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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-10-25 ESC Adopted MinutesMINUTES Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Meeting Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 6:00 PM City Hall, Commission Chamber 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 Present: Amy Palmer, ESC Member Anastasia Houston, ESC Member Christina Kelcourse, ESC Member Amy Franqui, ESC Member Sarah Boren, ESC Chair Daniele Giovannucci, ESC Member Todd Miner, ESC Member Absent: Bruce Andrews, ESC Member Also Present: Amanda Askew, Neighborhoods Department Dir. (NDD) 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Boren noted that under new business, there should be two distinct motions listed as separate items (9a and 9b) for Al purposes. The agenda was approved. 3. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (5 MINS.) There were no public comments. 4. CHAIR REMARKS Chair Boren provided updates from the recent Commission meetings. At the November 24th meeting, staff introduced the Chapter 23 revisions, and the Commission decided to address them at a February workshop since the new arborist will be on Staff. The date to be determined in February. Chair Boren suggested that the ESC should try to educate and advocate before that workshop. At the December 8th Commission meeting, Chair Boren and Daniele Giovannucci presented their endo of year report, and the Commission agreed to allow the ESC to present discrete individual motions for the tree action spending plan rather than waiting for the February workshop. Chair Boren also mentioned that Mayor Ford had, for the second time, inquired about obtaining trees from the City of Jacksonville. Director Askew explained that they had attempted to get trees from the City of Jacksonville for a fall planting, but Jacksonville had very particular requirements about tree placement locations. Director Askew recommended that future requests focus on park locations away from utilities, as Jacksonville has stringent spacing requirements and restrictions related to utility lines. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 1 of 10 Chair Boren asked if the new city arborist could work on this project overtime. Director Askew agreed it would be appropriate for the arborist's long-range project list, suggesting they aim for an October planting timeframe. Amy Palmer suggested that the Atlantic Beach community should be part of Jacksonville's urban forestry management plan and proposed that the ESC consider making a formal request regarding this, possibly with support from Council Member Roy Diamond. Chair Boren reported that regarding RSVP forms, she had worked with Valerie, but MS Forms were not viable due to security reasons. Director Askew mentioned that Valerie had been exploring alternative forms that could be used interactively online and would send data to both city staff and outside individuals as needed. Chair Boren clarified the process, noting that event organizers should email Valerie with content, including questions and possible answers, and she would set up the forms accordingly. Chair Boren also mentioned that the Arts & Recreation Committee (ARC) had made a decision on the film series, which she would report on later in the meeting. 5. CONSENT AGENDA Chair Boren noted that she had sent suggested edits to the minutes, which had been incorporated into the version before the committee. No additional edits were proposed. A. Approve minutes of the November 12, 2025 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. The minutes were approved. B. Approve minutes of the November 19, 2025 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. The minutes were approved. C. Member Reports 6. 90 DAY CALENDAR A. Calendar Chair Boren confirmed that Dan Giovannucci would attend the January 12th Commission meeting, Todd Miner would attend the January 26th meeting, Bruce would attend the February 9th meeting, and Amy Franqui would attend the February 23rd meeting. Chair Boren asked if anyone was available for a town hall meeting on January 24th, which would be held at 10 a.m. on a Saturday. The committee also confirmed there would be no potluck at their December 17th meeting, and the community gathering would be postponed to February. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 2 of 10 The committee discussed adding a community gathering or charrette to follow the town hall meeting on January 24th. Todd Miner expressed interest in this idea, and Director Askew agreed to coordinate with recreation staff and keep him informed. Chair Boren brought up the possibility of having a table at First Night on December 31 st to start promoting Centennial activities. Christina Kelcourse volunteered to staff the table. The committee discussed what to feature at the table, including front yard tree planting sign-ups, Howell Park weed wrangle volunteer sign-ups, and information about the ESC's accomplishments. Director Askew agreed to coordinate with recreation staff to secure the table. Chair Boren confirmed that the First Night table would be at Jack Russell Park from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.. Chair Boren noted that for the January 14th meeting, the City Manager would attend, and there would be officer elections. The usual format would involve conducting regular business, holding the elections, and