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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2-11-26 ESC Adopted MinutesMINUTES ri y 1,`1'i jJ, Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Meeting Wednesday, February 11, 2026 - 6:00 PM City Hall, Commission Chamber �''` 800 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 Present: Bruce Andrews, ESC Member Anastasia Houston, ESC Member Amy Palmer, ESC Chair Todd Miner, ESC Member Sarah Boren, ESC Member Daniele Giovannucci, ESC Member Christina Kelcourse, ESC Member Absent: Amy Franqui, ESC Member Also Present: Payton Jamieson, Principal Planner (PP) 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Palmer gave a brief overview of the agenda for the meeting. She mentioned that the agenda was challenging to put together due to city systems being down and her being sick. She indicated it wasn't an ideal agenda but would address their work, particularly focusing on the upcoming workshop with the commission. Sarah Boren asked if the format was new going forward. Chair Palmer explained that it would take time to settle into an agenda format, and she liked the way Sarah had organized the two different meetings. She mentioned that some usual documentation would start appearing in future agendas. The agenda was approved without formal objection. 3. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (5 MINS.) There were no public comments. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Approve minutes of the January 14, 2026 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. B. Approve minutes of the January 28, 2026 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. Chair Palmer explained the process for handling changes to meeting minutes. She noted that small corrections could be sent to Valerie after the meeting, and they would be Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 11, 2026 5. corrected for the record. For substantial corrections, they could discuss and approve the minutes with the change, and they would be corrected later. Sarah Boren mentioned she had some minor edits to the minutes, including a correction to a name and a slight modification to what she had shared about Commissioner Kelly. She agreed to send the corrections by email. MOTION. To approve minutes with corrections. Motion: Sarah Boren Second: Anastasia Houston Bruce Andrews For Anastasia Houston (Seconded By) For Amy Palmer For Todd Miner For Sarah Boren (Moved By) For Daniele Giovannucci For Christina Kelcourse For Motion passed 7 to 0. OLD BUSINESS Preparation for March 2, 2026 Workshop with Commission The discussion opened with uncertainty about the workshop's format and duration. Planner Jamieson clarified there would be one hour set aside for the Chapter 23 discussion and another hour for the priority section. Chair Palmer noted that Director Askew had seen it as a two-hour meeting. Dan Giovannucci suggested, "First of all, thank you. I think that's a fantastic idea. Thank you for doing all the work to bring that together," referring to Chair Palmer's arrangement for a speaker from Alachua County. He proposed that getting the Alachua County official on a regular commission meeting schedule might be more powerful since more people would watch it and it would be officially part of the record. Chair Palmer shared exciting news that Ken Cornell, Chair of the Alachua County Commission, had offered to present to their commission about protecting large trees. She explained, "They have legislation that prohibits removing a tree. Started out at 60 inches DBH, and now they have gone to 45 inches, and you just cannot do it in the story. You have to figure it out." Bruce Andrews expressed initial concern about inviting a third party, saying, "I think that having a third party come in, that's going to totally blow up the entire meeting. We'll spend 45 minutes with this person easily, you know, bantering back and forth." However, he later had "a little change of heart," acknowledging that protecting big trees was "probably the number one thing that we all like to accomplish." Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 11, 2026 Sarah Boren recommended that Chair Palmer lead the priorities portion of the meeting while Mayor Ford and staff could lead the Chapter 23 discussion. She emphasized the importance of understanding the commission's alignment and voting process, noting, "What happened last year is we presented 5, and they chose 1." A. ESC 2027 and 2026 Priorities Chair Palmer presented a framework for discussing priorities under their two main charges: policy recommendations and communications/outreach functions. She outlined four areas: the city's maritime forest, parks and open spaces, beautification of public and private spaces, and environmental stewardship. Dan Giovannucci appreciated the work but suggested shrinking the presentation, saying, "I would not at all share, you know, a through k, for example. It's just it's just far, far too much. And it feels a tiny bit scattershot." He recommended clustering solutions together and focusing on the bigger picture rather than individual programs. Sarah Boren advocated for separating fiscal year 2025-26 from 2026-27, explaining, "Two and a half years ago, we shifted to fiscal year planning to be in alignment with budget." She emphasized that items needing funding must go into the budget process, noting that the commission would set priorities on April 6th. Discussion arose about a "Bee City USA" designation, with Dan Giovannucci suggesting reframing it: "The goal is to have the health improving the health of our community and environment, having Florida friendly plants, water management, and native plantings be a priority. And that includes seeking Bee City USA because that will you know, the pollinator's part." B. Chapter 23 The discussion began with confusion about the role of the city arborist in reviewing Chapter 23. Payton Jamieson explained that Chris (the arborist) had been pulled into permitting issues but would review the document before the March meeting. Dan Giovannucci reminded everyone that at the last meeting, they had tasked Chris with setting up a meeting with him directly to go through the main points efficiently. Sarah Boren provided context for why the workshop was happening: "Amanda presented to commission her PowerPoint. And the last slide said, so we can either come back to you with a draft ordinance and the changes, or if commission wants to have a workshop, they can. And the mayor at least my recollection is the mayor said there's a lot in here. I have a couple heartburn items that I would like a workshop." Todd Miner raised an important point from the last commission meeting: "The city manager asked what was preventing the ESC from making a resolution to protect sort of, like, our oldest trees and our biggest trees." This led to extensive discussion about creating such a resolution. