boren, District 1306 Member Mark Gabrynowicz, District 1307 Member Daniele Giovannucci, At Large Member Anastasia Houston, At Large Member Todd Miner, At Large Member Amy Palmer, At Large Member Heather Markaj, At Large Member Absent: Patrick Nobles, At Large Member Romy Vann, At Large Member Also Present: Amanda Askew, Director of Planning and Community Development and Building Jessica Ring, City Commissioner, Seat 5 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Sarah Boren called the meeting to order. Anastasia Houston called the roll. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Sarah Boren requested to move Items 10.13-10.E before Item 5. There was no dissent. 3. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (5 MINS.) Chandler Poole, UNF student, introduced himself and said he will be helping the ESC with projects. Destiny Sanchez, UNF student, introduced herself and expressed her excitement to work with the committee. 4. CHAIR REMARKS Sarah Boren reported that members will need to do a Sunshine Law training. She thanked members for their work and for attending public meetings. She reported ESC will give updated to Commission in April, July, and October. 10. NEW BUSINESS B. Marsh presentations This item was discussed under Item 10.C. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 14, 2024 Pagel of 5 C. Concerned Citizen - Joan Horn regarding Marshes Joan Horn spoke about protecting marshes and reducing wetland buffers. Amanda Askew explained the purpose of wetlands and how they protect neighboring land. She reviewed the areas that address wetlands in the Land Development Regulations and Comprehensive Plan and said staff will be adding more language to the Comprehensive Plan about wetlands. She said that a 25 -foot buffer from wetlands line is required from existing lots of record and a 50 -foot buffer is required for newly platted lots. She said that currently all properties in COAB adjacent to wetlands would require a 25 -foot buffer for new on-site development. Sarah Boren asked if the buffer would increase if the property is sold. Amanda Askew said no, the 25 -foot buffer is still enforced. Daniele Giovannucci asked what can occur in the buffer. Amanda Askew stated the area is supposed to serve as a natural buffer where the lands shall not be disturbed in any way. Sarah Boren asked ESC to provide ideas on how to protect marshlands. Mark Gabrynowicz emphasized that the ESC's purpose is to protect the environment. Daniele Giovannucci stated he believes the ESC should not make policy changes but rather find ways to protect the wetlands. Sarah Boren suggested coming back to the discussion at the March meeting. D. COAB Staff Marshes next steps This item was discussed under Item 10.D. E. Earth Day tree giveaway Bruce Andrews stated the tree giveaway was very successful and suggested increasing the tree size. Members discussed species and size. 1110 TION: Based on the 100% placement and success of ESC's 2024 Arbor Day 100 Tree Giveaway and goal to plant 150 trees, the following motion is being proposed for another tree giveaway on April 21, 2024 at ESC's Earth Day Festival: "ESC would like to spend up to $3,500 for a giveaway of approximately 100 trees on April 21, 2024 at ESC's Earth Day Festival at the regular Sunday Farmer's Market." Staff will work on sourcing more than one type of tree to offer variety if possible. Motion: Bruce Andrews Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 14, 2024 Page 2 of 5 Second: Daniele Giovannucci Motion passed 8 to 0. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve minutes of the January 10, 2024 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. B. Approve minutes of the January 17, 2024 regular ESC Outreach meeting. C. Approve minutes of the January 25, 2024 regular ESC S&R meeting. D. Approve minutes of the January 10, 2024 ESC TREE meeting. MOTION: to approved the consent agenda except for the January 10, 2024 regular meeting minutes. Motion: Mark Gabrynowicz Second. Amy Palmer Motion passed 8 to 0. 6. 90 DAY CALENDAR A. Review of 90 calendar Sarah Boren reviewed the 90 day calendar. 7. COMMISSION AND/OR STAFF REPORTS A. Chapter 23 update Amanda Askew reported the updates to Chapter 23 were provided to the City Attorney for review. She said after his review the proposed update will be presented to Commission. B. Howell Park Dredging Project Amanda Askew reported the Howell Park dredging project is projected to begin mid- March to April. C. Parks Master Plan update Amanda Askew reported another survey will be going out to the community to gather idea on what to do with the property next to Veterans Park and the Gail Baker Center expansion. Discussion about parks ensued. D. Legislative update Amanda Askew reported that staff is keeping an eye on Senate Bill 122 which would repeal FSS 163.045. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 14, 2024 Page 3 of 5 8. REPORTS 9. OLD BUSINESS A. Charter Review Committee Sarah Boren spoke about next steps since the Charter Review Committee(CRC) voted down the recommendation from ESC. She said they will include the next CRC meeting in the ESC newsletter and encouraged members to attend the meetings to show their support for the recommendation. Daniele Giovannucci volunteered to work on condensing the language of the recommendation. B. Mature Tree Inventory Contest Sarah Boren reported that Mark Gabrynowicz was the only submittal. She asked for feedback on the process. Anastasia Houston and Daniele Giovannucci expressed it was too complicated to submit to the contest. Anastasia Houston said she thought the word "contest" discourages people and suggested making it an "inventory". Amy Palmer suggested removing the mature tree aspect and asking for all trees to be inventoried. C. ESC self evaluation This item was deferred. D. DRAFT ESC volunteer opportunities and recruitment This item was deferred. E. ESC motion to send to Legislators and FL This item was deferred. 10. NEW BUSINESS A. 2024 Commission Priorities This item was discussed in Item 12. 11. SIGNIFICANT MATTERS ARISING IN SUBCOMMITTEES A. Tree subcommittee This item was not discussed. B. Outreach subcommittee This item was not discussed. C. Sustainability and Resilience Subcommittee This item was not discussed. 12. MEMBERS CLOSING REMARKS Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 14, 2024 Page 4 of 5 13. Attest: Amy Palmer stated she is disheartened to see how many tree removal permits have come through since joining the tree subcommittee in January. She proposed adding a space on the application to ask the reason for tree removal. Members discussed and agreed with the idea. Anastasia Houston asked what the ESC's roll is in addressing Joan Horn's concerns. Members agreed that their job is to focus on how to protect the environment. Sarah Boren said she was disappointed City Commission did not have any environmental priorities but she is hoping the City Manager will add some environmental task to achieve the priorities. Bruce Andrews read an email he is asking members to send to their state legislators to support Senate Bill 122. ADJOURNMENT There being no further discussion, Sarah Boren declared the meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m. '. "b Amanda Askew Sarah Boren, Chair Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 14, 2024 Page 5 of 5