then transitioning -to the new chair for the remainder of the meeting. B. 2025 Organizational Excellence Tracker Chair Boren mentioned that she had emailed an updated master to-do list and asked members to review items assigned to them, update their status, and add any missing items to start the new year with a clean, updated task list. 7. COMMISSION AND/OR STAFF REPORTS A. Monthly tree report with current tree fund amount Director Askew presented the tree data summary through the end of November. She noted that the tree fund balance shown would decrease by approximately $25,000 once the invoices from the last tree planting were processed. Chair Boren asked if the accounting process for the tree fund had improved, and Director Askew indicated it was still a clunky process. Todd Miner asked if the Howell Park plantings were included in the tally of trees planted, and Director Askew clarified that the 32 trees from the front yard planting program were separate from the Howell Park plantings. The committee suggested adding a category for public plantings to better track all tree planting activities. B. Status update on when Chapter 23 revisions February workshop and tree fund action and spending plan Director Askew reported that she was waiting to hear from the Clerk's Office and City Manager about which meeting in February would include the Chapter 23 revisions. She explained that the Commission typically preferred to hold workshops ahead of regularly scheduled meetings, usually from 5 PM to 6 PM, rather than separate meetings. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 3 of 10 Chair Boren reminded the committee that they had previously developed an advocacy outreach plan with assignments for members to meet with individual commissioners. She suggested implementing this plan in January prior to the workshop, and the committee agreed this was a good approach. C. Howell Park Littoral Planting Community Service Day Director Askew reported that she and Amy Franqui had been working on the Howell Park Littoral Planting Community Service Day. The invasive plant cleanup (Weed Wrangle) would take place in late February (February 21 st), with the native plant planting day to follow on March 7th. Amy Franqui added that the event has been officially registered with the Florida Invasive Species Council, so they would be included in citywide advertisements for the Weed Wrangle. Director Askew mentioned that they had identified a nursery in Orlando that specializes in Florida native plants where they could source all the needed plants. She also noted that the trees for Howell Park had already been planted and looked beautiful. The committee discussed creating a coordinated RSVP process for both the February 21 st weed removal and March 7th planting events, though they acknowledged there might need to be separate links depending on the capabilities of the form system. D. Developer / Builder Workshop Update Director Askew reported that she had met with Christina Kelcourse regarding the developeribuilder workshop. They had initially planned to hold it in the first quarter of 2026, but the building official had been short-staffed. They had considered focusing on trees independently but concluded that trees and building issues were so interconnected that they needed to be addressed together. The goal remained to hold the workshop in the first quarter of 2026. Director Askew confirmed they were still planning to focus on the top developers and builders who submit the most permit applications in the city. Amy Palmer mentioned that she had been talking to a developer who was interested in speaking with the ESC and offered to share his contact information with Director Askew. E. Community Development Board Mitigation Variance Director Askew reported on a recent Community Development Board hearing regarding a mitigation variance. A property owner on the west side of Mayport Road had removed five pine trees (20 inches in diameter each, totaling 100 inches) without a permit while building a detached structure. Under city code, removing trees without a permit requires double mitigation, resulting in a 200 -inch requirement. The property owner had replanted 51 inches on their property and sought a variance for the remainder. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 4 of 10 Director Askew explained that staff had initially offered a payment plan allowing the owner to mitigate 50 inches or pay the equivalent into the tree fund every three months, but the owner was unable to comply with this arrangement. The Community Development Board ultimately granted a variance reducing the requirement to the standard 100 inches (removing the penalty doubling). Director Askew noted this was the second time the Community Development Board had heard a variance regarding double mitigation, and they were looking to the ESC for recommendations on how to handle cases where property owners claim they did not know they needed a permit to remove trees or change the code. The committee discussed that while the building permit application form clearly requires applicants to indicate whether trees will be removed and to submit a separate tree removal permit if needed, some applicants might not carefully read or understand these requirements. Chair Boren suggested adding this topic to the next meeting's agenda so the committee could develop recommendations. F. ROW planting update Director Askew reported that most of the recent right-of-way plantings were done in Howell Park and along North Seminole and Saturiba. She noted that there had been 32 trees planted in the front yard planting program. Amy Palmer asked about the status of other planned right-of-way plantings, such as those near Seventh Street access. Director Askew explained that those plantings had been delayed due to finance department requirements that projects over $25,000 go through a different approval threshold. The fall planting had been kept just under $25,000, and the additional locations would be included in the spring planting. G. ESC Member Reports No additional member reports were provided. 