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 11, 2026 Bruce Andrews shared his research on Alachua County's ordinance, reading: "Landmark live oaks and champion trees must be preserved unless approved for removal by the board of county commissioners. An applicant must demonstrate that the development or construction activity cannot occur in any other location on the site, that removal is unavoidable due to site conditions and or design considerations beyond the applicant's control, or that there is a specific public purpose." MOTION. That the ESC recommends the City Commission direct city staff to develop a formal policy amendment for chapter 23 that prioritizes the preservation of our most valuable trees as defined by the city. This policy should be guided by the following parameters: prioritization of landmark status, siting alternative requirement, strict removal criteria, and commission level approval. Motion: Todd Miner Second. Daniele Giovannucci Motion passed 7 to 0. Dan Giovannucci then proposed addressing tree removal in setbacks, explaining his reasoning: "I think because we have people coming in who are sometimes not from the community or don't live in on that lot, on that area and stuff, they are taking down a lot more trees. And it's something that seems to be a relatively simple fix." Bruce Andrews expressed concern, calling it "a huge, huge change to what the ordinance is today," explaining the history of how setback regulations had evolved. Anastasia Houston countered that this would "directly address clear cutting." MOTION: That the ESC propose that staff explore an option to have no tree removal in setbacks without a proper variance. Motion: Daniele Giovannucci Second. Anastasia Houston Motion passed 7 to 0. C. Article about loss of ancient oak in Atlantic Beach httns ://www.news4 i ax.com/newsliocaII2026102102/living-landmark-atlantic-beach- neighbors-voice-frustrations-after-250-year-old-live-oak-removed-for- construction/ This agenda item was incorporated into the Chapter 23 discussion, as it was directly related to the committee's concerns about protecting large trees in the city. The recent media coverage of a 250 -year-old live oak being removed for construction in Atlantic Beach was mentioned as a catalyst for increased attention to tree protection. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 11, 2026 6. STATUS OF UPCOMING EVENTS -COMMUNICATIONS -PROJECTS Weed Wrangle and the Lorax - February 21, 2026 Chair Palmer noted they had 9:30 AM to noon on February 21st for the Weed Wrangle event, with Amy Frankie working diligently on that. She asked if any committee members could help during that time. The Lorax movie event was scheduled for 4:00 PM on the same day. Daniel Giovannucci mentioned that a previous costume wearer had retired from her public role and wasn't available. Sarah Boren noted that Girl Scouts would be selling cookies at the event through ARCC. The committee discussed using the Lorax event to promote the front yard tree program. Anastasia Houston volunteered to handle tabling at the event. Christina Kelcourse mentioned that information about the front yard tree program had been distributed to schools, with 1,100 flyers printed. She reported that her first -grader had brought one home. Anastasia confirmed that they had distributed the information to Seaside, ABE, and Spring River schools, with Mayport Middle sending it electronically. She still needed to deliver materials to Mayport Elementary. Chair Palmer also mentioned that Director Askew was getting pricing on door hangers for the front yard trees and "call before you cut" campaign. Public info gathering/analysis - February 25, 2026 Todd Miner explained his approach for the upcoming public information gathering session, which would follow a similar format to the previous year. He planned to structure it around their core areas, but with fewer tactical ideas for people to prioritize. He would seek direct feedback from the community about what was important to them, create a word cloud, and update the materials in real time to capture additional ideas. Chair Palmer asked about how they would gather and present the results to the commission on March 2nd. Todd explained that the Mural software they use would automatically create visualizations of the responses, which could be exported as a PowerPoint presentation. Sarah Boren emphasized the importance of being able to incorporate community feedback while also ensuring they were addressing current issues and concerns, such as stormwater and flooding, which had emerged as priorities after they had set their 2025-26 goals. Framework for marsh pilot work Chair Palmer mentioned they would punt on this topic, as City Engineer Steve Swann would be coming to their next meeting to discuss it. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 11, 2026 7. COMMISSION AND/OR STAFF REPORTS A. Monthly Tree Report - From now on, this report will be provided on the 2nd ESC Meeting of the month by the City Arborist. 8. CHAIR REMARKS There were no Chair remarks. 9. MEMBERS CLOSING REMARKS There were no closing remarks. 10. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. 11. RECAP OF DECISIONS, ACTION ITEMS AND NEXT STEPS Key decisions and action items included: • Approved January 14 and January 28, 2026 meeting minutes with minor corrections • Passed motion for staff to develop formal policy amendment for Chapter 23 prioritizing preservation of most valuable trees • Passed motion for staff to explore option for no tree removal in setbacks without proper variance • Todd Miner to lead public information gathering session on February 25 • Anastasia Houston to handle tabling at Lorax event • Chair Palmer to email Mayor about proposed workshop agenda and potential speaker from Alachua County • Bruce Andrews to discuss Alachua speaker with Mayor during scheduled meeting 12. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Attest: Amanda Askew Amy Pa er, ESC Chair Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) February 11, 2026 Page 6 of 6