8. OLD BUSINESS A. 2026 Arbor Day Chair Boren reminded the committee that at the previous meeting, they had passed a motion to focus on increasing front yard planting sign-ups rather than doing a tree giveaway for Arbor Day, with the plan to showcase specimen trees of different species at a location to be determined. Chair Boren asked how the committee could support Director Askew with Florida Arbor Day on January 16th. Director Askew expressed interest in changing the usual flag - raising ceremony format while still engaging students from Atlantic Beach Elementary School. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 5 of 10 The committee discussed various ideas, including having volunteers read "The Lorax" at each of the Atlantic Beach schools and using this opportunity to announce the Minecraft challenge. Christina Kelcourse suggested that appearing on the schools' morning announcements would be an effective way to reach all students. The committee also discussed potentially involving city commissioners as guest readers. The committee also considered hosting an event around a heritage tree. Daniele Giovannucci agreed to reach out to Berkshire Hathaway about using the large tree on their property, and committee members agreed to identify potential heritage trees as backup options. For the front yard planting sign-ups, Anastasia Houston suggested creating a static display with specimen trees and a QR code for sign-ups, which could be placed in multiple locations throughout the city. The committee decided to ask Bruce to recommend species for the display since he had made the original motion, and Anastasia volunteered to help conceptualize the display design. B. Atlantic Beach Minecraft Challenge Christina Kelcourse reported that they had received approval to start fundraising for the Minecraft Challenge, with a goal of raising $5,000 by January 16th. The Minecraft organization had approved Atlantic Beach to offer bronze -level benefits to sponsors, with a preference for five sponsors at the $1,000 level. Kelcourse shared that she had already secured one commitment and one potential sponsor, and even the person who declined had offered to provide three additional contacts. She asked committee members to each commit to approaching three potential sponsors. Daniele Giovannucci suggested targeting businesses that already sponsor local schools and community events as they have demonstrated interest in supporting youth activities. Chair Boren emphasized the educational impact and scale of the Minecraft platform, noting it has hundreds of millions of monthly active users worldwide. Christina Kelcourse explained that the Minecraft Challenge would focus on building a resilient and sustainable Marsh Oaks Community Center, incorporating features like an edible orchard, solar power, and hurricane supplies. She noted that the project would promote STEM education, sustainability, and team -building skills. The committee also discussed the next steps, including developing the script for the non - player characters (NPCs) in the game and strategies for engaging local schools. C. 2026 Awards Chair Boren reported that the committee had submitted its award categories (tree canopy, sustainability and resilience, and planting with natives) to the city. The Arts Committee had not yet decided on their categories but would do so within the next week. Chair Boren noted that the plan was to accept award nominations by February and encouraged committee members to start thinking about potential nominees. She Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 6 of 10 suggested that if any members had concerns about the award descriptions, they should email them to her and Director Askew. D. Centennial Celebration Ideas Chair Boren reported that she had received an email from Kevin about the Centennial plans, which included First Night on December 31st, an old-fashioned celebration at Russell Park on Saturday, March 28th, and an Independence Day/America 250 celebration at Marsh Oaks on July 4th. Chair Boren suggested the committee consider how they might participate in the March 28th and July 4th events, as well as the Minecraft Challenge in April. The committee agreed to discuss this further at the next meeting. 9. NEW BUSINESS A. Motion facilitating corridors Daniele Giovannucci presented a motion to focus on developing ecological corridors in Atlantic Beach, particularly where they can branch from existing green spaces like Howell Park and other passive parks. MOTION: That the ESC focus efforts on identifying and developing ecological corridors that connect existing green spaces in Atlantic Beach, supporting biodiversity and creating more visible environmental impact. Motion: Daniele Giovannucci Second. Anastasia Houston During discussion, Giovannucci explained that this approach would be more effective than piecemeal tree planting efforts and would help engage neighborhoods in seeing themselves as part of a larger environmental initiative. He emphasized that this would be an additional focus, not replacing other ESC activities. Chair Boren asked about timeframes and metrics for this initiative. Todd Miner suggested that rather than specific achievements, this concept could provide strategic focus to the committee's existing activities. Amy Franqui asked whether the focus would be solely on trees or would include native plantings as well. Giovannucci confirmed it would encompass the broader concept of ecological corridors, including understory plantings and potentially creating wildlife passages between properties. Amy Palmer For Anastasia Houston (Seconded By) For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci (Moved 41) For Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 7 of 10 10. Todd .1liner For Motion passed 7 to 0. B. Motion for Lights Out Amy Palmer presented a motion regarding a "Lights Out" proclamation to reduce light pollution and protect migratory birds, nighttime pollinators, and sea turtles. MOTION. To approve the Lights Out proclamation as written. Motion: Amy Palmer Second. Amy Franqui During discussion, Chair Boren noted she had been thinking about her solar walkway lights at home and recognized the need for education around the initiative. Amy Franqui inquired about the possibility of a light bulb swap program, where residents could exchange white bulbs for amber ones. Director Askew indicated this would depend on the cost but was not currently budgeted. The committee discussed whether the proclamation would apply to streetlights, with the consensus being that it likely excluded security and safety lighting. Amy Franqui suggested that the city could lead by example by gradually replacing regular streetlights with amber lights similar to those on Beach Avenue. Anastasia Houston suggested incorporating the Lights Out pledge into the New Year's Eve pledges they were planning to collect at their First Night table. Director Askew mentioned that she had previously considered a dark sky ordinance but found it overwhelming. She believed that most city staff would support the Lights Out proclamation. Amy Palmer (Moved By) For Anastasia Houston For Christina Kelcourse For Amy Franqui (Seconded By) For Sarah Boren For Daniele Giovannucci For Todd Miner For Motion passed 7 to 0. MEMBERS CLOSING REMARKS Committee members provided various updates and closing remarks: Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 8 of 10 Daniele Giovannucci shared that during their biannual report to the Commission, they were unexpectedly limited to 10 minutes, which was disappointing given the scope of their presentation. He suggested they should request more time for future presentations. Anastasia Houston expressed appreciation for being back after traveling. Amy Palmer reported that she had followed up with Kevin about the welcome kit status, and he remained interested but indicated they would need to start small since there was no longer a budget for it. She also mentioned she could not locate the Berkshire Hathaway contact for the heritage tree initiative. Amy Franqui had nothing to add, noting her items had been covered during the meeting. Christina Kelcourse had nothing additional to report. Chair Boren shared that during her Commission report, she had expressed concerns about increasing risk aversion within the city administration that was making it more difficult for volunteers to accomplish goals. She also reported on her work with LEED for Cities certification for Jacksonville, noting they were tracking for gold certification. She mentioned that Trust Republic Land website data showed Atlantic Beach had experienced significant warming, particularly along Atlantic Boulevard and in the Mayport area. Director Askew announced that the new city arborist, Chris, would be starting on January 5th. He was coming from Oregon, where he had been working for a municipality doing similar work. She emphasized that he would be exclusively focused on trees, including conducting weekly inspections of construction sites to ensure tree barriers remain in place. She clarified that while the arborist could not legally challenge other arborists' decisions about tree health, he could verify that proper procedures were followed. Director Askew also noted that Payton had taken over Abrielle's position handling environmental matters, and Chair Boren suggested connecting her with the Florida Sustainable Directors Network. The committee discussed having the arborist attend meetings and conduct quarterly "arborist days" for public education. 11. MEETING RECAP A. Proposed items for 12.17.2025 ESC Meeting Agenda Chair Boren noted several items for the next meeting's agenda, including further discussion of the tree removal permit issues related to the Community Development Board variance case and continuing the conversation about Centennial celebration ideas. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 9 of 10 12. Attest: ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Sarah Boren, ESC Chair Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) December 10, 2025 Page 10 of 10